Public Works

Sleek, Silver and Stuffed With Litter: San Francisco Settles on Three Finalists for New Trash Can Design

The city's public works department is revamping its public trash can design to better contain garbage and, maybe, look nice on the street.

  • By Kate Elizabeth Queram

‘If You Elect to Be on the Roads, You Must Make Good Choices’

STATE AND LOCAL ROUNDUP | Florida governor’s teacher bonus proposal … Louisville pension worries … and Pittsburgh’s mayor has an evening hobby.

  • By Michael Grass

Another Locality Cuts Back on Recycling Amid Industry-Wide Disruption

STATE AND LOCAL ROUNDUP | Powerful Chicago alderman indicted … Maine governor signs Medicaid executive order … and Texas county’s new district attorney fires 15 people.

  • By Michael Grass

The Geography of Street Resurfacing in Chicago

As Rahm Emanuel prepares to leave City Hall next year, this map helps cement his transportation legacy in the nation’s third-largest city.

  • By Michael Grass

Washington, D.C., Brings Art to Its Recycling Trucks

The District of Columbia began debuting the newly wrapped trucks in July.

  • By Kate Elizabeth Queram

A Georgia City's Tech Fix for Water Cost Savings

Water usage and costs have decreased between 55 and 57 percent in Roswell, located north of Atlanta.

  • By Kate Elizabeth Queram

Drones Can Fix Problems on the Ground

COMMENTARY | Expediting adoption will save lives—and possibly our failing national infrastructure.

  • By Joe Rinzel

Dangerous Gases in Dayton’s Sewers

STATE AND LOCAL ROUNDUP | Arizona’s wrong-way driver detection system … what lurks in Delaware’s warming coastal waters … and fare enforcement reform in Seattle.

  • By Michael Grass

Senators Want to Double Funding for Putting Commercial Drones in the Air

A bipartisan amendment would double 2019 funding for FAA’s efforts to integrate drones into national airspace.

  • By Aaron Boyd

Gone, But Not Forgotten: Wisconsin City's Snow Pile Finally Melts

A snow pile in Appleton, Wisconsin lasted until July 9, attracting attention from residents and local media.

  • By Kate Elizabeth Queram

Water Infrastructure Legislation Gushes Ahead in Congress

A House committee passed its Water Resources Development Act legislation unanimously on Wednesday.

  • By Bill Lucia

Why We Need a National Infrastructure Map

Setting priorities is hindered by the lack of systematic information available on the nation’s inventory of infrastructure assets, their location and condition.

  • By Teresa W. Gerton, Christopher K. Tucker, Wayne A. Crew and Jonathan Koppell
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New Signs of Trouble Ahead for Colorado River Basin Water Managers

A warm winter and weak snowpack suggests that this “is the kind of drought we will have to deal with in the future.”

  • By Allen Best

Providence’s New Loan Partnership to Replace Lead Water Pipes

STATE AND LOCAL ROUNDUP | Seattle City Council OKs employee head tax … prosecutor drops charges against Mo. governor … and Detroit sues downtown’s largest landowner.

  • By Michael Grass

Cities Competing to Conserve the Most Water

Since its inception seven years ago, the National Water Pledge Campaign has collected more than 1.6 million commitments to conserve more than 8 billion gallons.

  • By Kate Elizabeth Queram

Nearly a Third of the Contiguous U.S. Faces Drought Conditions

The specter of a drought-ridden summer has focused renewed urgency on state and local conservation efforts, some of which would fundamentally alter Americans’ behavior in how they use water.

  • By The Pew Charitable Trusts

Puerto Rico's Blackout Is Now the Second-Worst in History

If you look at the number of hours customers lost access to electricity stemming from a single event, the disruption from Hurricane Maria has been massive.

  • By Akshat Rathi, Quartz

San Francisco’s 100,000 Light Bulb Giveaway

STATE AND LOCAL ROUNDUP | Mississippi governor orders county-owned bridges closed … Kentucky’s new pension law … mapping Alaska’s thawing permafrost … and N.Y.C., Salt Lake City selected for wireless research testing.

  • By Michael Grass

Why Cities Should Jump at the Chance to Add Cell Towers to Streetlights

COMMENTARY | In a contributed piece, the authors suggest compromises and efficiencies to ensure cities do not get left behind in the 5G revolution.

  • By Michael Gleason and Kevin Muldoon

To Tackle the Opioid Epidemic, Look to the Sewers

At a civic tech pitch led held by mayors at SXSW, innovators put forward solutions to pressing problems facing cities.

  • By Mitch Herckis

House Panel Chairman: Stop the 'Shotgun' Approach to Infrastructure

U.S. Rep. Garret Graves, who leads a House infrastructure subcommittee, explained to Route Fifty why he's not quite ready to talk about raising new revenues for public works.

  • By Bill Lucia