Deep Dive: Page 3
Industry insights from our journalists
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Adeline Kon/Smart Cities Dive
Satellite internet: digital divide solution or 'science experiment'?
SpaceX and Amazon have said the technology can help rural America get online, but opponents say it's unproven and not worthy of federal investment.
Chris Teale • March 30, 2021 -
Adeline Kon/Smart Cities Dive
Local leaders reckon with ShotSpotter's ambiguous ROI
ShotSpotter CEO Ralph Clark said the company saw 12% YOY revenue growth in 2020, during a recent earnings call. Meanwhile, some experts question the tech's efficacy as cities face strapped budgets and high homicide rates.
Cailin Crowe • Feb. 26, 2021 -
Danielle Ternes/Smart Cities Dive
Power sector experts fight misinformation around Texas outages
Operators will often prepare for peak loads based on historical data, but those forecasts can be less predictable under a changing climate, one expert said.
Catherine Morehouse • Feb. 18, 2021 -
Yujin Kim/Smart Cities Dive
Transit workers face growing rate of assaults: 'There's not much we can do'
Some transit operators are asking for reassignments off the frontlines as they face increasingly violent threats from frustrated riders amid COVID-19.
Chris Teale • Feb. 17, 2021 -
Lawmakers vs. regulators: The fight over Arizona's zero-emissions mandate
Conservatives say the Arizona Corporation Commission's proposed zero-carbon mandate oversteps its constitutional authority while defenders say the legal debate is an excuse to impede the state's climate fight.
Herman K. Trabish • Feb. 11, 2021 -
Adeline Kon/Smart Cities Dive
Transit agencies brace for vaccination push amid murky guidance
Though federal agencies have deemed public transit a priority sector for COVID-19 vaccinations, states are charting their own plans to address rider demands and union resources.
Chris Teale • Feb. 1, 2021 -
Permission granted by Parkside Realty Inc.
How COVID-19 will change office, hotel and mixed-use design
There are still unknowns as far as how the coronavirus pandemic will impact the look of new spaces, but flexibility in layouts will be key, design experts say.
Kim Slowey • Jan. 25, 2021 -
Building the drone highways of the sky
UAS corridors or "sky lanes" can facilitate transformational opportunities for cities. Yet the road to integrated drone operation poses a host of challenges.
Nathan Eddy • Dec. 22, 2020 -
Retrieved from Flickr user Kim Seng on November 13, 2020
5G health concerns sow uncertainty amid ongoing rollout
While deployment continues unabated across the U.S., a small coalition of groups and leaders are trying to put the brakes on 5G in a bid to learn more about the technology.
Chris Teale • Dec. 14, 2020 -
Dollar Photo Club
Agencies tap public surveys to gauge transit trends
From Idaho Falls to Norman, OK, cities and transit agencies are leaning on carefully crafted surveys to navigate the post-COVID future of transit.
Adina Solomon • Dec. 8, 2020 -
Shopping to shelter: Abandoned mall sites welcome senior housing
A number of cities nationally are looking to "infill redevelopment" of vacant mall sites to bridge the growing housing gap for aging populations.
Joan Mooney • Updated Dec. 4, 2020 -
Photo illustration by Brian Tucker/Utility Dive; photograph by tommaso79 via Getty Images
Rate design innovations are boosting the energy transition
Success with time-of-use rates can allow utilities to integrate more variable and distributed generation, leading to more sophisticated time-varying rates.
Herman K. Trabish • Nov. 30, 2020 -
Danielle Ternes/Smart Cities Dive
Wildfires pushed PG&E into bankruptcy. Should other utilities be worried?
Catastrophic wildfires, which can lead to billions of dollars in damages, present a unique financial risk that the utility sector will want to get ahead of.
Kavya Balaraman • Nov. 20, 2020 -
Cycling-friendly cities scramble to combat rising bike thefts
Bike Index found thefts increased 68% from March to September, running incongruous to cities' investments in cycling infrastructure and support.
Amanda Loudin • Nov. 19, 2020 -
Behind the scrutiny of Bird's fleet manager program
A recent media report said Bird's fleet manager program is "luring contract workers into debt," while some contractors say the program has been lucrative.
Kristin Musulin • Nov. 11, 2020 -
Will ghost kitchens define the restaurant industry's future?
While investor interest booms and sales have the potential to outpace traditional models, questions linger about how much this emerging market could disrupt business in the long term.
Emma Liem Beckett • Nov. 10, 2020 -
"An election official outside and voters outside a voting location in Minneapolis, Minnesota" by Lorie Shaull is licensed under CC BY-SA 2.0
5 ballot initiatives poised to propel states, cities to 100% clean energy
At the local level, as in previous elections, energy is less prone to partisan politics in 2020.
Catherine Morehouse • Nov. 5, 2020 -
Danielle Ternes/Smart Cities Dive
Ballot billions: Behind the efforts to fund and finance climate action
In a year that virtually depleted municipal budgets, ballot-derived tax and funding measures can be crucial to support city-level climate action. Outside of these measures, how else can cities secure cash?
Kristin Musulin, Chris Teale and Cailin Crowe • Oct. 27, 2020 -
The gas tax was already broken. The pandemic could end it.
As states and cities face infrastructure budget crunches with gas tax revenues down, some are thinking about alternative ways to secure funding.
Jason Plautz • Oct. 26, 2020 -
Kendall Davis/Smart Cities Dive
Death of the downtown: How cities can rebuild using 'tactical urbanism'
Whether or not cities "bounce back" from the COVID-19 pandemic will be determined by the choices they make to reimagine their downtown hubs, experts say.
Amanda Loudin • Oct. 20, 2020 -
Permission granted by Capital Metro
Behind the controversial $7.1B plan to transform transit in Austin, TX
Voters will soon decide on a ballot initiative to fund a comprehensive transit revamp dubbed Project Connect. Opponents call the plan a "costly burden."
Joan Mooney • Oct. 15, 2020 -
Kendall Davis/Smart Cities Dive
Cities push ahead on EEaaS as private sector plays catch up
Forms of Energy Efficiency as a Service have existed for decades as alternative funding mechanisms in cities. Now, as technologies accelerate and COVID-19 continues, the private sector wants in.
Chris Teale • Oct. 1, 2020 -
Courtesy of LINK
LINK is tapping top talent to one-up its scooter competition
In the wake of industry layoffs and consolidation, one micromobility firm is hiring its competitors' former leaders to develop a unique scooter-sharing service.
Kristin Musulin • Sept. 21, 2020 -
O'Connor, Josh. (2009). "Wildfire" [Photograph]. Retrieved from Flickr.
Wildfires, COVID deliver one-two punch to West Coast cities
More than 1.6 million acres have burned in California this year alone while cities scramble to protect resident health amid the challenges of COVID-19.
Catherine Arnold • Updated Sept. 9, 2020 -
Becker1999. (2020). "Solidarity with Kenosha" [Photograph]. Retrieved from Flickr.
Governments are declaring racism a health crisis. What comes next?
Milwaukee County's 2019 resolution blazed a trail for more than 120 U.S. governments in denouncing racism. Now, leaders must look internally to prioritize equitable budgeting and employee training.
Cailin Crowe • Updated Oct. 6, 2020
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