Most countries are underinvesting in their efforts to deal with expected population increases and climate stresses, producing an annual global shortfall of US$350B in global infrastructure spending. With limited budgets, cities will need to ensure that their development strategies and investment decisions enhance both economic and social resilience. In many global cities, priority projects and programs have already been identified; yet, these plans have not attracted the capital required to meet funding needs.

Given the funding gap, the Milken Institute, in collaboration with AECOM, is examining opportunities to make more effective use of public and private capital for the financing of resiliency projects. The collaboration kicked off with the Institute convening a Financial Innovations Lab on July 31, 2018 to examine the remodel of Los Angeles Union Station (LAUS) in a city that ranks worst among major global cities for peak hours spent in congestion. The project, Link US, will transform LAUS from a stub-ended track terminal to a world-class multimodal station.

The Lab used Link US as a case study to brainstorm innovative ways to make more effective use of public capital and attract increased private financing to transformational infrastructure projects across the city and state. The workshop brought together policymakers, technical experts, and finance professionals to generate market-based solutions and public policy recommendations in support of accelerating this transformational project.