Smart infrastructure planning and investment is absolutely fundamental to meeting California’s challenges of growth and the changing needs of today’s economy and society. By focusing on strategic infrastructure investments, society can achieve economic, environmental, and quality of life goals concurrently. The following concepts can aid in planning a coherent and effective infrastructure strategy:

Strategic Planning

• California must weigh the costs and benefits of different funding options and consider both the short and long-term implications of new investment strategies.
• Wise transportation investments will give us more transportation choices, keep us out of the car and more productive, and improve the quality of the air we breathe.
• Investments in school facilities, including proper capacity and the latest technology for students and teachers, will improve our communities and provide a platform for success for children and workers.

Need for Investment

• Demands for additional infrastructure investment would exist regardless of the state’s growth rate.
• Infrastructure investment is needed for facility and transportation repairs and upgrades; for new uses of technology in areas like building standards, pollution control, and earthquake safety; and for capacity shortages caused by low past investment levels.

Demand Management

• Managing the demand for existing infrastructure encourages efficient utilization and thereby can minimize the need for new investment.
• Demand management begins with consumers’ willingness and ability to pay for services. A management system controls key drivers of demand through a dynamic process.

Asset Management

• Through asset management, policy makers and controlling agencies monitor and evaluate infrastructure projects by examining the project’s life cycle, including design, operation, and maintenance costs. It serves as a means of providing the desired level of service in the most cost-effective manner. Life-cycle asset management techniques increasingly are being used to work toward reducing infrastructure life-cycle costs for owners and users.

Smart Growth

• Smart growth is economically sound, environmentally friendly, and supportive of community livability – growth that enhances our quality of life.

Leverage Resources

• The State can maximize the potential for increased investments locally and regionally by using its role to leverage resources and link a broad range of partners. Acting as a facilitator, the State can encourage public-private partnerships across all infrastructure categories and projects, especially to leverage private and philanthropic investments.