ARRA Misses the Ecological Mark

Hillary Brown argues that the infrastructure priorities of the American Reinvestment and Recovery Act further the carbon-intensive status quo and miss an unprecedented opportunity to build innovative, green systems.

1 minute read

October 26, 2010, 12:00 PM PDT

By Lynn Vande Stouwe


At $132 billion, ARRA provides only a fraction of $2.2 trillion needed to repair and upgrade America's infrastructure, notes Brown. Furthermore, she says, by emphasizing private transportation over public, underfunding clean energy projects and doing nothing to break down the 'siloed thinking' that plagues the public works sector, ARRA will simply perpetuate the inefficiencies of current systems.

Instead, the next generation of infrastructure should employ 'bold strategies': co-location and integration of diverse functions, models that work in concert with natural processes, projects that bring programmatic benefits to communities, and resilient design capable of adapting to global climate change.

However, the ultimate challenge to smart infrastructure may be political rather than technical, Brown writes:

"Designing appropriate, sustainable technologies may be the least challenging aspect of our American infrastructural dilemma. The more daunting problem is our dysfunctional governance - a political culture that seems unwilling to commit to implementing what we know we need, and know how to make."

Monday, October 25, 2010 in Design Observer

portrait of professional woman

I love the variety of courses, many practical, and all richly illustrated. They have inspired many ideas that I've applied in practice, and in my own teaching. Mary G., Urban Planner

I love the variety of courses, many practical, and all richly illustrated. They have inspired many ideas that I've applied in practice, and in my own teaching.

Mary G., Urban Planner

Use Code 25for25 at checkout for 25% off an annual plan!

Logo for Planetizen Federal Action Tracker with black and white image of U.S. Capitol with water ripple overlay.

Planetizen Federal Action Tracker

A weekly monitor of how Trump’s orders and actions are impacting planners and planning in America.

May 7, 2025 - Diana Ionescu

People biking along beach path with moored ship in San Diego, California.

San Diego Adopts First Mobility Master Plan

The plan provides a comprehensive framework for making San Diego’s transportation network more multimodal, accessible, and sustainable.

May 2, 2025 - SD News

Front of Walmart store with sign.

Walmart Announces Nationwide EV Charging Network

The company plans to install electric car chargers at most of its stores by 2030.

May 7, 2025 - Inc.

Pump station with blue pipes coming out of concrete wall in Seattle, Washington.

Seattle Builds Subway-Sized Tunnel — for Stormwater

The $700 million ‘stormwater subway’ is designed to handle overflows during storms, which contain toxic runoff from roadways and vehicles.

May 13 - City Observatory

Sign for Deschutes National Forest in Oregon.

Feds Clear Homeless Encampment in Oregon Forest

The action displaced over 100 people living on national forest land near Bend, Oregon.

May 13 - The New York Times

Seeing the Better City

Is This Urbanism?

Chuck Wolfe ponders a recommended subscription list of Substack urbanists and wonders — as have others — about the utility of the "urbanist" moniker.

May 13 - Resurgence: A Journey via Substack

Urban Design for Planners 1: Software Tools

This six-course series explores essential urban design concepts using open source software and equips planners with the tools they need to participate fully in the urban design process.

Planning for Universal Design

Learn the tools for implementing Universal Design in planning regulations.