What Does Infrastructure Development Really Mean Today?

Ten years ago, if you heard the words “infrastructure development” used in any context, it was generally a reference to road and bridge development. Communities saw better roads as a safe and efficient way to grow the local economy and improve the quality of life.

Today, community leaders still believe that upgraded or new roads are critical to maintaining the quality of life in either a thriving or struggling region, but the larger infrastructure dialogue is far, far more complex than it was only a decade ago. Look at news coverage across the state on any given day, and you will see that infrastructure development now includes the future availability of water and electricity. A huge infrastructure issue currently facing hundreds of communities is the fact that water and sewer systems are aging and struggling to keep up with population growth. They are also hugely expensive to replace or repair.

The availability of affordable housing is a very real part of infrastructure development now. The Bentonville School District attracted attention a few years ago when it opened a reasonably priced apartment facility for teachers to live in. The district was dealing with young teachers who had accepted job offers but started coming back a month later and saying, “I just can’t find a place to live here that I can afford.” Higher mortgage interest rates and steeply increasing first home prices mean the homeownership dream today is very different than it was for previous generations.

Chamber of Commerce leaders in any city have fine-tuned the standard news conference or event that is staged when a new employer or new road comes to town. There is a modest platform with assembled leaders, a state and American flag, a sound system, and hopefully local reporters with cameras in the front row.

That type of event (hopefully on a sunny, cool day) is more fun when commemorative shovels are being used to break ground for a new manufacturer attracted by the quality of the local workforce, but make no mistake that a functioning sewer system matters just as much to local well-being. Planning commission members in Northwest Arkansas are now being forced to say no to some proposed developments because the local sewer capacity has reached its peak. When any local planning commission says no to almost anything, it generally is a decision that merits news coverage.

I would also stretch the traditional definition of infrastructure development to include the quality of local school districts. There is a side of workforce and economic development that isn’t mentioned much at the new facility ribbon-cutting ceremonies. That is the ability of the community to provide a workforce with the right blend of technical and soft skills. A community that understands mental health issues, transportation and daycare challenges, and the ability of workers to pass a drug screen when hired. Addressing these barriers to employment is a critical part of what any community has to do to find economic and infrastructure growth.

But the single most important question any community or school district should be asking itself as economic development strategies are drafted...is the local school system turning out students who can read at grade level? If the answer is no, the data just about guarantees those students will struggle in life.

Infrastructure development on all these levels is as much about retaining employers as it is about working hard to attract new employers to town. More than 25 years ago, I was an idealistic policy director for Governor Mike Huckabee. At the time, the holy grail for all states was landing an auto manufacturing facility. But to get the big plant, states had to first show they could handle smaller employers that built parts to go in cars or trucks. Governor Huckabee had successfully recruited a company to eastern Arkansas that made parts for square box delivery trucks.

The facility opened to great fanfare and had not been operating that long when the governor heard from the company that newly hired workers were lacking in computer and technical skills. We scrambled to engage community colleges to help us rapidly train the already hired workforce. That was a simpler time when communities seemed to recruit new companies with videos about what a great place it would be for company executives to live. Not much thought was being given to the complex integration of local education and economic development.

Virtually all Good Roads members will tell you that a critical priority for them today is recruiting, hiring, and retaining the workforce they need to thrive and grow. The output of the local school district is critically important to that effort. Schools turning out a steady stream of students with technical and soft skills who read at grade level are a critical part of “infrastructure development” in the new world we live in.

You likely have not heard of the Blessing Acres subdivision near Gravette that was recently rejected by the Benton County Planning Board. The 32-acre proposal for 24 houses was turned down on a 4-2 vote. Some neighbors lobbied against the proposal, saying a local road to access the subdivisions could not handle the expected 110% traffic level increase. They also pointed out that it would be difficult to get emergency vehicles to the new homes. Local opposition claimed new roads in the subdivisions would create water runoff issues during heavy rain.

Virtually all Good Roads members will tell you that a critical priority for them today is recruiting, hiring, and retaining the workforce they need to thrive and grow. The output of the local school district is critically important to that effort. Schools turning out a steady stream of students with technical and soft skills who read at grade level are a critical part of “infrastructure development” in the new world we live in.

One planning board member said he would simply not vote for anything that involves putting a new subdivision near a dirt road. This debate about this new development is not that unique or different, but it is a microcosm of the complexity of development discussions going before planning boards in Arkansas right now. In a very divided political world, on some level, we can still all agree that economic growth is good for any region of our state, but in cases like Blessing Acres, there sometimes don’t seem to be many easy answers that will keep all sides happy.

Infrastructure development means many different things to different people, organizations, and communities. In some ways, the discussion isn’t remotely what it was 25 years ago, or even five years ago. But we need to stay focused on how to have reasoned and strategic discussions about the development of all types in the years ahead.

Our two adult children and our daughter-in-law all made quick trips home for Mother’s Day. The visit seemed rushed as they both had to get back to jobs and lives. We ate a lot and listened to stories of their adult lives in New York City and Fort Worth, Texas. Sadly, their departures seemed to happen way too fast. Standing in the driveway waving goodbye, I could not help but think about the fact that building a better infrastructure on all levels in Arkansas will have a very real long term impact on where all our children decide to live.

It’s a very different discussion than it once was, and we all need to change with the times. Get involved now so that in the long run, you can see your children and grandchildren more often. Let’s build a state where they want to live.