Building inclusive infrastructure: How the built environment limits pathways to opportunity, and what we can do about it
Infrastructure is essential to the everyday workings of the American economy. Our roads, rails, pipes, and cables connect people to opportunity, allow companies to grow, and influence our environmental health. Too often, however, debate on infrastructure focuses exclusively on the physical quality of our networks and the price tags associated with new projects. In this confounding process, too little attention is given to whether our infrastructure systems can address vital, widespread challenges such as economic inequality, reducing environmental risk, or managing rapid technological change.
As many infrastructure systems are reaching the end of their useful life and governments at all levels are considering massive new investments, there is now prime opportunity to reconsider the shared outcomes we aim to advance through built environment policies. As part of Infrastructure Week 2018, The Metropolitan Policy Program at Brookings will convene a group of public, private, and civic thought leaders to discuss how our shared economic, social, and environmental challenges look from an infrastructure perspective—and present the most promising innovations to help address them.
Following the panel discussions, speakers will take questions from the audience.
Agenda
Welcome
Panel – The inclusion challenge
Jim McDonough
Commissioner - Ramsey County, MN
Brooks Rainwater
Senior Executive and Director - Center for City Solutions National League of Cities
Panel – Building inclusive place
Stephanie Gidigbi
SPARCC Policy, Capacity, and Systems Change Director & Senior Adviser, Urban Solutions - Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC)
Shauen V.T. Pearce
Director of Economic Development and Inclusion Policy - City of Minneapolis, Office of Mayor Jacob Frey
Panel - Technology for public good
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