New Report Aims to Help Cities Transform How They Think About and Invest in Infrastructure

A comprehensive new report, Infrastructure Crisis, Sustainable Solutions, from the Center for Sustainable Infrastructure at Evergreen State College in Olympia, Wash., outlines what the future of sustainable infrastructure may look like and what city and regional leaders must do to facilitate this transformation.

While focused primarily on the regions of the Pacific Northwest, the report provides insights from 70 infrastructure leaders that are worthwhile for any civic leader with an interest in creating a better, more sustainable future.

Specifically, the report addresses solutions for sustainability in the area of smart energy and water systems, electric vehicles, smart and connected infrastructure, and economic development strategies.

“The implications of our infrastructure choices for our economy, our environment, and the quality of our communities are huge and long-lasting,” said Rhys Roth, the Center’s director. “Bottom line: We are going to have to spend many billions of dollars on our infrastructure just to keep our society and economy functioning. This is the reality. The question is: how do we get smart about how we’ll invest that money?”

In an effort to address how city and regional officials ought to invest in infrastructure, the report has eight primary objectives, which are to:

• Explain some of the forces compelling decision-makers to rethink our infrastructure investment strategies, and show why our goal for future investment should be to optimize for long-term affordability, resilience and sustainability at the same time.
• Paint the picture of innovative, integrated infrastructure strategies emerging to reshape the energy, transportation, wastewater, stormwater, water supply, and waste sectors.
• Highlight a number of real-world examples from Northwest communities of innovative projects and programs.
• Frame some of the key challenges in making the shift.
• Articulate 10 guiding principles to grow the sustainable infrastructure toolkit of our planners and decision-makers.
• Compare the state infrastructure policy frameworks of Washington and Oregon and highlight statewide strategic goals suggested by the thought leaders. 
• Offer “5 Big Goals for 2040” to begin shaping a vision that looks 25 years out. 
• Distill the top roles and services to build sustainable infrastructure capacity in the region that thought leaders recommended for the Center and its allies, and flag some next steps going forward.

“If we do it right, our infrastructure investments will help us create healthy, prosperous, beautiful, and cohesive communities, and overcome our most pressing environmental challenges,” Roth said. “My hope is Infrastructure Crisis, Sustainable Solutions will provide inspiration and valuable guidance to the region’s current and future infrastructure leaders, policymakers, and change agents.”

The report has begun to garner positive reviews from civic leadership in the Pacific Northwest region and beyond.

“Cities are on the forefront of managing critical infrastructure systems and they face the significant challenges of aging systems, a growing population, and significant fiscal constraints,” Mike McCarty, CEO of the Association of Washington Cities, said of the report. “New ways of meeting our infrastructure needs will be needed. Forward thinking like that captured in Infrastructure Crisis, Sustainable Solutions is essential to inventing the future of infrastructure.”

Jesse Berst, Chairman of the Smart Cities Council, said the report provides a valuable call to action for cities to be forward-thinking and avoid being dependent on 20^th century solutions.

“We can't fix our planet unless we fix our cities and our infrastructure. That's why the work of the Center for Sustainable Infrastructure is so important. Over the next 20 years, we have no choice but to upgrade or replace much of our current infrastructure, because it's beyond its design life. If we do it correctly — if we upgrade to smart infrastructure — these changes will be the foundation for our future prosperity. If we do it wrong — if we simply install 20^th century gear — we'll be trapped in the past, since it may be another 50 years before it is due for another renewal.”

The entire report is available online at the Center for Sustainable Infrastructure’s website.