Infrastructure issues and options for the next president (William A. Galston, Robert Puentes, Brookings)

Our nation’s infrastructure facilities are aging, overcrowded, under-maintained, and in desperate need of modernization. The World Economic Forum ranks the United States 12th in the world for overall quality of infrastructure and assigns particularly low marks for the quality of our roads, ports, railroads, air transport infrastructure, and electricity supply. It is abundantly clear that to be economically competitive in today’s world, adequate investment in infrastructure is critical. And yet, U.S. spending on infrastructure has declined over the past five decades.

https://www.brookings.edu/research/infrastructure-issues-and-options-for-the-next-president/

How Lyft and Uber can improve transit agency budgets (Joseph Kane, Adie Tomer, Robert Puentes, Brookings)

The emergence of ride-hailing companies like Uber and Lyft seems to pose a direct challenge to the nation’s overburdened and underfunded transit agencies, potentially siphoning off patrons most able to pay full fare. Yet, amid competition, there exists a real opportunity for collaboration in providing mobility to the agencies’ neediest customers.

http://www.brookings.edu/research/papers/2016/03/08-lyft-uber-transit-agency-budgets-kane-tomer-puentes

Pathways to opportunity: Linking up housing and transportation (Robert Puentes, Joseph Kane, Brookings)

Although the U.S. economy experienced 71 consecutive months of job growth, many people and households are not better off. This is particularly true if you are poor and physically isolated from jobs and good schools. The barriers facing many Americans are multiple, and creating effective pathways to opportunity requires action on a wide range of issues, from early childhood education, to nutrition, to personal finance. But there are few things more central to a person’s well-being than a home of their own and the transportation networks that provide both physical and economic mobility.

http://www.brookings.edu/blogs/the-avenue/posts/2016/03/01-opportunity-housing-transportation-puentes-kane

Don’t dismiss Obama’s clean transportation plan (Robert Puentes, Joseph Kane, Brookings)

President Obama recently unveiled an ambitious new plan to pump $32 billion more annually into sustainable 21st century transportation infrastructure. With a dual focus on jumpstarting economic investment and reducing carbon pollution, the plan aims to drive innovations in public transit, intercity rail, and electric vehicle technology, and other clean fuel alternatives. In short, the kind of sustainable investments that are gaining momentum at thelocal, regional, and international level.

http://www.brookings.edu/blogs/the-avenue/posts/2016/02/08-clean-transport-plan-puentes-kane