The U.S. Department of Transportation is pouring $23.6 million into 112 communities nationwide, with Arlington securing a slice of the pie to rejuvenate its East Arlington neighborhood. This windfall, a piece of the President’s Bipartisan Infrastructure Law, aims to give these areas the boost they need to kickstart their local economies, enhance health and environmental conditions, and upgrade transportation for better access to life's essentials.

Under the Thriving Communities Program, which announced the grant details, Arlington will roll up its sleeves alongside East Arlington Renewal and St. Matthew Catholic Church. They're crafting a master plan set to tackle the lack of healthy food options, the scarcity of affordable housing, and dismal job prospects while also trying to improve transportation and access to health care and schools. Alicia Winkelblech, the Transportation Director who's been hard at work to gather input from Arlington's patchwork of cultures and economic backgrounds, told the City of Arlington, Texas how much finding common ground on a plan for the future matters. "A key goal will be to bring together additional community stakeholders using the existing relationship between the City and the key community partners to strengthen communication, build additional capacity, and develop a holistic vision for the area," she explained.

The City has a track record of successful partnerships in East Arlington that bodes well for this comprehensive endeavor. East Arlington Renewal has been at the forefront of the area's beautification since the 1980s, while St. Matthew Catholic Church has been a hub for community outreach, offering services in both English and Spanish.

The Departments of Transportation's Thriving Communities Program Capacity Builders, deploying a range of tools from grant writing to small business and workforce development, is poised to provide project-level assistance breaking new ground for Arlington. President Biden's infrastructure laws heralded as a game-changer for American communities, have been well-received, with U.S. Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg noting in a statement, "Our department is proud to help another 112 under-resourced communities with hands-on assistance to secure federal infrastructure funding, and then deliver those projects well." This federal helping hand is breaking through to communities like East Arlington, offering a vow of progress and the means to grasp it tightly, as per the City of Arlington, Texas.

For Arlington, the ultimate goal is to not simply make use of the funding and support to improve East Arlington but to use it as a springboard. Once the blueprint from this grant is in place, the city plans to replicate the success elsewhere, expanding well beyond a single neighborhood. It's the kind of forward-thinking that could change the lives of Arlington residents for good, a template for renewal that, in time, could be Arlington's gift to cities nationwide.