Los Angeles has spent years trying to improve how it plans, funds, and manages public infrastructure.
Reports have been commissioned. Working groups have been created. Equity initiatives have been launched. Coordination efforts have been introduced. Yet despite these efforts, Los Angeles remains the only major U.S. city without a comprehensive Capital Infrastructure Program (CIP).
Why?
Because many of these efforts have addressed individual pieces of the problem rather than the system as a whole.
A Capital Infrastructure Program is more than a list of projects. It is a long-term framework that helps a city understand its assets, establish priorities, coordinate investments, align funding, and communicate decisions to the public.
Over the past two decades, Los Angeles has repeatedly identified the need for better infrastructure planning and coordination. The timeline below highlights some of the key milestones.
A Timeline of Infrastructure Planning in Los Angeles
2005
City Council adopts a policy target of investing 1% of General Fund revenues in capital and infrastructure improvements.
2008
The City stops publishing key capital planning documents that previously provided a centralized view of infrastructure projects and investments.
2011
The Street and Transportation Projects Oversight Committee (STPOC) is established to improve project delivery and coordination.
2013
City Council directs staff to develop a comprehensive Capital Infrastructure Strategic Plan.
2015
The City adopts Mobility Plan 2035, establishing a long-term transportation vision but without a corresponding implementation, funding, or prioritization framework.
2017
The FUSE report, Evaluation of the State of Street Infrastructure Programs in Los Angeles, identifies fragmentation in decision-making, the need for asset management, and the need to reinstitute a citywide capital planning process.
2019
LADOT adopts the Mobility Investment Program (MIP) to improve project delivery and prioritize transportation investments.
2020
The City revives its Capital and Technology Improvement Expenditure Program after more than a decade and adopts social equity as a budget priority.
2021
City Council advances a motion calling for a Capital Infrastructure Program focused on equitable investment and addressing infrastructure deficits.
The Board of Public Works also adopts Public Right-of-Way Protocols establishing safety, climate action, and equity as guiding principles for infrastructure work.
2022
The City advances several efforts related to infrastructure coordination, project delivery, and equity, including the Infrastructure Equity Scorecard Pilot and new interdepartmental coordination agreements.
At the same time, Healthy Streets LA qualifies for the ballot, raising broader questions about how Los Angeles plans and delivers infrastructure improvements.
What the Timeline Reveals
Looking across these efforts, a consistent theme emerges.
Los Angeles has repeatedly identified the need for:
- Better coordination
- Stronger asset management
- Clearer priorities
- More equitable investment
- Greater transparency
- Long-term planning
What the City still lacks is a comprehensive framework that brings these elements together.
A Capital Infrastructure Program provides that opportunity.
To build one, Los Angeles needs five foundational pieces:
- A shared vision for the future of the public right-of-way.
- A comprehensive inventory of public assets.
- Meaningful public engagement.
- A clear approach to prioritization and equity.
- A transparent accounting of projects, funding, timelines, and outcomes.
The challenge facing Los Angeles is not a lack of studies, committees, or recommendations.
The challenge is turning decades of recommendations into a system.
That is the work ahead.
