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  • Two people embrace surrounded by charred buildings and rubble.
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    Justin Sullivan via Getty Images
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    The Eaton Fire showed us California’s future. Our recovery systems aren’t ready.

    Ten months after the fire, many Altadena families remain displaced because permitting, remediation and housing policies are not designed for urban fire disasters. Here’s a road map to address these failures.

    Farid Yaghoubtil • Nov. 21, 2025
  • A woman and man seated at a desk hold up a sign reading "congestion pricing is working."
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    Michael M. Santiago via Getty Images
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    The unlikely alliances that transformed New York

    Diverse coalitions helped get the nation’s first congestion pricing program implemented. Other cities can follow their lead and see similar benefits, says the leader of a transit advocacy group.

    Lisa Daglian • Nov. 20, 2025
  • Aerial view of a water treatment plant with 5 large circular pools of blue water and rows of pipes.
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    The water workforce is graying. Here’s what we need to do to restart the pipeline.

    Broad-based coalitions must raise awareness of the industry, create training and employment programs and embrace artificial intelligence to grow the U.S. water infrastructure workforce.

    Lori Sutton • Nov. 19, 2025
  • A person carrying a wet dog wades through a flooded street while two people look on.
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    Andy Manis via Getty Images
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    Building climate-resilient communities: The case for performance-based codes

    As communities face increasingly severe climate-related disasters, a shift to performance-based building codes is one of the most effective tools they have for protecting against future natural catastrophes and reinforcing community resilience.

    Charlie Sidoti • Nov. 18, 2025
  • Orchestra on stage with purple lighting, large screen that says "Same House Presents Beloved."
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    Permission granted by Getty Images/Derek White and Kendra Greis (Rennick)
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    4 strategies to help close the opportunity gap

    Millions of full-time workers can’t afford the basics. Reversing that trend will take local action, targeted investment and new models of collaboration.

    Rodney Bullard • Oct. 23, 2025
  • Man in heavy jacket with helmet rides an electric bike toward the camera on a green bike path.
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    Justin Sullivan via Getty Images
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    California’s clean mobility push is leaving low-income residents behind

    E-bikes and e-scooters are among the cleanest and least expensive transportation modes. California can make equitable green mobility a reality.

    Marta Anadón Rosinach • Aug. 21, 2025
  • A man walks on a street with downed power lines.
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    Joe Raedle via Getty Images
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    The weather is changing. Here’s how utilities can adapt.

    Climate READi, developed by energy providers, policymakers and government agencies, can help energy companies prioritize investments and adapt the evolving electric system to the climate of the future.

    Morgan Scott • Aug. 1, 2025
  • Several scooters parked on a sidewalk, man riding e-bike in a bike lane amid city streets.
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    Justin Sullivan via Getty Images
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    California’s clean mobility push is leaving low-income residents behind

    Rebates for electric bikes in California have been successful but can leave out people who most need an alternative to private vehicles and public transit.

    Marta Anadón Rosinach • July 22, 2025
  • Aerial view of flooded homes following Hurricane Harvey in Houston, Texas.
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    Win McNamee via Getty Images
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    New building codes aim to provide vital flood protection

    The updated standards mark a major shift in approach for design and construction in flood hazard areas, according to a floodplain manager.

    Tom Little • June 16, 2025
  • Nighttime view of congested Midtown Manhattan street with people walking across.
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    Alex Kent via Getty Images
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    NYC’s congestion pricing could be halted, but the data says it’s working

    TomTom data shows a significant shift in traffic patterns, with congestion levels dropping considerably across the city, a company expert says.

    Ralf-Peter Schäfer • June 4, 2025
  • A wall of six electric smart meters against gray, metal paneling.
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    Permission granted by Ethan Howland
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    Making energy affordable again: The role of cities, states and utilities in enhancing the energy safety net

    Even as the U.S. pursues an energy agenda centered on achieving affordability through abundance, utilities and local governments have tools to help families navigate energy insecurities.

    Diana Hernández and Vivek Shastry • May 28, 2025
  • Busy traffic in Downtown Los Angeles at dusk.
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    How LA hoteliers can prepare for Olympics, World Cup amid a complex operating environment

    Hotel employers, labor unions, city officials and industry associations will need to work together to ensure Los Angeles offers a world-class experience to visitors, writes attorney Lara Shortz.

    Lara Shortz • May 9, 2025
  • Green motor coach making a turn at an intersection among tall city buildings.
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    Courtesy of Flix North America
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    Maximizing ROI in transportation: The case for intercity buses

    Privately operated intercity buses offer one of the highest returns on investment for federal transportation funding. The Trump administration could help expand this transportation mode.

    Kai Boysan • April 22, 2025
  • Closely spaced single-family homes with telephone poles, wires and palm trees lining the street.
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    3 concerns about California’s neighborhood decarbonization pilot program

    Decarbonization is essential to achieve carbon neutrality, but tenants and low-income homeowners might pay a steep price due to factors they can’t control.

    Teresa Linares • March 20, 2025
  • People on a subway platform hold up cell phones to photograph a new subway train arriving in the station with a sign announcing its inaugural ride
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    Michael M. Santiago via Getty Images
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    New approaches to procurement can drive innovation in public transit

    The lengthy process from RFP to equipment delivery can result in trains that are already obsolete when they go into service. New technologies and procurement approaches could help.

    Gabriel J. Lopez-Bernal • March 13, 2025
  • A detailed landscape design plan showing topographic contour lines, orange building illustrations, green trees, and directional arrows. The layout includes winding paths and clustered vegetation. A triangular scale ruler lies on the left, and three colored pencils, colored blue, green, and yellow, rest on the lower right corner of the page.
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    Energy bills are crushing low-income families. Here’s how state and local policymakers can help.

    Recent research found that a quarter of low-income households in the U.S. spend more than 15% of their income on energy bills, compared to the overall median of just 2.9%.

    Roxana Ayala • Feb. 28, 2025
  • View from inside a vehicle without a driver approaching an intersection with cars and bicycles.
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    Mario Tama via Getty Images
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    The unseen environmental costs of autonomous cars

    Robotaxis and self-driving cars could be a big step backwards in sustainability, cautions the CEO of an advanced transportation firm.

    Jeral Poskey • Feb. 26, 2025
  • A man looks into a large computer screen displaying an artificial intelligence chatbot application.
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    Getty Images
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    4 ways local governments are harnessing AI to transform operations

    The technology could improve municipal efficiency, accuracy and service delivery — but implementation must address community and public-sector worker concerns.

    Jeff Green • Feb. 12, 2025
  • An electric bike is locked to a street sign in front of a red fire truck, with caution type surrounding it
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    Spencer Platt via Getty Images
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    E-bike fire crisis won’t be tamed without federal support

    Lithium-ion battery fires are causing deadly incidents across the country. Attorney Michael Mezzacappa points to New York as an example of how cities can respond but calls for Congress to take greater action on safety standards.

    Michael Mezzacappa • Feb. 6, 2025
  • an aerial view of the Brooklyn and Manhattan Bridges spanning the East River between Brooklyn and Lower Manhattan in New York City.
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    Getty Images
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    We need another infrastructure law

    Carlo Scissura has a message for Congress and President-elect Trump: Building a stronger country can’t stop now.

    Carlo Scissura • Jan. 16, 2025
  • A row of electric vehicle chargers in a parking lot.
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    How to keep electric vehicle investments on track in the new political climate

    A clean fuel standard has worked in several states to fund EV infrastructure. It should be tried in more places.

    Laura Sherman • Jan. 10, 2025
  • A detailed landscape design plan showing topographic contour lines, orange building illustrations, green trees, and directional arrows. The layout includes winding paths and clustered vegetation. A triangular scale ruler lies on the left, and three colored pencils, colored blue, green, and yellow, rest on the lower right corner of the page.
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    Getty Images
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    Don’t blink

    If I were to give a short bit of advice to today’s procurement workforce, it would have to be “don’t blink.” The time spent in a rewarding career will go by faster than you think.

    Darin Matthews, CPPO, CPSM, NIGP-CPP • Dec. 20, 2024
  • A man in a red uniform repairing a heat pump.
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    The key to successfully deploying heat pump water heaters? Funding innovation.

    Small grants allow local organizations to test new technologies and approaches, a vital step in scaling climate solutions. 

    Chris Badger • Dec. 17, 2024
  • Aerial view of wind turbines taken with a drone in Vermont.
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    Getty Images
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    Stepping up to achieve local climate progress despite federal headwinds

    As a second Trump administration takes office, state and local action will be among the most effective means of continuing the momentum for clean energy deployment and cost reductions.

    Darren Springer • Dec. 11, 2024
  • A detailed landscape design plan showing topographic contour lines, orange building illustrations, green trees, and directional arrows. The layout includes winding paths and clustered vegetation. A triangular scale ruler lies on the left, and three colored pencils, colored blue, green, and yellow, rest on the lower right corner of the page.
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    Getty Images
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    Procurement Ponderable: Supporting your entity’s sustainability goals through procurement

    One noteworthy shortcut is using existing cooperative contracts for sustainable products created by entities that have the capacity to award such contracts.

    Stephen B. Gordon, PhD, FNIGP, CPPO-Ret. • Dec. 9, 2024