John Hennessy III,
P.E.
December 21st is the official start of winter but state department of transportation road crews–America’s frontline weather responders–have been ready for months. In this TTV Special report, Battling Winter: State DOTs Turn to Tech to Save Lives, Time and Money–we see how States are working proactively to keep roads open and operating safely during winter.
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We looked at 100 cities on a global basis and not one US city made it into the top 20. The highest ranking city was New York City, and they came in at number 23. Probably the biggest challenge that all of the US cities face is the continued dependency on passenger-car travel. We don’t have nearly as well developed metro systems or transit systems for sharing or using alternative means–whether it’s walking or bicycles or other methods of getting around. That’s the big challenge for the US cities, is to look at how they go about diversifying their transportation options.
View this complete post...The House bill eliminates Private Activity Bonds (PABs) and Low-income Tax Credits, which are critical to the construction of housing developments. Both bills call for eliminating advanced refinancing bonds. These tax-exempt bonds allow cities to refinance debt. Without advance refinancing bonds, many large projects at the state and local levels of government will be immediately jeopardized. Additionally, the tax reform bill, unless changed, increases the federal deficit and that will trigger $150 billion in automatic cuts to vital transportation and infrastructure investments.
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While many cities feel the immediate positive outcomes from wealth flooding into metropolitan regions, they also feel the negative impact on community members of varying income levels – particularly, those at the bottom that face increased housing prices, greater need for social services and growing concern for community safety. The income inequality and wealth gaps are at outsized levels, with the richest 0.1 percent holding the same amount of wealth as the bottom 90 percent. And when examined through a racial equity lens, the disparities become even starker; on average, white families have six times the wealth of African American and Hispanic families. This is where we are now. Unfortunately, the current policy environment at the national level isn’t focused on alleviating these inequities—cities are.
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Developing nations aren’t the only ones with poor infrastructure. Across the U.S., examples of citizens, government officials and the press criticizing the condition of their roads and bridges, airports, schools or other infrastructure are easy to find. This should come as no surprise, says Scott Pattison, CEO of the U.S. National Governors Association (NGA), “because as a nation, we are critically underinvesting in our infrastructure.”
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Over the last decade, it has become increasingly clear that America’s infrastructure requires a significant upgrade. Roads, highways, bridges and tunnels have decayed and deteriorated—sometimes to the point of catastrophic failure. Yet, with tax dollars limited and funding for projects largely declining, finding a way out of the mess has been extraordinarily difficult.
“It has put the spotlight on public-private partnerships,” states Lee Weintraub, chair of public-private partnerships and vice chair of construction, law and litigation at Becker & Poliakoff.
View this complete post...Many large cities have been so successful in revitalizing downtown areas, it’s now extremely difficult to find parking, to secure restaurant reservations or lease retail space. People wait for years to lease condos in revitalized urban areas and real estate prices have increased significantly. In far too many other American cities, however, downtown areas are anything but vibrant. Some are eyesores because of vacated buildings and a few almost feel like ghost towns. When cities languish, municipal revenues become strained and the downward spiral escalates even more quickly.
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Inspire a girl’s future! Introduce a Girl to Engineering Day (Girl Day) is a chance to get involved and share the excitement of engineering with the next generation of engineers. Show girls what engineers do and give them an opportunity to see themselves as engineers who can make a difference in the world. Learn more about #GirlDay2018 and how you can get involved here! http://discovere.org/girlday
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Jim Mathews is President and CEO of NARP. Before joining NARP, Mathews was Executive Editor of the Aviation Week Intelligence Network. During his 26-year tenure at Aviation Week, he cultivated the company’s digital strategy and led teams that twice won national awards for best news website. Mathews served on the Amtrak Customer Advisory Committee for six […]
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In Denver and cities across the United States, historic train stations are getting a new lease on life. Many are anchoring downtown redevelopment projects as well.
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