A new report released today by Regional Plan Association recommends strategies for leveraging public investments in improving the New Haven-Hartford-Springfield (NHHS) Rail Corridor for economic growth. Titled, "Dependable Rail in 2016: What Will it Mean for the Knowledge Corridor Region?", the report includes lessons from successful passenger rail corridors in Maine and Northern California, and proposes a broad set of strategies to build on the $400 million initial public investment being made to upgrade the NHHS Rail Corridor.

These preliminary, recommended strategies are offered for discussion at a convening of business leaders and local officials today in Rocky Hill, who will explore additional strategies and next steps for achieving the maximum economic benefit from the NHHS rail project.

Download the Report (PDF - 5MB).

High-speed rail has been adopted throughout the world, and is now being planned and developed in the United States. Over the past 50 years, U.S. transportation spending has heavily favored the development of interstate highway and aviation systems. In the meantime, countries such as China, Japan, Spain, France, and Germany have been investing in modern, high-speed rail systems to satisfy the travel demands of their current and future generations. As the United States embarks on the High-Speed Intercity Passenger Rail Program launched in 2009, it can learn from the experiences of other countries in planning, constructing, and operating high-speed rail.

This long-term perspective, discussion of benefits, and recommendations for making high-speed rail work in the United States is presented in a new report released today by the Lincoln Institute of Land Policy, called "High-Speed Rail: International Lessons for U.S. Policy Makers" (PDF). Written by RPA authors Petra Todorovich, Dan Schned, and Robert Lane, the report documents lessons from over four decades of international experience in high-speed rail in Europe and Asia, applies them to the U.S. context, and recommends a fresh approach that creates new, accountable, rail management structures, brings in the private sector, and concentrates for now on California and the Northeast.

A new study released today by America 2050 identifies the high-speed rail corridors with the greatest potential to attract ridership in each of the nation's megaregions.  Corridors connecting populous regions with large job centers, rail transit networks, and existing air markets scored best. The study also recommends that the federal government adopt a quantitative approach to evaluating future investment in high-speed rail.

Download the Press Release.

The 56-page study, entitled, "High-Speed Rail in America," cites ridership potential as the number one factor in determining if a corridor is suitable for investment, identifies the specific conditions that generate ridership demand, and scores each corridor according to strength in those areas.  The top performing corridors in each region determined to have the greatest potential demand for high-speed rail ridership include corridors such as: New York-Washington, DC; Chicago-Milwaukee; Los Angeles-San Diego; Tampa (via Orlando) to Miami; Dallas-Houston; Atlanta-Birmingham; Portland-Seattle; and Denver-Pueblo. 

Download the report after the break.

This paper by Yoav Hagler describes the methodology that Regional Plan Association used to identify and define 11 U.S. megaregions. This approach is discussed within the context of historical studies of the Northeast Megaregion -- first identified as Megalopolis in the 1960s, and the creation of the America 2050 initiative and its focus on megaregions, some 40 years later.

Download:
Defining U.S. Megaregions

 
In an effort to promote a balanced growth strategy for the United States, Regional Plan Association and Lincoln Institute of Land Policy brought together two dozen scholars and economic development practitioners in March 2009 for an America 2050 research seminar to explore new economic development strategies for the nation's underperforming regions. The seminar gathered people with a range of expertise and diversity of backgrounds, including those from declining, post-industrial regions, rural and frontier communities, and experts in state and federal economic development policy to address strategies for declining places within the nation's emerging megaregions and in the spaces in between. Three research papers were developed for the seminar by Yoav Hagler, Robert Yaro, and Nicolas Ronderos of Regional Plan Association. They are collected in this new report along with a summary of the conversations that took place at the seminar.

Download "New Strategies for Regional Economic Development."

The Business Alliance for Northeast Mobility, a coalition of more than 30 chambers of commerce and civic organizations, urged House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and Appropriations Chairman David Obey in letters today to increase funding in the economic stimulus bill for transit and rail - the backbone of the Northeast economy. Increased funding will put people to work making necessary rail improvements and ensure the long-term economic competitiveness of the Northeast Megaregion. 

This month, America 2050 released its most recent report: An Infrastructure Vision for 21st Century America. This report highlights the need to develop a bold and compelling vision for investing in the nation's aging water, energy, and transportation infrastructure in a way that will help America meet the key challenges of the 21st century. These challenges include America's fast-growing population, deteriorating infrastructure, the deepening recession, our competitiveness in a global economy, fairness and opportunity, and climate change and energy security.   

The report makes the case that the federal government should provide leadership in aligning its energy, transportation and water infrastructure policies to support environmentally sustainable development, efficient and reliable transportation systems, and sustained, robust economic growth. Currently, many of the federal government's programs are ineffective or obsolete, or work at cross purposes, such as transportation policy that increases our reliance on foreign oil, or federal farm subsidies that encourage fertilizer and pesticide use that pollutes our drinking water.

Over the next year, America 2050 will build on this report to create physical plans for national systems of transportation networks, electrical transmission and water infrastructure and specific policies to encourage greater accountability, decision-making criteria for project selection and performance measures.

The proceedings of the Rebuilding and Renewing America forum sponsored by America 2050 on May 9, 2008 in Washington, D.C. are now available for download. (3 MB)

The forum assembled business and labor leaders, Democratic and Republican members of Congress, transportation and engineering industry leaders and environmental advocates to address the pressing infrastructure challenges of our time.
The forum was co-sponsored by the Rockefeller Foundation, the Lincoln Institute of Land Policy, The Surdna Foundation, Regional Plan Association, and the Division of United States Studies at the Woodrow Wilson Center.

The report summarizes keynote addresses and remarks by Gov. Ed Rendell, Judith Rodin, Tom Donohue and U.S. Representatives Earl Blumenauer, Chris Shays, Rosa DeLauro and Tom Petri, among other noteworthy speakers. It also reports on roundtable discussions on energy, water, and transportation infrastructure.

The May 9 forum marked the launch of a national series of "Rebuilding and Renewing America" forums around the country to draw attention to the nation's growing infrastructure needs and gather input on the key priorities in growing megaregions.