Over the summer I saw several notices about "walks with the mayor" in two different communities. While these efforts seem to focus on improving the health of people living in those areas by encouraging walking, I can see how these walks also have the potential to help build a strong community. (Photo credit: Mary R. Vogt on morguefile.com) Walking the…
Category: Public Works
Fixing the Illinois Pension System by Investing in Local Economies
Today we read an article, INTERVIEW: When a State Doesn’t Realize Its Best, City-Level Assets, in which Pennsylvania Treasurer Rob McCord talked about the impact that the transfer of funding of education from a state to local responsibility would have on his state's economy. While we might not have totally agreed with his hesitation to transfer at least…
IPSI – Public Works Management Training that Works!
I just returned from spending a week at the Illinois Public Service Institute – "a three-year training program which provides instruction expressly designed for public service professionals." Since this is my second year of the three-year program, I thought it would be a good time to share my experiences with others who might be considering attending…
Paying the Price of Football 30 Years Later
After watching two examples of extreme unnecessary roughness that appeared to risk permanent injury to two kids at a high school football game last night, I finally decided it was time to write a post about football and what it means to public works. Because our field is still very dependent on physical labor, it probably isn't…
Understanding Locally Administered Federal-Aid Projects
Local agencies have the opportunity to receive federal funds to spend on improving the federal aid routes in their communities. The challenge in taking advantage of these funds is that projects eligible for this funding must be designed and constructed according federal guidelines. And because of the many policies and procedures involved in the process,…
“We are engineers; we are not gamers”
Over the past several years, most people I knew in the industry chose to ignore what was going on with 3D immersive technology. At one point they might have taken a quick look, realized gaming engines like Second Life were not easily compatible with the CAD products we used, and moved on. Until more recently this…
Infographic of the Month – September 2013
This month we have a bike-related infographic supplied by Online Masters in Public Health. Whether it's to improve health or save money, people seem to be hopping on their bikes more than ever. And cities and states are working to accommodate these increased demands for bicycle facilities. As the Infographic shows, one initiative experiencing great success throughout…
Unconference Session to be held at 2013 APWA Congress
This year when the APWA Congress opens up in Chicago the week of August 25th, there will be a new type of session offered to attendees called a Public Works Camp. This event is held in an unconference style where the "presenters" serve more as hosts and the "attendees" create and drive the session. Because our local branch,…
Chicago Map Tour
Over the last few days I have been working on building mobile applications for Android devices as part of the August 3D Game Lab Teacher Camp. It hasn't been as difficult as I thought it would be as there are a lot of tutorials out there. There are also some applications that allow you to emulate a…
City of Cleveland Division of Water Requesting Help
Below is an urgent request for assistance from the City of Cleveland Division of Water. If you can help, contact information is provided in their message: The City of Cleveland Division of Water is in urgent need of two 24” Victaulics couplings. We have contacted Victaulic but have been informed it will take about…