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- The Infrastructure for Rebuilding America (INFRA) grant program is providing $905.25 million in funding to 24 projects in 18 states.
- This year, for the first time, the Department of Transportation announced it would consider racial and environmental justice in weighing proposals.
- Almost half of the proposed funding will go to rural projects in an effort to address historic underinvestment.
The Department of Transportation announced $905.25 million will go to 24 projects in 18 states as part of its Infrastructure for Rebuilding America (INFRA) grant program, established back in 2015. For the first time since then or ever before, the department is finally considering the impact of these projects on race and the environment.
“These timely investments in our infrastructure will create jobs and support regional economies, while helping to spur innovation, confront climate change, and address inequities across the country,” said Secretary Pete Buttigieg in a release, noting that grants were considered by how they would address climate change, environmental justice and racial equity for the first time in USDOT history.
Almost half of the proposed funding, 44 percent, will go to rural projects — more than double the Congressional requirement of 19 percent — to address “historic underinvestment.” These include projects in New Mexico, Washington, Indiana and Pennsylvania, among other states. Other projects are in major metropolitan areas, including Los Angeles, Sacramento and the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey.
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The new focus on racial justice considered “equity-focused community outreach” as well as whether “projects are designed to improve connections to underserved communities to reduce barriers to opportunity” in federally designated community development zones, according to the initial announcement seeking proposals. At the same time, in looking for a “comprehensive strategy to address climate change,” the department also acknowledged the consideration of environmental justice and the disproportionate harm on Black, Indigenous and other communities of color.
In the United States, minority communities are often located in areas that have been exposed to major polluters emitting toxins associated with cancer, respiratory illness and birth defects. Research shows that historically racist housing policies may have led poor, Black Americans to be disproportionately affected by climate change, especially extreme heat. As the nation deals with a deadly heat wave, the Biden administration’s focus on racial and environmental justice is gaining a sense of urgency.
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