Fixing It First: Targeting Infrastructure Investments to Improve State Economies and Invigorate Existing Communities

Fix It First: State By State Chart

In an era of strained budgets, many states are finding it too expensive to build as they have for the last fifty years. For much of that period, state development spending has been driven by costly growth patterns. Seeing an opportunity to control expenditures and enhance the quality of life in their states, a number of governors are choosing a new path. By prioritizing investments in roads, schools, utilities, housing, and other infrastructure in a way that leverages and enhances existing assets before building new, states are enjoying substantial benefits. These include the cost savings of greater efficiency and restoration of the economic competitiveness of existing communities.

This approach, often known as "Fix-it-first," is not one-size-fits-all but rather utilizes a variety of strategies to meet individual state needs. This issue brief reviews the differing strategies of seven states and reveals that they pursue fix-it-first to achieve three primary goals.

First, states seek to spend funds more efficiency. Strategies to meet this goal include:

• Targeting state investment to areas with existing infrastructure and facilitating development in areas most suitable for growth.
• Coordinating state agency planning around common development goals.

Second, states seek to increase economic competitiveness. Strategies to meet this goal include:

• Improving existing community infrastructure to create places that are appealing for business and residential investment.
• Creating incentives to revitalize and restore the economies of targeted areas. Finally, states seek to enhance quality of life.

Strategies to meet this goal include:

• Creating incentives for communities to pursue coordinated development goals.
• Removal of barriers to the construction and rehabilitation of schools in established areas.

There will be an online chat to discuss this report on August 12 at 2 p.m. (EDT). Expert participants include Adam Zellner, Executive Director of New Jersey's Office of Smart Growth, and Steve Burrington, Deputy Secretary, Massachusetts Office of Commonwealth Development. The discussion will be moderated by Kil Huh of the Fannie Mae Foundation and Matt Lambert of the NGA Center for Best Practices. For more information, please visit www.knowledgeplex.org.