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?

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 Bell Tolls for Thee, Maine...

Many local jurisdictions put off paying the bills for big capital projects. But this month, the bell tolls for Maine.

#DotheMath, #InfrastructureCrisis, Infrastructure, Stange, Transportation, Top StoryJay StangeJanuary 11, 2022highways, highway spending, toll roads, Infrastructure, infrastructure, transportation spending, transportation, #DoTheMath

How to Solve Traffic Congestion: A Miracle in Louisville?

Kentucky and Indiana wasted a billion dollars on highway capacity that people don’t use or value.

#NoNewRoads, City Observatory, Infrastructure, Transportation, Top StoryJoe CortrightDecember 1, 2021traffic congestion, traffic engineering, toll roads, freeways, freeway widening, City Observatory, highways, highway spending, kentucky, Indiana

A Community Forced to Play the Infrastructure Squid Game

Residents of this Houston neighborhood thought they were winning the lottery with a government-sponsored infrastructure project. Instead, they endured a seven-month-long nightmare.

Infrastructure, Local Government, Neighborhoods, Roads and Streets, Maintenance, Top StoryJuan Antonio SortoNovember 30, 2021Infrastructure, streets, neighborhood, Neighborhoods, neighborhood change, Houston, infrastructure maintenance, Hurricanes, hurricane harvey, race, Race

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?

ODOT Needs to Stop the I-5 Bridge Con

Next month, the Portland Metro government is being asked to approve $36 million in additional funds for further planning of a massive freeway project. It should say no.

City Observatory, Environment, Infrastructure, Transportation, #NoNewRoads, Top StoryJoe CortrightNovember 12, 2021DOT, Portland OR, Oregon, transportation, transportation spending, highways, highway spending, freeways, freeway widening, City Observatory, Infrastructure

More Highways, More Driving, More Emissions

Fact: New roads always produce new driving. Say hello to “induced demand.”

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.

#InfrastructureCrisis, Federal Government, Infrastructure, Taking Action, Top StoryStrong TownsNovember 10, 2021Infrastructure, infrastructure bill, infrastructure maintenance, federal government, federal funding, maintenance, Maintenance, how to, taking action

Sorry, but a $10 Million Sewer System Won't Fix Your Economy

This small town in Maine is hoping to breathe life back into its Main Street…but is looking for solutions in all the wrong places.

#InfrastructureCrisis, Infrastructure, Local Government, Quednau, Top StoryRachel QuednauOctober 26, 2021sewers, public investment, Infrastructure, infrastructure, infrastructure spending, Small Towns, small towns, local government

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

Will We Have an Infrastructure Bill? Who Cares?

We get a lot of questions about a federal infrastructure bill, but at the end of the day…does it really matter?

#InfrastructureCrisis, Federal Government, Marohn, Infrastructure, Top StoryCharles MarohnOctober 4, 2021infrastructure bill, Infrastructure, infrastructure cult, federal government, American Jobs Plan

Freeway-Widening Grifters: Woke-Washing, Fraud, and Incompetence

ODOT has resorted to some truly cheap and deceptive marketing tactics to promote their new freeway-widening project.

CDOT's Proposal for Transit-Induced Pollution

CDOT drafts a rule that intends to address both greenhouse gas emissions and Colorado’s spreading development pattern. But can this kind of top-down solution work?

In Defense of Sticking Around

Building to last is the only thing we can afford to do. The social and environmental costs of disposable buildings are far too high.

Architecture, Infrastructure, Member Post, Top StoryWill McCartneySeptember 22, 2021second life cycle, maintenance, Maintenance, Florida, capitalism, fragility, Tax Code, Infrastructure, architecture

The High Price of Cheap Buildings

By building disposable structures, we are leading ourselves toward a socially, economically, and environmentally ruinous future.

Architecture, Infrastructure, Member Post, Top StoryWill McCartneySeptember 21, 2021second life cycle, maintenance, Maintenance, Florida, capitalism, fragility, Tax Code, Infrastructure, architecture

Is it 2021 or 1961 at America's DOTs?

Here’s a roundup of five highway boondoggles that are threatening neighborhoods right now in the U.S. Think of it as a hall of shame.

All Traffic Models Are Wrong

Traffic engineers use projections of future traffic to make recommendations and decisions on transportation investments… The problem is, those projections are all wrong.

#InfrastructureCrisis, #NoNewRoads, Confessions Book, Engineering Profession, Infrastructure, Marohn, Transportation, Top StoryCharles MarohnSeptember 7, 2021traffic projections, traffic engineering, Confessions of a Recovering Engineer, confessions book, engineering profession, Infrastructure, confessions excerpt

A Highway Cap in El Paso: False Road to Equity?

El Paso and TxDOT are using concepts aimed at making things better for people impacted by urban highway projects...to justify something that makes them worse.