Experts agree that broadband internet is a critical piece of 21st-century infrastructure. The Federal Communications Commission has stated that “broadband is a foundation for economic growth, job creation, global competitiveness and a better way of life.” Read more »

Engineers have been browbeating U.S. policymakers about the dire state of the country’s infrastructure for years. This year is no different. Last week the American Society of Civil Engineers gave U.S. infrastructure a barely passing grade of D+ and warned that “it’s time to stop duct-taping this problem.” Much of the problem has to do with how the country pays for its infrastructure, which does not raise enough revenue to keep up with the costs of needed repairs and improvements. But the engineers may finally have the ear of policymakers in one state, Virginia, who are making real changes about how the state funds its highways and roads. Read more »

This summer, a billion-dollar project will begin to raise the road deck of the Bayonne Bridge that links Staten Island to Jersey City, and provides access to Manhattan via the Holland Tunnel. The project is not being undertaken because of safety concerns about the current bridge, but rather to allow larger container ships to pass underneath it and reach the Port of New York and New Jersey. It’s just one of several port projects in anticipation of the widening of the Panama Canal. Read more »

For communities looking to attract the coveted highly-skilled, highly-paid workforce, there is often little substitute for a locale’s livability. Job opportunities, no matter how plum, may fail to lure workers if a city is determined to be undesirable by potential emigrants. In describing what motivates the so-called Creative Class to relocate, urban theorist Richard Florida notes that “quality-of-place”—a city’s built and natural environment, its population diversity and vibrancy—is the deciding factor. Read more »

NEW YORK, NY – The hurricane on America’s eastern seaboard last week (which I experienced in lower Manhattan) adds to a growing collection of extreme weather events from which lessons should be drawn. Climate experts have long argued that the frequency and magnitude of such events are increasing, and evidence of this should certainly influence precautionary steps – and cause us to review such measures regularly. Read more »

On October 15, the Renewing America initiative hosted the BBC’s The World Tonight radio program at CFR in Washington for a special event, “American Decline or Economic Renewal?,” which was broadcast as part of The World Tonight’s program, “Rebuilding America.” Panel members discussed issues highlighted by CFR’s Renewing America initiative including education, innovation, and the state of U.S. infrastructure, as well as the ability of the U.S. political system to address these challenges. Read more »

In the wake of the recent economic crisis, many state and local governments confront significant fiscal stress that could have national ramifications. The flow of federal stimulus funding is drying up before tax revenues fully recover and forcing many statehouse and city halls to consider tax hikes and/or spending cuts that could slow recovery and, in some cases, undermine long-term growth and global competitiveness. In particular, funding for infrastructure and education—of which states and cities are by far the primary sources—are under the budget knife. Read more »

I will be traveling to Detroit this week to speak on a panel at the Techonomy conference, which is an annual event normally held in Arizona. It’s a gutsy decision by the organizers to shine the spotlight on a city that Techonomy founder David Kirkpatrick noted is usually considered “a gritty, depressed, financially troubled city that seems well past its glory.” The conference will highlight the transformative economic potential of modern technologies, and as Kirkpatrick writes: “If technology is the key ingredient to rejuvenating the American economy, it has to work where the problems are biggest and the task the hardest.” Read more »