U.S. Department of Transportation Secretary Anthony Foxx recently told a Brookings Institution audience that transportation planning and policy has historically exacerbated problems of concentrated poverty and socioeconomic mobility.
He cited the example of how highways and other infrastructure can physically cut off neighborhoods from opportunity. It’s the responsibility of the government now to break down these barriers, he explained.
How can this be done? According to Secretary Foxx, the federal government needs to provide local leaders, who have the specific knowledge of their community, with the tools they need to implement better policies that enhance mobility and improve distressed neighborhoods.
“We have enough experience at the federal level of screwing this up to know that the local communities and region really should have more autonomy … to vision for themselves, with the support of the federal government,” he elaborated.
When asked about the role of other sectors in creating pathways to opportunity, Secretary Foxx said, “I think non-profits and the private sector actually play a fairly significant role in transportation decision making today.”