The recently enacted infrastructure bill presents an opportunity to fix more than roads, bridges and pipes. As funds begin to land in cities across the country, city planners and policymakers have many options for how they choose to build. Let’s make sure equitable wellbeing is at the center of new infrastructure investments.
In a two-part series published by the American Planning Association, Brookings Senior Fellow Xavier de Souza Briggs and Full Frame Initiative CEO Katya Fels Smyth outline a framework to guide new capital investments. Grounded in principles from the Wellbeing Blueprint, this six-point framework shows how to plan and design a built environment that provides universal access to wellbeing.
Curious what this might look like? Browse our national wellbeing innovation map to see what these principles look like in practice in the built environment, human services, education and other sectors.
Infrastructure investments aren’t neutral. Imagine a future where people’s wellbeing is the starting place for how decisions are made about what, where, when and even whether we build. Our new tool is a step towards that future.
The 2022 national infrastructure bill presents a historic opportunity to provide universal access to wellbeing through the built environment. Through a wellbeing lens, we can heal past harms and guide new, equitable infrastructure investments.
Communities, organizations and individuals across the country are already advancing structural change so everyone has a fair shot. The Wellbeing in Action map captures innovations and examples by location, issue area and Wellbeing Blueprint principles.