In this week’s Infrastructure Policy Watch, New Zealand builds infrastructure at the street level, and the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB) launches knowledge-sharing platform.
New Zealand Ministry of Transport’s proposal to reshape its street-level infrastructure
The Minister of Transport in New Zealand has developed a proposal for streamlining infrastructure planning and implementation at the street level.
The proposal outlines changes to rules and regulations to make it easier for local authorities to adapt and build infrastructure – such as public transport and recreation.
The proposal is expected to bring a much-needed upgrade to revive New Zealand’s streets, some of which haven’t seen investment in the last 50 years.
Changes support directly incorporating local needs and enabling local authorities to make changes more efficiently. Benefits of the proposal include:
- Building safer streets for everyone
- Supporting higher urban density to support access to services
- Ensuring public health
- Developing a sense of place
ICE’s view:
Working more closely with infrastructure end-users, such as communities, can help to respond to real infrastructure needs.
The ICE's recent Presidential Roundtable highlighted the role of infrastructure in ensuring success for meeting community needs through levelling up.
Placing communities at the heart of infrastructure projects builds trust and supports transparency, allowing them to be involved in changes to their area.
These and other benefits of including communities in infrastructure decision-making are highlighted in the ICE’s policy position statement on defining the outcomes from levelling up.
Inter-American Development Bank strengthens climate change and sustainable agendas at the regional level
The Inter-American Development Bank (IDB) launched a platform to share best practice on climate change and sustainable development.
Developed for finance ministries in Latin America and the Caribbean, the platform helps leverage public resources and creates a supportive environment for fiscal planning to support climate change considerations.
The platform will help ministries deliver on the Paris Agreement and boost the transparency and efficiency of budgetary policies.
Benefits of the platform include the ability to "capitalise on the many opportunities that the transition to a green economy can bring for growth, private investment, and development", according to the IDB President Mauricio Claver-Carone.
Other benefits include:
- Creating new jobs through climate change programs.
- Managing economic and fiscal risks more efficiently.
- Aligning public finances.
- Achieving net-zero targets.
- Demonstrating commitment to other countries toward meeting internationally agreed goals.
ICE’s view:
Collaboration and cooperation are essential to meet international agreements on climate change and sustainable development.
All regions have knowledge to share, and developing a platform for regional collaboration encourages this.
Knowledge sharing has been identified as a critical way to drive more informed infrastructure planning, financing, and delivery as highlighted in the ICE’s Enabling Better Infrastructure Programme.
More informed decision-making through knowledge sharing can drive efficiency by coordinating multiple outcomes.
In case you missed it:
- A guest blog by Centre for Cities’ Guilherme Rodrigues outlines how Transport for London could fund itself in the coming years.
- ICE sets out the top three priorities for the next UK prime minister..
- Read about our latest work on water management in the UK here.
Check back in a fortnight for the next edition of the ICE's Infrastructure Policy Watch.
You can also sign up to ICE Informs to get a monthly digest of the latest policy activities from ICE, including calls for evidence to support our ongoing advice to policymakers.
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