Transportation Infrastructure and Access

Economic and Social CouncilUnited Nations Development Programme

TopicTransportation Infrastructure and Access

As the UN’s “global development network,” the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) assists governments, civil society, and other stakeholders working together to “end poverty and reduce inequality, while protecting the planet and championing human rights.” From its headquarters in New York City, the UNDP promotes efforts to achieve the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). Transportation infrastructure and access are critical components to several of those goals. With more than one billion people living at least two kilometers from an all-weather road, and only half the world’s population having access to reliable public conveyance, transportation infrastructure and access are important issues for the UNDP.

Transportation infrastructure encompasses the physical systems that enable people and goods to move from one place to another, as well as the regulatory institutions and maintenance facilities needed to operate them. Safe, reliable, and sustainable transportation boosts economic growth, which helps reduce poverty. It also improves human flourishing by allowing people to obtain goods and services more efficiently. For this reason, improving access to sustainable transportation is an essential component of global development, which the UN formally recognized at the 1992 Earth Summit in Rio de Janeiro.

The UNDP is not a construction company. It has no capacity to build roads, railway networks, ports, or other transportation infrastructure. Nor is it a bank that can just allocate money as it sees fit. It can, however, bring together parties with the resources necessary to expand access to sustainable transportation. Useful policies will call attention to the problem. Delegates should think of ways to promote environmentally sustainable transportation options in line with the SDGs. Efforts should extend beyond traditional infrastructure to encompass informal modes of transport, thereby meeting people where they are. The challenges to expanding access to sustainable transportation are large, but so are the possibilities for progress. Well-prepared delegates will have ideas about how to measure that progress in order to set meaningful targets.

Focus Questions:

1. Should countries prioritize projects that support international trade or those that meet local community needs?
2. How will proposed solutions serve marginalized communities?
3. What safeguards exist to prevent corruption or politically motivated construction projects?
4. How will maintenance funding work over the medium to long term?

Useful Links:

The UN Decade of Sustainable Transport 2026 – 2035
https://sdgs.un.org/un-decade-sustainable-transport-2026-2035

A Closer Look at Informal (Popular) Transportation: An Emerging Portrait
https://www.undp.org/acceleratorlabs/publications/closer-look-informal-popular-transportation-emerging-portrait

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