OHM Advisors President Jon Kramer Talks DEI in Infrastructure in Crain's Cleveland Business Op-Ed

In a March 20 opinion editorial for Crain’s Cleveland Business, OHM Advisors President Jon Kramer discusses how new federal infrastructure funding could help reverse some of the harm that historical infrastructure projects caused to disadvantaged and impoverished U.S. communities. He states that the Reconnection Communities program will “remove or repurpose infrastructure barriers,” allocating at least $1 billion to help reconnect cities and neighborhoods segregated by built projects.

Specifically, he suggests that:   

• In big cities in the Midwest, including Cleveland and Detroit, some previous federal infrastructure investment excluded certain communities, resulted in systemic disinvestment, and cut neighborhoods off from downtowns and suburbanization trends
• Projects like the One Cleveland initiative and the Vision for the Valley plan for Cleveland’s riverfront are opportunities to build a healthier, more equitable and more sustainable future by scrapping long-held racial biases around connectivity, mobility and equal access
• It will take funds from the bipartisan infrastructure bill in addition to a concerted effort at all levels to help advance equality around the built environment and deliver real impact

Read the full article in CRAIN’S CLEVELAND BUSINESS