Los Angeles invests hundreds of millions of dollars each year in sidewalks, streets, trees, access ramps, bus stops, lighting, and other public infrastructure.
Yet Los Angeles remains the only major U.S. city without a comprehensive Capital Infrastructure Plan.
That matters because infrastructure decisions shape daily life. They determine whether sidewalks are accessible, bus stops are comfortable, streets are safe, and neighborhoods receive the investments they need.
The Government Finance Officers Association recommends that cities adopt multi-year capital plans to guide infrastructure investments, establish priorities, coordinate funding, and account for future maintenance needs. Most major cities already do this.
Los Angeles does not.
As a result, infrastructure investments are often managed across multiple departments, programs, and funding sources without a single public framework that connects priorities, projects, budgets, and outcomes.
This creates a fundamental challenge.
How much funding is available for infrastructure improvements?
What projects are being prioritized?
How are decisions being made?
How do investments align with the City’s goals for safety, equity, accessibility, and mobility?
And perhaps most importantly: How do we know whether we’re making progress?
In recent years, Los Angeles has dedicated hundreds of millions of local dollars to transportation and public works projects. Yet there is still no comprehensive, publicly accessible plan that shows where investments are being made, how priorities are established, or how decisions connect to broader city goals.
The issue is not a lack of funding.
The issue is a lack of coordination and long-term planning.
A Capital Infrastructure Plan would provide a framework for understanding infrastructure needs, establishing priorities, coordinating investments across departments, and improving transparency for policymakers and the public.
It would also help the City address a larger question:
What kind of public realm are we trying to build?
Before Los Angeles can make strategic decisions about infrastructure, it needs a shared vision and a clear understanding of the assets it manages, the investments required, and the outcomes it hopes to achieve.
This conversation is about more than budgets.
It is about whether Los Angeles can create a system that delivers safer streets, accessible sidewalks, healthier neighborhoods, and better public spaces over the long term.
The City has an opportunity to move in that direction.
But first, it needs a plan.
