Infrastructure Commons^™

Scheduled Coal Plant Retirements In The Mountain West, 2022-2031, Kerima Awol, Sophia Booth, Ty Tan, Caitlin J. Saladino, William E. Brown Jr.

Environment

This fact sheet presents data on publicly announced coal-fired power plant retirements in five Mountain West states: Arizona, Colorado, Nevada, New Mexico, and Utah, between 2022 and 2031. The Visual Capitalist’s 2021 report, “Road to Decarbonization: U.S. Coal Plant Closures,” includes information on the location, retirement year, and electricity generation capacity of coal-fired power plants scheduled for retirement across the United States.

Commute Times And Remote Workers In Mountain West Cities, 2019-2023, Maisoon Faris, Mia Tschan, Caitlin J. Saladino, William E. Brown Jr.

Transportation & Infrastructure

This fact sheet presents 2019 to 2023 data on city-wide travel times, the number of remote workers, and the amount of time lost and saved by commuters across seven Mountain West cities: Mesa, AZ; Phoenix, AZ; Tucson, AZ; Colorado Springs, CO; Denver, CO; Las Vegas, NV; and Albuquerque, NM. The data are derived from the 2025 Yardi Kube report, “Back on the Road: U.S. Commutes Increase Amid a Hybrid Work Era,”  which includes commute time and remote worker data for the 50 largest cities across the United States. The year 2022 is used as a base comparison to show changes …

People Who Moved In The Mountain West, 2024, Anthony Arroyo, Sydney Mitchell, Maisoon Faris, Olivia K. Cheche, Caitlin J. Saladino, William E. Brown Jr.

Cities & Metros

This fact sheet presents 2024 data on state and city-level mobility rates across the Mountain West states of Arizona, Colorado, Nevada, New Mexico, and Utah. Point2Homes’ “Mobility Rates Reach Record Low: In 2024, Americans Moved Less Than Ever” report provides data on mobility rates within states, as well as the rate of new residents moving into states and cities across the U.S. This fact sheet highlights mobility rates within Mountain West states, the rate of new residents moving into Mountain West states, and the rate of new residents moving into 63 Mountain West cities. This fact sheet also includes national …

Data Centers In Mountain West Markets, 2026, Cason Noll, Krish Sharma, Maisoon Faris, Olivia K. Cheche, Caitlin J. Saladino, William E. Brown Jr.

Transportation & Infrastructure

This fact sheet reports on the distribution and geographic concentration of data centers across the Mountain West states of Arizona, Colorado, Nevada, New Mexico and Utah as of March 6th, 2026. Using data from DataCenterMap, this fact sheet examines the number of data centers in each Mountain West state and further analyzes market-level  distribution, defined as cities within each state where data centers are located. The data are used to compare state totals and to rank Mountain West markets from highest to lowest based on the number of data centers operating in that area.

Understanding Film Tax Credits In Nevada And Nationally, Michael J. Brown, David F. Damore, William E. Brown Jr.

Policy Briefs and Reports

This policy primer provides an overview of Nevada’s transferable tax credit program for film and other productions and reviews articles, reports, audits, and studies of film tax credits as a tool for economic development in the United States. This review considers a significant body of work analyzing the use of film tax credits in support of economic development. Studies and state audits often show that because film tax credits do not create the number and quality of full-time jobs necessary to merit their costs and do little to stimulate other related industries, they are a poor financial choice for state …

U.S. Water Infrastructure: Diving Into Needs And Recent Policy Developments, Joseph Kane

Brookings Scholar Lecture Series

As part of the Brookings Scholar Lecture Series, Brookings Mountain West presents a lecture titled, "U.S. Water Infrastructure: Diving Into Needs and Recent Policy Developments" by Brookings fellow in Brookings Metro, Joseph Kane. Whether providing drinking water, treating wastewater, or managing stormwater, water infrastructure in the United States spans a wide range of human-made and natural systems. In turn, the enormous scale and variety of these systems is leading to an array of challenges: aging and vulnerable infrastructure; fragmented governance and siloed planning across different geographies; a lack of financial, technical, and managerial capacity; difficulties adapting to new industrial and …

Urban Heat Islands In Mountain West Cities, 2024, Mia Tschan, Krish Sharma, Olivia K. Cheche, William E. Brown Jr.

Environment

This fact sheet presents data on Urban Heat Islands (UHIs) in six cities across five Mountain West states: Arizona, Colorado, Nevada, New Mexico, and Utah. The data are derived from the 2024 Climate Central report, “Urban Heat Hot Spots in 65 Cities,” which includes data on how UHIs boost temperatures in 65 major cities across the United States. This fact sheet focuses on UHIs in six Mountain West cities: Albuquerque, NM; Denver, CO; Las Vegas, NV; Phoenix, AZ; Salt Lake City, UT; and Tucson, AZ.

Federal Funding In The Mountain West, 2021-2024, Isabelle G. Graham, Olivia K. Cheche, Caitlin J. Saladino, William E. Brown Jr.

Elections & Governance

This fact sheet presents data on the number of federal funding awards granted to the five Mountain West states of Arizona, Colorado, Nevada, New Mexico, and Utah between 2021 and 2024. These awards include investments authorized under major federal legislation such as the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA), CHIPS and Science Act, and Bipartisan Infrastructure Law (BIL), among other programs tracked by Invest.gov. The One Big Beautiful Bill Act (OBBBA) will see funding for these programs sunsetted (terminated as the above legislation expires).

New Building Permits In The Mountain West, 2024, Taylor Volk, Mohit Pande, Kristian Thymianos, Caitlin J. Saladino, William E. Brown Jr.

Housing & Real Estate

This fact sheet examines data on new build permits from January 2023 to January 2024 in the five Mountain West States of Arizona, Colorado, Nevada, New Mexico, and Utah.“New Home Construction Statistics,” published by This Old House, reported percent changes on new builder permits and construction manufacturing costs and statistics across all 50 states.

Home Values Vs. Homelessness In Mountain West Metros, 2023, Maryam Raja, Caitlin J. Saladino, William E. Brown Jr.

Housing & Real Estate

This fact sheet presents data from Home Values vs. Homelessness in the U.S.: A Concerning Connection (2023 Data), a report by Home Bay. The data includes information on both home values and homelessness rates while also providing national rankings for rent price and homeless rate, which are used here to compare the following Mountain West metros: Las Vegas, NV; Denver, CO; Salt Lake City, UT; and Phoenix, AZ.

Best Metros For Manufacturing In The Mountain West, 2024, Taylor Volk, Sean Curry, Mohit Pande, Anirudh Polagani, Kristian Thymianos, Caitlin J. Saladino, William E. Brown Jr.

Transportation & Infrastructure

This fact sheet examines data on the top U.S. metros for manufacturing across four Mountain West states (Arizona, Colorado, Utah, and Nevada). The original report, titled “Best Metros for Manufacturing in the U.S.” by Commercial Search includes data on the top 100 U.S. metros for manufacturing.

Extremely Low-Income Renter Households In The Mountain West, 2023, Anthony Arroyo, Yiselle Olivas Ruiz, Mia Tschan, Caitlin J. Saladino, William E. Brown Jr.

Housing & Real Estate

This fact sheet examines data from the 2025 National Low Income Housing Coalition (NLIHC) report, “The Gap: A Shortage of Affordable Rental Homes,” which reported annual rental housing shortages in the United States. This fact sheet focuses on the number of extremely low-income renter households, affordable and available rental homes, and associated cost burdens in the five Mountain West states of Arizona, Colorado, Nevada, New Mexico, and Utah.

Nevada’S Predictable Housing Train Wreck And What To Do About It, Arthur C. Nelson

Policy Briefs and Reports

Nevada is on the cusp of a housing catastrophe, especially in Southern Nevada.

Consider that the state has fewer households than it should. A household is defined as one or more people who have a home of their own. But for price, location, configuration, and other factors, about 60,000 households in Nevada do not exist because there is no home for them. And it’s going to get worse. Including these “missing households,” nearly 470,000 new occupied homes will need to be built between 2020 and 2040 to meet the housing needs of all Nevadans, or about 23,000 per year. The …

Nevada’S Housing Policy Landscape: Data, Analysis, And Policy Solutions, Brookings Mountain West, Lied Center For Real Estate

Brookings Mountain West Special Events

From rising rents to high interest rates to limited supply, housing policy is a central issue in the 2024 elections. Brookings Mountain West, in partnership with UNLV’s Lied Center for Real Estate, hosted a community forum examining the local, state, and federal impacts of Nevada’s housing challenges. New research presented at the forum offer insights into the demographic and economic dynamics of individuals and families navigating Nevada's turbulent housing market, assess trends in home ownership, and evaluate barriers preventing Nevadans from accessing the housing market.

State Transportation Policy & Funding In The Mountain West, 2023, Zachary Billot, Caitlin J. Saladino, William E. Brown Jr.

Transportation & Infrastructure

This fact sheet analyzes transportation policy, planning, and investment data as detailed in the report “Getting Transportation Right: Ranking the States in Light of New Federal Funding” by the National Resources Defense Council (NRDC). Five Mountain West States: Arizona, Colorado, Nevada, New Mexico, and Utah are included in this fact sheet, with data reported as of February 2023.

American Rescue Plan Act (Arpa) Local Government Investments In Nevada, Sean Curry, Madison Dwyer, Caitlin J. Saladino, William E. Brown Jr.

Economic Development & Workforce

This fact sheet examines data from the Brooking Institution’s Local Government ARPA Investment Tracker, an online database that tracks the spending of American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) State and Local Fiscal Recovery Fund dollars at the local government level. This fact sheet examines ARPA spending data from six Nevadan cities and counties: Washoe, NV; City of North Las Vegas, NV; City of Las Vegas, NV; City of Reno NV; City of Henderson, NV; and Clark County, NV.

Risk Of Climate Damage In The Mountain West, 2024, Taylor Volk, Isabelle G. Graham, Ivan Sun, Zachary Billot, Caitlin J. Saladino, William E. Brown Jr.

Environment

This fact sheet examines 2024 data on the estimated annual cost per person of damage to infrastructure, agriculture, and population from climate related disasters for the five Mountain West states of Arizona, Colorado, Nevada, New Mexico, and Utah. The original report, “States at Greatest Risk of Climate Damage - 2024 Study,” by Jaclyn DeJohn and published by SmartAsset, includes data on climate disaster risk for all 50 states.

Southern Nevada Regional Industrial Study, Brookings Mountain West, Center For Business And Economic Research, Transportation Research Center

Policy Briefs and Reports

Recognizing the ongoing need to diversify the Southern Nevada economy, in 2023 GOED commissioned Brookings Mountain West, the UNLV Center for Business and Economic Research, and the UNLV Transportation Research Center to evaluate how Southern Nevada can leverage its geography and connectivity to neighboring states and metros at the megapolitan level to pursue industrial opportunities in the face of shifting global supply chains, diminishing developable land, the need for efficient management of the regional water supply, and the availability of unprecedented federal resources to support clean energy development, manufacturing, electrification of transportation systems, and supply-chain resiliency.

The study builds on …

Broadband Equity, Access, And Deployment In Nevada, Brad Wimmer

Policy Briefs and Reports

The $45.45 billion Broadband, Equity, Access, and Deployment (BEAD) program’s primary objective is to extend broadband service to all unserved and underserved locations in the U.S. and its territories. Several industry studies predict that the BEAD program can meet its goal of providing universal access to broadband service if eligible entities execute their grant programs well. My review of the BEAD program indicates that policy makers can enhance the likelihood of program success by designing competitive grant programs that give applicants the incentive to undercut the subsidies proposed by their rivals and provide applicants the flexibility to design networks that …

Cutting Edge Technology Metros In The Mountain West, 2021, Sofia Takhtadjian, Elia Del Carmen Solano-Patricio, Caitlin J. Saladino, William E. Brown Jr.

Economic Development & Workforce

This fact sheet highlights data on cutting-edge technology metros in the Mountain West, as originally reported in the Commercial Cafe report, “Boulder Tops Silicon Valley as Most Cutting-Edge Metro in the U.S.” Of the top 30 cutting-edge metros in the nation, four are in the Mountain West: Boulder, CO (1st nationally); Denver, CO (7th nationally); Salt Lake City, UT (10th nationally); and Phoenix, AZ (27th nationally).

Long-Term Wildfire Reconstruction: In Need Of Focused And Dedicated Pre-Planning Efforts, William S. Harris, Jin Ouk Choi, Jaewon Lim, Yong-Cheol Lee

Civil and Environmental Engineering and Construction Faculty Research

Wildfire disasters in the United States impact lives and livelihoods by destroying private homes, businesses, community facilities, and infrastructure. Disaster victims suffer from damaged houses, inadequate shelters, inoperable civil infrastructure, and homelessness coupled with longterm recovery and reconstruction processes. Cities and their neighboring communities require an enormous commitment for a full recovery for as long as disaster recovery processes last. State, county, and municipal governments inherently have the responsibility to establish and provide governance and public services for the benefit and well being of community members. Municipal governments’ comprehensive and emergency response plans are the artifacts of planning efforts that …

Electric Vehicle (Ev) Infrastructure In The Mountain West, 2020-2021, Olivia K. Cheche, Caitlin J. Saladino, William E. Brown Jr.

Transportation & Infrastructure

This fact sheet highlights data on electric vehicles (EVs) and EV charging stations, as originally reported by Zutobi in The 2022 EV Charging Station Report. This report examines the presence of EV infrastructure across the United States. The Mountain West states of Arizona, Colorado, Nevada, New Mexico, and Utah are considered here.

The Rise Of Southern Nevada As A Cluster For Metropolitan Transit Technology Innovations, Arthur C. Nelson

Policy Briefs and Reports

Southern Nevada is emerging as the nation’s leader in private sector-driven innovations in transportation technologies. From the humble beginnings of a monorail system serving a portion of major hotel and gaming venues along the Las Vegas Strip, now supplemented by an array of people movers, Southern Nevada continues to attract transit innovations in tunneling, Hyperloop, and driverless vehicle delivery technologies. The region may soon anchor a high-speed rail system connecting Southern Nevada to Los Angeles. The purpose of this briefing paper is to frame the nature of this emerging transportation cluster and the opportunities this creates for Southern Nevada to …

Dirtiest Cities In The Mountain West, 2021, Olivia K. Cheche, Kristian Thymianos, William E. Brown Jr., Caitlin J. Saladino

Environment

This fact sheet presents rankings of the dirtiest cities in the Mountain West, as originally reported by LawnStarter in “2021’s Dirtiest Cities in the U.S.” The original report examines various measures for 200 major U.S. cities. Twenty-five Mountain West cities are included in the original report and are showcased here.

Interstate 11: The Road To Prosperity In Nevada, Arthur C. Nelson

Policy Briefs and Reports

Interstate 11 (I-11) offers Nevada a unique opportunity to advance the economic development prospects of one of the state’s most economically challenged areas: Elko and eastern Nevada. Although the state used a qualitative system to choose a western route for I-11, this process may not have considered fully the costs of extending I-11 to Canada in a cost-effective manner or in a manner consistent with I-11 purposes, especially avoiding congested areas. This briefing report reviews the history and purposes of I-11; summarizes the I-11 route options; considers how I-11 might extend to Canada in a way that is consistent with …

Building Health Equity One Institution At A Time: The Research Infrastructure In Minority Institutions Project, Laura H. D'Anna, Dennis G. Fisher, Lyka Eunice F. Trinidad, Carol Canjura, Jefferson L. Wood

Journal of Health Disparities Research and Practice

Developing a well-trained workforce interested in, and prepared for, conducting health equity research is an important national priority. Scientists from Minority-Serving Institutions (MSIs) bring unique perspectives and experiences with racial, ethnic and social inequities in health and health status but often lack access to training and mentoring opportunities, which is crucial for increasing the diverse pool of investigators who are adequately prepared to conduct health disparities research and to compete for National Institutes of Health research funding. The focus of the California State University, Long Beach (CSULB) Research Infrastructure in Minority Institutions (RIMI) Project was to: (a) enhance CSULB’s infrastructure …

City Of North Las Vegas Complete Streets Corridor Ranking Study Evaluation, Yasmin Dixon, Brianna Lawrence, Sarah Saenz, Imari Thompson

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

A Complete Street is a corridor that is accessible by all users and modes of transportation; it promotes livability and economic vitality in the surrounding community, and is a new approach to improving transportation networks. Prior to the implementation of Complete Streets projects, cities conduct corridor ranking studies to determine potential project locations. The City of North Las Vegas Planning Department (CNLV) is currently working on a corridor ranking study in partnership with the Regional Transportation Commission (RTC) and an external consulting group, Atkins International (Atkins). This is the first Complete Streets planning study for the City of North Las …

Advancing Southern Nevada’S Regional Priorities: Overview Of The 77th Session Of The Nevada Legislature, David F. Damore

Brookings Mountain West Publications

On January 10, 2013 the elected leadership of Southern Nevada met to discuss the region’s governance, K--‐12, higher education, infrastructure, economic development, and health care needs. From that bipartisan discussion emerged policy priorities for the 77^th Session of the Nevada Legislature. This report examines the degree to which the region’s elected senators and assembly members advanced these priorities and represented the interests of Southern Nevada in state government.

Owners’ Satisfaction Level With The Use Of Alternative Project Delivery Methods In Water And Wastewater Infrastructures, Pramen Shrestha, Jacimaria R. Batista

College of Engineering: Graduate Celebration Programs

In 2013, the American Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE) Report Card for America’s Infra-structure stated that the US needs up to $1.3 trillion in capital investments to replace the aging water pipes and repair the wastewater infrastructures. It is further believed by the industry that the streamlined approach of alternative project delivery methods, such as Design-Build (DB), and Construction Manager At-Risk (CMAR) helps ensure the economical and timely design and construction of the water and wastewater infrastructures.

Statistical Modeling Of A Vehicle Miles Traveled Fee For Nevada, Andrew Nordland, Alexander Paz

College of Engineering: Graduate Celebration Programs

Objective:

• Develop a model to estimate the effects of a change in road pricing for Nevada, specifically when adopting a Vehicle Miles Traveled (VMT) Fee to replace the current fuel tax

• Analyze the model with:

• Current State Fuel Tax

• Two ‘Revenue Neutral’ VMT Fees (Includes all State and Federal Taxes)