Some cities are said to have streets paved with gold — these cities have “green streets.” City officials in Monona, Iowa, and Shawnee, Kan., were happy to share the pros and cons of having green street projects in their cities. Monona completed … Continue reading →
His family called him “Al.” His teachers called him “too stupid to learn anything.” But through a lifetime of stratospheric curiosity, unrelenting inventiveness and an unrivaled work ethic, Thomas Alva Edison has earned the invariable honorific uttered even now across … Continue reading →
Throughout the country, municipal public works departments have found themselves doing more than just wearing masks and social distancing to keep their operations running during the COVID-19 pandemic. Whether the city has two public works employees or 200 the last … Continue reading →
Today more cities are investing in their downtowns than ever before by completing a variety of streetscape and placemaking projects. While these updates generate a visually pleasing place to visit, cities shouldn’t discount adding background music when crafting the perfect … Continue reading →
Tom Sanders said one of the things he enjoys most about being the director of public works for the city of Moberly, Mo., is the diversity his job brings. “I run across something different every day,” he said. “A large … Continue reading →
With heavy rainfalls a normal part of life in the Pacific Northwest, one of Washington’s largest cities recently completed a roughly $190 million project to protect the health of its river. As part of an initiative to clean the Spokane … Continue reading →
With water in the Great Lakes at or near record levels and rainfall in the Midwest well above normal this winter, it’s not surprising that cities around the region are facing erosion issues on lake shores and riverbanks. According … Continue reading →
For decades, the public works department in the city of Lancaster, Pa., has been held back by having too many of its bureaus located under multiple roofs. This prevented effective communication between the bureaus from taking place, but that’s recently … Continue reading →
When Bloomington, Ill., Public Works Director Jim Karch watches his pennies for a whole year, he saves on average $250,000. But it’s not really his money; it belongs to Bloomington because Karch, PE, MPA, oversaw a successful merger of the … Continue reading →
There is a mountain of misinformation circulating about fifth-generation wireless technology, or 5G. You may have heard the scary things people pick up on the internet. Some of that surfaced in The Municipal‘s December 2018 guest column, “What municipal managers … Continue reading →
It’s no secret that Savannah, Ga., is known for its tree tourism. In fact, approximately 14 million people descend on the low-lying, southern city each year to take in the area’s historic architecture and glorious tree canopy. However, what most … Continue reading →
