Some parts of the region were left behind by growth over many decades, often having lost substantial population, jobs, businesses, and resources. Promoting growth in these areas will require collaborative and comprehensive investment at all levels of government and civic organizations; disinvested( A persistent, long-term lack of market investment, measured by a long term loss of jobs, low levels...
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areas significantly overlap the EDAs defined within ON TO 2050, while also including adjacent commercial and industrial areas that have experienced a loss of economic activity over sustained periods of time.

The local governments that serve disinvested areas tend to have lower staff and technical resources, due to lower tax bases and fewer financial resources available. This impairs their ability to maintain existing infrastructure and to access regional and federal transportation resources for reconstruction and improvement projects. Accessing these public resources requires not only matching local funds, but also significant and costly predevelopment investments such as feasibility studies and engineering, which may make projects infeasible for some low-capacity municipalities. These communities also tend to have higher concentrations of low-income households and people of color, further increasing disparities in transportation infrastructure.

Action 1

Develop creative approaches to removing the financial barriers that prevent disinvested areas from accessing some transportation funding programs.

Implementers

Transportation funders

Action 2

Develop materials and trainings to help municipalities understand how their land use and transportation investment choices affect local revenues, user costs, and long-term maintenance expenses.

Implementers

CMAP and partners

Action 3

Assist with transportation data collection and asset management pilot projects, eventually expanding to a region-wide program, to overcome a lack of data and technical capacity to implement asset management.

Implementers

CMAP and partners

Action 4

Research best practices and leverage growing resources on age and condition of the region’s infrastructure to develop methods for municipalities to assess mid- and long-term impacts of major or cumulative development processes.

Implementers

Partners and CMAP