How Your City Can Ensure It Can Afford Its Infrastructure

Understanding the real costs and long-term liabilities of our infrastructure is essential for the long-term prosperity of our places. Unfortunately, this detail is often overlooked in our decision-making process.

Edward Erfurt, Top StoryEdward Erfurt and Lindsey BeckworthApril 19, 2024maintenance, resource trap, community action lab, Community Action Lab, minnesota, main street

It’s Not Just Houston That’s Broke. So Are Silicon Valley Cities.

The financial struggles of Houston and the cities of the Silicon Valley area—as well as tens of thousands of others across North America—have the same underlying cause.

Marohn, Trending, Top StoryCharles MarohnApril 8, 2024california, maintenance, transparent local accounting, growth ponzi scheme, financial solvency

Aspiration Projects Are Great...Until the Shine Wears Off

New facilities aren’t bad, but they do present a problem when we can’t afford to maintain them after they’re built.

Edward Erfurt, Top StoryEdward Erfurt and Lindsey BeckworthMarch 22, 2024maintenance, infrastructure maintenance, Parks and Recreation, budget, community action lab, Community Action Lab

America *Must* End Highway Expansions

Until we have a credible plan for maintaining our existing transportation infrastructure, we must stop building more roads and bridges. Period.

Top StoryStrong TownsFebruary 15, 2024highways, highway spending, transportation, transportation spending, infrastructure, infrastructure maintenance, maintenance, freeways, freeway widening

Reconstructing the Street? Move the Curb!

If your city is doing a street reconstruction project that involves replacing the curb, then don’t miss the once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to do a something majorly transformative…by simply moving the curb.

Marohn, Trending, Top StoryCharles MarohnSeptember 11, 2023safe and productive streets, maintenance, Street Design, narrow streets

Why Cities are Flying Blind When It Comes to Their Own Debt

For local governments, it’s often easier to let the tangled web of debt at the heart of the budget go unexplored. In cities reliant on sales tax, these problems are only magnified.

Marohn, Top StoryCharles MarohnJuly 3, 2023finance, sales tax, property tax, oklahoma, debt, maintenance, taxes, transparent local accounting, municipal finance

Sweat the Small Stuff

Your city’s long-term resilience requires paying attention to the little things.

Owens, Top StoryTiffany Owens ReedMarch 7, 2023maintenance, infrastructure maintenance, public investment, little bets, infrastructure, public space, small bets

A New Tool to Calculate the Lifecycle of Infrastructure

Calculating the 100-year lifecycle costs of new development shouldn’t be an obscure process, and the province of British Columbia, Canada, has created a tool to help its communities do exactly that.

Top StorySeairra JonesFebruary 23, 2023infrastructure, infrastructure maintenance, maintenance, Incremental Housing, canada, development pattern, development

What’s Behind PBOT’s $4.4 Billion Street Maintenance Backlog Excuse?

The maintenance backlog excuse should not be the end of the conversation—it should be the start of a new one.

Top StoryJonathan MausFebruary 2, 2023maintenance, infrastructure maintenance, street repair, transparent local accounting, safe and productive streets, oregon

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.

Marohn, Top StoryCharles MarohnNovember 28, 2022public finance, maintenance, infrastructure, infrastructure cost, infrastructure maintenance, financial solvency, transparent local accounting, local economy

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.

NewsSeairra JonesNovember 8, 2022Nero Project, infrastructure, infrastructure maintenance, infrastructure cost, highways, highway spending, transportation, transportation spending, Maine, maintenance, end highway expansion

The Paris of the Plains Can’t Afford Its Fountains Anymore

Kansas City is known for its beautiful fountains, but Parks and Rec says the city doesn’t have the funds to maintain this source of civic pride.

Podcast, Top StoryStrong TownsSeptember 28, 2022podcast, Parks and Recreation, parks, upzoned, kansas, missouri, maintenance

Our On Again, Off Again, Infrastructure Future

Frequent power outages in California give pause to reflect on the overall fragility of our built environment.

Top StoryJohnny SanphillippoAugust 26, 2022climate, Climate Change, infrastructure, infrastructure maintenance, maintenance, wildfire, california

Why Is Rhode Island Building New Roads When Its Current Roads Are Falling Apart?

Rhode Island has built far more highways than it can afford to maintain. So why on earth is it building another one?

Marohn, Top StoryCharles MarohnAugust 15, 2022highways, highway spending, maintenance, infrastructure, infrastructure cult, Nero Project, Rhode Island, DOT, roads, end highway expansion

America *Must* End Highway Expansions

Until we have a credible plan for maintaining our existing transportation infrastructure, we must stop building more roads and bridges. Period.

Top StoryStrong TownsJune 7, 2022highways, highway spending, transportation, transportation spending, infrastructure, infrastructure maintenance, infrastructure bill, maintenance, freeways, freeway widening, end highway expansion, member week

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.

Marohn, Top StoryCharles MarohnMay 9, 2022maintenance, finance, municipal finance, Assessments, local government, infrastructure maintenance, infrastructure, infrastructure cost, Law, minnesota, local economy

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.

Top StorySeairra JonesFebruary 23, 2022car dependency, auto-oriented, car culture, infrastructure, infrastructure maintenance, infrastructure cost, environment, snow, maintenance, transportation, roads, end highway expansion

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?

Top StoryLois EpsteinFebruary 1, 2022alaska, maintenance, infrastructure maintenance, federal funding, federal government, transportation spending, transportation, infrastructure, infrastructure cost, rural, end highway expansion

The Infrastructure Bill Has Passed. What Now?

We’re skeptical that the bill will address the real and current infrastructure needs in our cities today—but the good news is, you can. And you can get started right now.