For Houston Freeway Fighters, Federal Government’s Actions Speak Louder Than Words

The federal government’s refusal to hold TxDOT accountable for the harm it’s doing in Houston is allowing history to repeat itself—something the current administration pledged it wouldn’t do.

End Highway Expansion, Top StoryAsia MieleszkoMarch 28, 2023highways, transportation, Texas, federal government, federal funding, federal transportation bill, Infrastructure, infrastructure bill, infrastructure, infrastructure cost, End Highway Expansion

Financial Outlook for 2023 and Beyond

What kind of financial challenges can our cities and towns expect to face in the new year?

Infrastructure, Marohn, Transparent Accounting, Top Story 2Charles MarohnJanuary 2, 2023financial solvency, Transparent Local Accounting, Infrastructure, infrastructure, infrastructure bill, infrastructure cost

Your City May Be Illegally Assessing You for Routine Infrastructure Maintenance

Part of having transparent local accounting is ensuring that the people living in a community know and understand the public costs associated with their homes and businesses. Right now, that isn’t the case in most places.

#DotheMath, Infrastructure, Marohn, Finance, Top Story, Transparent AccountingCharles MarohnNovember 28, 2022Transparent Local Accounting, local finance, public finance, maintenance, Maintenance, Infrastructure, infrastructure, infrastructure cost, infrastructure maintenance, financial solvency, #DoTheMath

What Does $106 Million Get You in Maine? A Redundant Highway Expansion That Nobody Wants.

Maine residents want road maintenance. MaineDOT is giving them more roads.

The Highway Boondoggles Report

Frontier Group’s Tony Dutzik comes onto the podcast today to talk about their annual “Highway Boondoggles” report. In light of last year’s infrastructure bill, just how much funding is being wasted on highway expansion?

That's Not an Improvement

Engineers who work on municipal infrastructure need to stop ubiquitously describing their projects as “improvements”—especially when the project is actually harmful, not helpful.

Financial Fragility Is To Blame for Jackson’s Water Crisis

The Suburban Experiment is a bad business model, and nothing demonstrates that more clearly than Jackson, Mississippi’s, ongoing water crisis.

Finance, Infrastructure, Marohn, Transparent AccountingCharles MarohnSeptember 12, 2022Infrastructure, infrastructure, infrastructure maintenance, fragility, mississippi, development pattern, Growth Ponzi Scheme, infrastructure cost, finance, local finance, suburban experiment

Flying Blind: Why Public Leaders Need an Investment Grade Analysis

Portland and Oregon leaders shouldn’t commit to a $5-billion project without an investment grade analysis (IGA) of toll revenues.

#DotheMath, #InfrastructureCrisis, Infrastructure, City Observatory, Top StoryJoe CortrightJune 17, 2022Infrastructure, infrastructure, infrastructure cost, infrastructure spending, Oregon, Washington, DOT, #DoTheMath, City Observatory

Yet Another Exploding Whale: ODOT’s Freeway-Widening Cost Doubles

The Oregon DOT has experienced massive cost overruns on all of its largest construction projects…and has systematically concealed and understated the frequency and scale of those cost overruns.

#InfrastructureCrisis, Infrastructure, City Observatory, Transportation, Top StoryJoe CortrightJune 3, 2022Infrastructure, infrastructure, infrastructure cult, infrastructure cost, infrastructure spending, Oregon, DOT, City Observatory, Joe Cortright, transportation

Fixing the Potholes Requires Digging Deeper

When it comes to our places’ roads, we need to start asking: “How much is this gonna cost us?”

#DotheMath, #InfrastructureCrisis, Infrastructure, Member Post, Top StoryMichel Durand-WoodJune 2, 2022Infrastructure, infrastructure, infrastructure maintenance, infrastructure cost, infrastructure spending, #DoTheMath, Winnipeg, canada, Canada, member story

A Minnesota Judge Throws the Book at Immoral Tax Assessments

This case shows why local governments need to do a better job accounting for maintenance costs.

Finance, Infrastructure, Marohn, Top StoryCharles MarohnMay 9, 2022maintenance, finance, local finance, municipal finance, Assessments, local government, infrastructure maintenance, Infrastructure, infrastructure, infrastructure cost, Minnesota, Law

Sowing Our Roads with Salt Is No Way to Grow Stronger Towns

Because we depend so heavily on cars, what happens when roads become too icy to drive on? The answer: road salt. But there are serious consequences to relying on salt for road-clearing.

Alaska and New Infrastructure Funds: We Promise Not to Waste It!

As of November 15, Alaska is flush with federal infrastructure money. How should it be spent?

The Galesburg Papers, Part 2: The Cure

In this follow-up to last week’s piece about Galesburg, IL, we’ll look at what the town needs in order to recover and thrive.

#DotheMath, #InfrastructureCrisis, Infrastructure, Member Post, Top StoryJoe HicksJanuary 28, 2022#DoTheMath, Small Towns, small towns, Illinois, property tax, tax revenue, infrastructure cost, municipal finance, Municipal Debt

The Galesburg Papers, Part 1: The Diagnosis

Citizens of Galesburg, IL, are trying to save their public indoor pool and create a new activity complex. City council is sympathetic, but there's just one problem: money.

#DotheMath, #InfrastructureCrisis, Infrastructure, Member Post, Top StoryJoe HicksJanuary 21, 2022#DoTheMath, Small Towns, small towns, Illinois, property tax, tax revenue, infrastructure cost, municipal finance, Municipal Debt

The Infrastructure Bill, Racial Equity, and Local Government: How Should the Money Be Spent?

The $1 trillion infrastructure bill is being signed into law. But who gets to decide how the money will be spent, and will they make the right decisions for communities of color?

My Journey from Free Market Ideologue to Strong Towns Advocate, Revisited

I’ve had to reconcile my foundational belief in markets with my experiences working with cities. This has been a painful process.

Marohn, #InfrastructureCrisis, Engineering Profession, Infrastructure, Local Government, Top StoryCharles MarohnOctober 25, 2021Market Urbanism, Local Government Aid, infrastructure cost, Minnesota, small towns, Infrastructure, infrastructure, engineers, engineering profession, local gov

U.S. History Shows Spending on Infrastructure Doesn’t Always End Well

The past proves that people tend to disregard the long-term costs of the plans they make, particularly if they reap the benefits and others pay the costs. We must become more sophisticated than this.

#InfrastructureCrisis, Growth Ponzi Scheme, Infrastructure, Maintenance, Top StoryRichard WhiteAugust 27, 2021maintenance, Infrastructure, history, infrastructure, infrastructure cost, Maintenance, infrastructure maintenance

Selling Oregon into Highway Bondage

The Oregon Department of Transportation has been authorized to issue revenue bonds to finance potentially billions of dollars of highway widening projects.

#InfrastructureCrisis, #NoNewRoads, City Observatory, Infrastructure, Top StoryJoe CortrightAugust 3, 2021debt, Oregon, #NoNewRoads, Infrastructure, infrastructure cost, highways, highway spending, Joe Cortright, City Observatory, toll roads

A National Infrastructure Bank is a Stupid Idea

A bill in Congress is pushing for a National Infrastructure Bank, which would mean (in theory) bold federal action to address America's infrastructure crisis. It's a big idea. It's also a really bad one.

#InfrastructureCrisis, Federal Government, Infrastructure, Marohn, Top StoryCharles MarohnJune 14, 2021Infrastructure, infrastructure cult, Infrastructure Bank, infrastructure cost, federal government, top-down, South Carolina

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