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 →
Chief Opie Smith Jr. of the Charleston, W.Va., Police Department recalls early in his career the encounters he had with hearing-impaired citizens. “The only way I had of communicating with them was through handwritten notes,” said Smith. “Obviously communication … Continue reading →
The most prevalent commodity shared by human beings is the air we breathe. Unfortunately, especially in municipalities to varying degrees, that air is not always clean. The stakes are dire. According to www.healthaffairs.org, air pollution contributed to 6.1 million deaths … 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 →
The city of Montgomery, Ala., has recently been recognized for its technological advances in becoming a smart city. It began with a collaboration and consultation between technology advocate and entrepreneur Boyd Stephens and Mayor Todd Strange. Their goal was to … Continue reading →
For the past few years, Northampton, Mass., has explored community choice aggregation with the desire to use any energy savings from such an approach to fund clean energy projects. This will allow the town of about 30,000 people to band … Continue reading →
In August 2017 a catastrophic Hurricane Harvey left his calling card with the good people of Houston and southeast Texas who hadn’t invited him in the first place. The Category 4 high winds — 130 mph — and a … 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 →
With China no longer importing plastic from the U.S. and environmental awareness spreading, states are experimenting with ideas to cut down on the garbage piling up. Last year the U.N. Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change warned the rest of … Continue reading →
According to data from the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety, as of April 2019, 388 communities across the U.S. and the District of Columbia use red light cameras for traffic enforcement, but that doesn’t mean the practice is spreading nationwide … Continue reading →
With the growing trend of greener, healthier living and self-sustainability, backyard mini farms are becoming much more popular. While those living in urban settings are finding new, creative ways to grow fruit, vegetables and greens, the popularity of backyard chickens … Continue reading →
