The Stimulus: Making a Strong Case for Cities
Posted by Sheila Redick on January 13, 2009
Negotiations on the stimulus package continue. While the “Investments” portion of the four-part package (infrastructure) gets smaller, it also seems to be getting narrower. Included are roads, bridges, schools and water systems. Transit is currently not favored out of fear that transit projects are not “shovel ready.” There also seems to be no bias for “fix it first,” even though for every dollar spent, repairs produce more jobs than does new construction. The logical result is a continuation of infrastructure spending that favors far-flung new development and undermines our cities.
If you are in discussions with your elected representatives about the stimulus and pick up any intelligence on how together we can make a stronger case for cities, please share it with us. Many members have developed thoughtful plans for using the money not only to create jobs but to create the next great cities. Without endorsement, we are posting plans on our site. And if you have one to share, send it to sredick@ceosforcities.org.
Sustainable Shelby (Memphis-Shelby County)
Center for an Urban Future (New York City)
Pittsburgh City Councilman Bill Peduto
Additionally, Transportation for America, a coalition of organizations including CEOs for Cities, has produced valuable fact sheets on the transportation picture in each state that can be used to persuade legislators to make smart transportation investments. You can see a sample fact sheet on Illinois here. To request your state's fact sheet, email sredick@ceosforcities.org, and we will send it to you.
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