Infrastructure is essential to wellbeing: here’s how Scotland proved it

Infrastructure has a massive role to play in improving our wellbeing.

But these improvements can be hard to prove, making it difficult to secure investment to build the projects we need.

Scotland has found a way.

Home to famous lochs and awe-inspiring highlands, Scotland really stands to benefit from nature’s ability to improve our wellbeing.

But that’s only if people can access these spaces.

After finding out that 70% of adults in the country live within a five-minute walk to parks, forests, or water, Scotland sought to go even further.

It set up a programme to expand this access to places that were missing these vital green spaces – the Green Infrastructure Strategic Intervention.

Improvements in renewable energy and economic growth

Access to green and blue spaces isn’t the only way Scotland is seeking better lives for its people.

Targeted research has helped it assess the country’s infrastructure needs and prioritise the interventions that will meet them.

For example, an increase in renewable energy use across electricity, heat and transport encouraged Scotland to keep investing in green infrastructure and fully transition to renewables.

It’s got a pipeline of offshore wind power projects set to generate 43.5GW, enough to service about 115 million homes.

Economic data also suggested that there’s been growth since 2020. That said, this may not reflect long-term trends as it must account for the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic.

Still, this data helped Scotland determine that investment in transport and digital services in urban, rural, and island areas is needed to boost economic growth.

How Scotland tracks its progress on infrastructure-related outcomes

The Scottish government uses the Infrastructure Investment Plan as a guide to improve overall wellbeing.

The plan focuses on infrastructure measures that contribute to the environment, economy, and communities.

It also reports on how well these are being delivered using its National Performance Framework.

Some examples of the measures the framework keeps track of include:

• Energy from renewable sources: monitors the percentage of energy use that comes from natural resources (e.g., wind, wave, and solar power).
• Economic growth: measures the difference between the growth rate of national pay and the previous three-year average.
• Access to green and blue spaces: tracks the number of adults who live within a five-minute walk of their local parks, forests, beaches, etc.

Where does the data come from?

The government uses publicly available data to showcase the progress that has been made.

This data comes from surveys that collect information on the qualities, attitudes, and behaviours of Scottish people, research reports, and stakeholder consultations.

The findings are shared on the Scottish government’s website and are grouped by measure to provide more detail on performance.

The latest report on the status of infrastructure projects was published in 2025.

Uncovering other infrastructure priorities

Having a framework to track progress on these ensures the Scottish government can be held to account for delivering infrastructure that improves everyone’s wellbeing.

To improve its long-term planning even more, the government has started to explore the links between infrastructure, economic growth, and social inequalities.

It’s also considering the development of a new infrastructure framework that more specifically supports the delivery of net zero emissions and economic growth.