Opinion

The latest opinion pieces by industry thought leaders

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  • 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
  • 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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    Toa55 via Getty Images
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    Why bus service cuts should be the last resort for transit agencies

    A closer look at ridership trends, demographic shifts and the broader impacts of service reductions reveals why maintaining and even improving bus service levels should be a top priority in 2025.

    Laramie Bowron • July 18, 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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    Toa55 via Getty Images
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    Why web accessibility is good policy, regardless of mandates or deadlines

    Making sure your website and digital services are accessible to everyone in the community, regardless of ability, builds trust and greater engagement with local government and civic life.

    Brenden Elwood • July 14, 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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    Toa55 via Getty Images
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    Matching cyber programs and partnerships with the pace of modern threats

    To effectively safeguard our digital infrastructure, state and local cybersecurity grants must be deployed more swiftly and with a greater sense of urgency.

    Gary Barlet • June 30, 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
  • 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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    Toa55 via Getty Images
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    Securing our water future through strategic action

    How utilities can overcome aging infrastructure, unfunded mandates and emerging contaminants.

    Stephanie Cuthbert • June 13, 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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    Yongyuan via Getty Images
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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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    MattGush via Getty Images
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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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    Toa55 via Getty Images
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    Stronger together: The power of collaborative community solutions

    When local governments, nonprofit organizations, academic institutions and private companies come together with a shared vision, they can tackle complex problems in ways that communities alone cannot.

    Katie O'Connor, AICP, Jamal Lewis • March 11, 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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    Toa55 via Getty Images
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    Simulated wildfire evacuations could help save lives

    Evacuation simulation can accurately predict how long it will take to clear neighborhoods, informing emergency managers and law enforcement how much notice is needed for safe egress.

    Bowen Kyle • Feb. 28, 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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    Toa55 via Getty Images
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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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    Laurence Dutton via 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
  • 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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    Toa55 via Getty Images
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    How ERP automation is helping local governments tackle regulatory change

    ERP automation simplifies compliance by unifying operations, generating accurate reports and reducing human error.

    Matt Parks • Feb. 3, 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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    Toa55 via Getty Images
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    Engineering modifications meet unique challenges of tunnel lighting project

    Tunnel lighting is a unique subset of roadway illumination that must address the complex safety challenges within the tunnel.

    Michael Brereton • Jan. 31, 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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    Toa55 via Getty Images
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    Water quality protections now depend on state and local governments—and voters

    State, tribal and local governments have the authority to regulate activities affecting waters within their jurisdictions. The integrity of the nation’s waters depends on informed, engaged citizens who vote in every election.

    Royal C. Gardner • Jan. 28, 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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    Toa55 via Getty Images
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    Transforming transportation through Complete Streets

    What started as a movement in many cities and urban environments in the early 2000s has now blossomed into a nationwide network of more than 1,700 Complete Streets policies across states, cities, towns and counties.

    Dr. Calvin Ball • Jan. 23, 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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    Art Wager via 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 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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    Toa55 via Getty Images
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    On the economy and housing, Americans want change. It starts at the local level.

    City governments across the country have been tackling their constituents’ concerns head on for years. Most recently, in the midst of a historic nationwide housing crisis, our work has centered around taking innovative approaches to ensure residents have access to affordable homes.

    Yadira Ramos-Herbert • Jan. 14, 2025