U.S. President Barack Obama said in his State of the Union address on Tuesday that America would have to work harder to catch up with new urban infrastructure and advances in Europe and China.

“Our infrastructure used to be the best – but our lead has slipped. South Korean homes now have greater internet access than we do. Countries in Europe and Russia invest more in their roads and railways than we do. China is building faster trains and newer airports. Meanwhile, when our own engineers graded our nation's infrastructure, they gave us a ‘D’,” he said. “We have to do better. America is the nation that built the transcontinental railroad, brought electricity to rural communities, and constructed the interstate highway system.”

He said that although the economy is growing again, more had to be done. He called for a job-creating “Sputnik moment” fed by new spending in research and education like the 1950s space race unleashed when the Soviets launched the Sputnik satellite.

"Yes, the world has changed," he said. "The competition for jobs is real. But this shouldn't discourage us. It should challenge us."

He said that countries like China and India realized that with some changes of their own, they could compete in this new world. “And so they started educating their children earlier and longer, with greater emphasis on math and science,” he said. “They're investing in research and new technologies. Just recently, China became home to the world's largest private solar research facility, and the world's fastest computer.”

In South Korea, teachers are known as “nation builders.” “Here in America, it's time we treated the people who educate our children with the same level of respect. We want to reward good teachers and stop making excuses for bad ones.”

To attract new businesses to American shores, he added: “We need the fastest, most reliable ways to move people, goods, and information – from high-speed rail to high-speed internet. The jobs created by these projects didn't just come from laying down tracks or pavement. They came from businesses that opened near a town's new train station or the new off-ramp.”

He added that within 25 years, his goal is to give 80% of Americans access to high-speed rail, which could allow one to go places in half the time it takes to travel by car. For some trips, it will be faster than flying. Such routes in California and the Midwest are already underway, he said.

In October 2009, President Obama and his Housing and Urban Development Secretary Shaun Donovan paid tribute to the work of UN-HABITAT when Washington hosted the global celebration of World Habitat Day. For details: http://www.unhabitat.org/categories.asp?catid=588