America Is Building Billions of Dollars of Infrastructure. Why Aren't More Inner-City Residents Building the Future?

Across America, cranes dominate city skylines. Billions of taxpayer dollars are flowing into infrastructure, affordable housing, transportation systems, clean energy projects, and community development.

Yet in many of the neighborhoods where these projects are being built, residents continue to struggle with unemployment, underemployment, and limited pathways into the very industries transforming their communities. 

This raises an uncomfortable question:

If development is supposed to benefit communities, why aren't more community residents receiving the training, certifications, and opportunities needed to participate in the jobs that development creates?

The problem is not a lack of work. The problem is a lack of access.

The construction industry faces significant workforce demand, with hundreds of thousands of construction and extraction job openings projected annually over the coming decade. Registered apprenticeship participation in construction has also grown substantially as employers seek skilled workers.

At the same time, federal programs such as HUD's Section 3 were created specifically to direct employment and economic opportunities generated by publicly funded projects toward low- and very low-income residents.

Despite these initiatives, many residents living closest to major development projects continue to face barriers to entry.

The Credential Gap

Most individuals cannot simply walk onto a modern construction site and begin work.

Many projects require workers to possess credentials such as:

• OSHA 30 Construction

• Site Safety Training (SST)

• First Aid/CPR

• Flagger Certification

• NCCER Core Training

• Trade-specific certifications

• Apprenticeship enrollment

For many low-income residents, the cost of obtaining these credentials can be a significant barrier.

If government can invest billions in construction projects, it should also invest in preparing local residents to participate in those projects.

Every major publicly subsidized development should include funding for workforce preparation, certification, apprenticeship placement, and employment support.

Reforming "Good Faith" Participation

Another challenge lies in how M/WBE participation goals are implemented.

Many public projects establish M/WBE participation targets, but compliance often depends upon demonstrating "good faith efforts" rather than achieving actual participation outcomes.

For community stakeholders, the distinction matters.

A contractor can document outreach efforts without necessarily delivering meaningful contract opportunities to qualified M/WBE firms.

New York has repeatedly acknowledged barriers facing M/WBEs, including complex procurement processes, exclusionary contract requirements, and difficulties accessing opportunities.

If public policy is serious about expanding economic opportunity, lawmakers should examine whether good-faith standards are producing measurable results or simply documenting attempted compliance.

The conversation should increasingly focus on actual dollars awarded, actual contracts issued, and actual firms growing as a result of public investment.

Community Benefits Must Mean Community Opportunity

Perhaps the most important reform is the expansion of meaningful Community Benefits Agreements (CBAs).

Too often developments arrive promising community benefits, only for residents to discover that most jobs, contracts, and economic opportunities flow elsewhere.

Communities should receive more than completed buildings.

They should receive pathways to careers.

For publicly supported projects, policymakers should consider requiring workforce development plans that include:

• Local recruitment efforts

• Pre-apprenticeship programs

• Funded certification training

• Apprentice utilization goals

• Community hiring benchmarks

• Reporting requirements for local participation

The objective is not to exclude outside talent.

The objective is to ensure that residents living next door to development projects have a fair opportunity to participate in the economic activity being created around them.

Building More Than Buildings

Successful development should be measured by more than square footage, tax revenue, or ribbon-cutting ceremonies.

It should also be measured by how many people gained access to middle-class careers, how many local businesses grew, and how much wealth remained within the communities where public and private investments were made.

America is investing billions to build its future.

The question policymakers must answer is whether the people living in our most economically challenged communities will simply watch that future being built, or whether they will be given the tools, credentials, and opportunities to help build it themselves.