A listing of references and creative solutions designed to inspire new policies and planning that shape equitable access to public infrastructure.

To build healthier communities, we need strong infrastructure in every neighborhood.

Infrastructure, or the physical attributes of a community, forms the building blocks of a community. It’s not just roads and bridges. It encompasses the systems that connect us to essential services—from affordable energy to power our buildings, to clean running water in our faucets and reliable broadband to get online—as well as critical neighborhood amenities like good transit and quality parks.

The infrastructure that a community has shapes the opportunities for health and wellbeing available to the people who live, learn, work and play there. But a long legacy of discriminatory policies and structural racism has created inequities in who does and doesn’t have access to adequate infrastructure. We can build health equity by bolstering our infrastructure and ensuring we are all surrounded by conditions that enable us to live the healthiest life possible.

Water Access and Quality

Reports by DigDeep and the US Water Alliance, the Environmental Policy Innovation Center, and the Environmental Defense Fund examine the gap in access to affordable and safe clean water.

Parks and Green Spaces

City Parks Alliance and the Urban Institute report on the most effective practices when investing in parks and green infrastructure in low-income communities.

Green Infrastructure

The National Recreation and Parks Association outlines how to ensure equitable investment in green infrastructure in parks to protect communities from the harmful effects of climate change.

Transportation Equity

The State of Transportation and Equity, a field scan by SmartGrowth America, dives into how transportation affects health equity in America.

Digital Prosperity

The Brookings Metropolitan Group takes an in-depth look at how broadband can deliver health and equity to all communities.

Energy Infrastructure

A Synapse Energy Economics, the Regulatory Assistance Project and Community Action Partnership report explores how to build an equitable clean-energy future.

Learn more about Health in Small and Midsize Cities

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