The US has a rich history of innovative infrastructure, but declining public investment has led to a backlog of repair work and decreased global rankings. OECD’s Courtenay Wheeler, Justin Chen, and Yugo Kimura explore.
Courtenay Wheeler
Courtenay WHEELER is the Coordinator of the Subnational Infrastructure Programme at the OECD's Centre for Entrepreneurship, SMEs, Regions and Cities. At the OECD, he leads research on infrastructure funding and financing, effective public investment, adapting infrastructure to megatrends, subnational government finance, regional development policy and inclusive infrastructure. This has included two reports endorsed by G20 Leaders: Financing Cities of Tomorrow and the G20-OECD Policy Toolkit to Mobilise Funding and Financing for Inclusive and Quality Infrastructure Investment in Regions and Cities.
Prior to joining the OECD, Courtenay worked in the infrastructure sector in Australia as a senior adviser in a state government, an infrastructure consultant and engineer. His experience covers key parts of the sector, including policy, governance, project appraisal, procurement, major projects, planning, engineering, finance, construction management and project management. He has a Bachelor of Environmental Engineering from the University of Melbourne, a Masters of Business Administration from HEC Paris and a Master of Public Affairs from SciencesPo.
Infrastructure: laying the foundations for the recovery
Infrastructure investment can transform prospects for regions and cities. It can reduce digital divides, connect people, firms and places, and put us on track for a carbon-neutral future.