The world’s urban population is expected to increase 60% in the next 30 years, and it would behoove municipal leaders to start planning for that now. Many municipalities are currently grappling with the challenge of maintaining infrastructure and an acceptable … Continue reading →
When snow flies and ice builds up on roads, will you be ready? Response time, safety and a sufficient supply of salt and sand is critical for winter road maintenance. “The facility where salt, sand and equipment is stored … 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 →
The city seal of Chandler, Ariz., adopted Feb. 8, 1994, is simple enough, but it symbolizes three major components of the city’s heritage: the San Tan Mountains, an irrigated agricultural field and a silhouette of an industrial plant. Overarching the … Continue reading →
Many progressive municipalities, like Waterbury, Conn., are giving renewed life to previously industrial brownfields, turning them into brightfields or cleaned up spaces that residents want to visit. These often toxic barren grounds all over the nation are home to decaying, … Continue reading →
Dodge City, Kan., may be small, but it has a mighty renewable energy program that rivals those in larger cities. This former frontier town’s population sits at 27,700, with most of its economic base rooted in the two beef … Continue reading →
It is the rare and special dreamer who can scan the choppy waters of a mile-long strait in San Francisco and say, “We can build a bridge over that.” Or to peer at a mountain range and envision an asphalt … Continue reading →
When it comes to funding municipal solid waste services, two types of accounts appear to be the most common throughout most of the United States: an enterprise fund account or general fund account. Whichever account a city or county … Continue reading →
As may be the case in many agriculture-heavy states, the water quality across the state of Iowa is being affected by agricultural runoff, releasing nitrates and phosphates in lakes, river, streams and groundwater. Although it is a statewide problem, … Continue reading →
Ask any city mayor and they’ll tell you that the most diabolical enemy of their citizens is a pothole. While a small portion of a mayor’s job, road upkeep impacts how constituents perceive their quality of life — the fewer … Continue reading →
Art can create and transform a city’s identity or revive it by drawing in the eyes of visitors. It gives residents a sense of home and culture that is unique to them and memorable to others. It can solve issues … Continue reading →
