Infrastructure

Nearly One-Third of Infrastructure Jobs are Tough to Fill, Research Finds

Job opportunities are likely to boom if Congress approves a pending infrastructure bill, but a National League of Cities report says the current workforce may not be able to meet the demand.

  • By Andrea Noble

Biden Administration Asks Local Governments to Set Housing Goals

HUD's new ‘House America’ initiative aims to increase the number of affordable housing units and to reduce the number of unhoused people across the country.

  • By Andrea Noble

States Use Hurricane Ida Damage to Push Infrastructure Bill

Governors of both parties are lobbying Congress to ensure resilience measures are included.

  • By Elaine S. Povich, Stateline

Public Works Agencies Hit by Rising Prices and Supply Delays

That’s on top of longer standing troubles filling jobs. The trio of challenges is stacking up at a pivotal moment for infrastructure spending in the U.S.

  • By Bill Lucia

Infrastructure, Budget Bills Estimated to Support 4M Jobs

The budget bill would add 1.1 million jobs related to caregiving alone, according to the Economic Policy Institute.

  • By Andrea Noble

Electric Vehicles Poised to Rev Up Government Fleets

Fleet electrification barriers have been reduced by technology breakthroughs, federal funding and grants, but challenges remain for cities and states.

  • By Jacob Fischler

There’s One Surefire Way to End Big Sewage Spills: End Big Sewage

COMMENTARY | To ‘futureproof’ wastewater treatment against the rising threats of climate change, sewage should go local.

  • By Chelsea Wald, Undark

Removing Urban Highways Can Improve Neighborhoods Blighted by Decades of Racist Policies

COMMENTARY | At least 28 cities have begun or are planning to partly or fully remove highways that have isolated Black neighborhoods.

  • By Julian Agyeman and Joan Fitzgerald, The Conversation

Deadly Auto Crashes Up, Despite Less Driving

New federal statistics show that a troubling trend with a rise in fatalities on the nation's roadways continued into this year.

  • By Bill Lucia

Want More Affordable Housing? Try Building Narrower Streets

New research highlights how city streets that are too wide can take up valuable space that could be used to build more homes.

  • By Jean Dimeo

Transit Leaders See New Federal Money as a Bridge, Not the End of the Line

Bus, subway and local rail systems nearly shut down when the pandemic first struck. Now they’re trying to find a new way forward.

  • By Daniel C. Vock

Deadly Crashes on Rural Roads Prompt New Safety Efforts

The fatality rate on rural roads is twice as high as on urban ones.

  • By Jenni Bergal, Stateline
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The Infrastructure Bill Needs a Makeover, Not a 'Spineless Rubber Stamp'

The U.S. Senate's bill falls short in several ways and needs to be fixed before it is passed by Congress, according to a Maryland mayor.

  • By Colin Byrd

Poll: Americans Increasingly View Internet as a ‘Basic Necessity’

A survey by Consumer Reports shows that 75% of U.S. residents support local governments building out public nextworks.

  • By Jean Dimeo

Challenges Ahead for $3.5T Budget Bill After Senate Approval

Disagreements over the cost of the budget bill among Senate Democrats could slow progress on a separate infrastructure package headed to the House.

  • By Andrea Noble

Cities Embraced Technology During Covid But Still Lack Comprehensive Digital Policies

A white paper identifies gaps in technology governance in cities, including problems with accessibility, digital infrastructure and cybersecurity.

  • By Kate Elizabeth Queram

US History Shows Spending on Infrastructure Doesn’t Always End Well

The lasting problems of infrastructure aren’t of need or construction, but of overbuilding, delayed costs and the challenges of thinking ahead.

  • By Richard White, The Conversation

Biden Won Over Mitch McConnell. Now He Needs AOC.

The president won’t be able to celebrate the Senate’s bipartisan passage of an infrastructure bill until Democrats deliver the rest of his economic agenda this fall.

  • By Russell Berman, The Atlantic

The Infrastructure Bill Promises Construction Work. One Amendment Could Open That Up to More Women.

A proposed amendment would give women and people of color more access to skilled trades and the wages they bring.

  • By Jean Lee, The 19th

Infrastructure Bill Falls Billions Short on Funding to Replace Lead Pipes

Local leaders and water advocates say up to $60 billion is needed to clean up the dangerous national drinking water pipe problem but the infrastructure package provides only about $15 billion.

  • By Daniel C. Vock

Infrastructure Bill Includes $1B for State and Local Cybersecurity

In addition to the grant program, other provisions in the bipartisan proposal would enhance cybersecurity for local utilities and water systems.

  • By Andrea Noble