Infrastructure
Missouri city turns to tech to improve snow removal
Kansas City’s snowplow operators are clearing snow quicker and keeping residents safer with the help of a cloud-hosted platform.
The drawbacks of government-owned broadband networks
As communities determine how to divvy up BEAD funding, a new report suggests deploying publicly owned broadband networks may not always be an effective use of the money.
‘The $42B question’: What’s next for federal broadband funding?
The Trump administration could fiddle with the Broadband Equity Access and Deployment program or even claw back funds. But the ball will be in states’ courts given how quickly they have moved, and the momentum behind getting people connected.
More states ban PFAS, or forever chemicals, in more products
In total this year, at least 16 states adopted 22 PFAS-related measures.
We know widening highways leads to more traffic. Why do we do it anyway?
More lanes, more pain—a researcher unravels the persistent myth of easier commutes.
Biden administration doles out $4.2 billion for big-ticket infrastructure projects
A new Boston rail bridge, a California high-speed rail station, electric dock equipment in Miami and a safer highway interchange in Iowa are among the 44 projects selected for funding.
Ensuring resilient water infrastructure requires creative financing
COMMENTARY | Federal support is key to ensuring water systems are safe. But state and local governments have a critical role to play, too.
Virginia goes all in on passenger rail
A new rail bridge into Washington, D.C., is viewed as crucial to expanding rail service in the state, which has seen record-setting ridership in recent years.
Nuclear power could solve US electricity needs. But at what cost?
State lawmakers are increasingly eyeing nuclear power to boost clean energy. But as Three Mile Island and a Michigan reactor aim to restart, critics question whether the cost makes sense.
The numbers are in: Trump boosted roads. Biden backs biking and walkers.
A new report by the Urban Institute shows how who sits in the White House affects what locals build with federal funds. That means changes are likely in store again after the November election.
Featured eBooks
A boy’s bicycling death haunts a Black neighborhood. 35 years later, there’s still no sidewalk.
Pedestrian deaths are highest in formerly redlined areas, neighborhoods where Black people lived because of discriminatory federal mortgage lending practices. The lack of sidewalks, damaged walkways and roads in these communities are creating a little-recognized public health crisis.
Can parking garages alleviate the housing and homelessness crisis?
COMMENTARY | There are hundreds of underutilized—sometimes empty—parking garages and lots across the country. They can be converted to much-needed housing.
This city is turning subway trains into power stations
Barcelona is using the regenerative braking of its subways to power trains, stations and neighborhood EV chargers. Could New York do it too?
Time to reset the transportation funding equation
COMMENTARY | The way the nation funds our transportation network is broken. The solutions to fix it already exist. State and local governments just need to pick one.
Small water utilities cannot achieve PFAS cleanup on their own
COMMENTARY | Limited budgets, smaller customer bases and skeleton crews put a heavier PFAS burden on rural systems; polluters should be held accountable.
A $1.3 billion project that would save drivers six minutes max
As the state’s plans to get New Yorkers out of their cars stall, Gov. Kathy Hochul is championing a highway expansion in the Hudson Valley.
Mississippi River mayors from 10 states agree to unify ports from the Corn Belt to the coast
The pact will ensure cooperation between inland ports and the coastal ports of Louisiana that export 60% of the nation’s agricultural products.
The US is finally curbing floodplain development, new research shows
“Routine municipal practices” are all it takes, but two problem states are defying the trend.
What the Federal Reserve’s policy shift means for state and local budgets
The Federal Reserve intended for its first rate cut in four years to stimulate the broader economy, but the decision will also gradually effect state and local budgets.
Water-challenged state uses AI, satellites to find leaks
New Mexico will use artificial intelligence to monitor satellite images to identify leaks before they become major problems.
