Southeast Office
February 7, 2024
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
September 12, 2023
Opportunities exist! New research points to essential investments and policy reforms
Livonia, MI – The Citizens Research Council of Michigan today released reports addressing the Challenges and Opportunities of Michigan’s Environment, Infrastructure, and Climate Change, the fourth installment in a five-part research series, in partnership with Altarum, entitled Michigan’s Path to a Prosperous Future: Challenges and Opportunities. The series began in May 2023, by addressing Michigan’s population challenges and has since addressed a variety of statewide trends, from health outcomes to infrastructure quality, many of which are progressing unfavorably. The series points to actions that can be taken to support a more prosperous, thriving future in Michigan.
Efforts to attract residents from other states and countries are stymied in part by poorly maintained infrastructure, which is generally worse than national averages and surrounding states. Michigan’s infrastructure, environment, and the goal of adapting to a changing climate are inextricably linked and interdependent. Increasingly extreme weather events will place further stress on the state’s aging and inadequate infrastructure. The state’s poor infrastructure in turn creates environmental challenges, such as polluted water and flooding.
“In these most recent papers, we sought to provide an understanding of the challenges facing Michigan in order to help to develop fiscally sustainable solutions to rebuild and maintain infrastructure while protecting the environment and preparing for a changing climate,” said Eric Lupher, president of Citizens Research Council of Michigan.
The papers document the ways in which Michigan’s scarce infrastructure resources are stretched thin by the state’s embrace of suburban ‘sprawl’ style development in an era of marginal population growth. The need to address these shortcomings will increase in significance as climate change brings more severe weather events that threaten to overwhelm the infrastructure already in place.
“Our natural resources can play a key role in reshaping the state’s communities and economy for the future,” continued Lupher. “Public policies should emphasize sustainable development, environmental remediation, and protection to promote population health and wellbeing. We believe these are the kind of public policies that will retain current and attract new Michiganders to our workforce, schools and communities.”
As an example, the research noted that some Michigan neighborhoods, whose residents are predominantly communities of color, are subjected to emissions and pollution more than the rest of the state. “… none of these issues independently require regulatory remediation responses, but the culmination of pollutants imposes extremely detrimental consequences to people living in these neighborhoods. Such areas have been referred to as “sacrifice zones,” as the health and well-being of the residents have been sacrificed for perceived economic benefit.”
This directly threads back to the recently released paper on health, which detailed significant and persistent health disparities by race, with the premature death rate among Black Michiganders being nearly twice as high as white Michiganders.
Learn more about how policy makers, business leaders, and communities can develop solid public policy to change challenges into opportunities for Michigan’s environment, infrastructure, and climate change, ensuring a thriving, healthy Michigan for all here https://crcmich.org/publications/prosperous-future.
The last paper in the series will be released at the end of September, 2023.
The series was funded by Charles Stewart Mott Foundation, The Kresge Foundation, Ralph C. Wilson, Jr. Foundation, Hudson-Webber Foundation, Grand Rapids Community Foundation, W.K. Kellogg Foundation, Max M. and Marjorie S. Fisher Foundation, Michigan Health Endowment Fund, The Joyce Foundation, The Skillman Foundation, and the Ballmer Group.
MEDIA CONTACT
Maureen McNulty-Saxton
Citizens Research Council of Michigan
msaxton@crcmich.org; 517.899.5513
Founded in 1916, the Citizens Research Council of Michigan works to improve government in Michigan. The organization provides factual, unbiased, independent information concerning significant issues of state and local government organization, policy, and finance. By delivery of this information to policymakers and citizens, the Research Council aims to ensure sound and rational public policy formation in Michigan. For more information, visit www.crcmich.org.
Altarum is a nonprofit organization focused on improving the health of individuals with fewer financial resources and populations disenfranchised by the health care system. They work primarily on behalf of federal and state governments to design and implement solutions that achieve measurable results. Altarum combines their expertise in public health and health care delivery with technology development and implementation, practice transformation, training and technical assistance, quality improvement, data analytics, and applied research and evaluation. Altarum’s innovative solutions and proven processes lead to better value and health for all. For more information, visit www.altarum.org.
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