Infrastructure – Page 6

CSOnet

Problem

Combined Sewer Overflow (CSO) cities across the country overflow hundreds of billions of gallons of raw sewage into rivers, lakes and oceans every year. South Bend is a CSO city and as recently as 2008 overflowed 1.5-2 billion gallons of raw sewage into the Saint Joseph River annually. The City also used to have 25-30 dry weather sewage overflows to the river each year.

Solution

CSOnet is a real time decision support system that empowers the City of South Bend with understanding, control and optimization of its sewer system. CSOnet minimizes sewer overflows to the river and maximizes the capacity of the existing infrastructure.
In 2013 South Bend commissioned and launched a Sewer Watchdog tool within CSOnet that closely monitors the City’s sewer system in notoriously problem areas. This tool has empowered crews to be far more effective at solving problems, as they have gone from searching for problems to reactive maintenance, and most recently to predictive/preventative maintenance.

Mountain Accord

Problem

The Central Wasatch Mountains are “ground zero” for millions of Utah residents and visitors alike to obtain clean drinking water, experience a variety of outdoor recreational activities, and, for some, to earn a paycheck. It’s a checkerboard of land management jurisdictions, including the U.S. Forest Service, the Salt Lake City and Metropolitan Water Districts, private property owners, the ski, lodging and restaurant businesses, the Utah Department of Transportation and Salt Lake County. As growth has accelerated along both the Wasatch Front and Wasatch Back, population pressures on the watershed and natural environment have increased. Over the past few decades, more than 80 studies have partially examined the Wasatch but until now, no effort has built a comprehensive plan that seeks to balance the many competing uses and systems.

Solution

Mayor Ben McAdams helped lead the Mountain Accord initiative, an effort to bring as many stakeholders together as possible to collect and review data and gather public comment on four main areas: environment, recreation, economy and transportation and to see if consensus could be achieved to move forward from a blueprint to an approved environmental impact statement. The result was a set of agreed-to actions to influence local, regional and statewide planning and to initiate efforts to enact meaningful protections for the Central Wasatch in the face of growing pressures on this iconic and cherished landscape. Mountain Accord was a grassroots, bottom up, data driven activity that had to be supported by all of its signatories, including elected officials, private property owners, the ski industry, the environmental community, the transportation authority and others.

Cook County Land Bank Authority

Problem

Vacant housing hinders economic development, weakens the tax base and imposes significant costs on already-struggling municipalities and their taxpayers. These properties have a devastating effect on neighbors, local businesses and governments at all levels: increases in vacant housing bring increases in crime, reduction of property values and decline of the quality of life, even in previously stable communities.

Solution

The Cook County Land Bank, the largest geographic land bank in the country, was created in January 2013 as a public/private partnership to revitalize communities by redeveloping vacant land and finding new uses for abandoned buildings. The Land Bank’s goals are to reverse the cycle of neighborhood decline and promote economic development and neighborhood stabilization.

Recently, and on a national stage, the Cook County Land Bank partnered with the Federal Housing Finance Agency to launch the Neighborhood Stabilization Initiative (NSI), a pilot program that will allow Fannie Mae, as one of the largest holders of foreclosed property in the county, the ability to help the CCLBA aggressively pursue its geographic strategy by focusing on 13 Chicago and Cook County neighborhoods.

How to steal this idea:

The passage of the Cook County Land Bank Ordinance was the culmination of over three years of research and outreach to communities around Cook County and the country that had implemented innovative responses to foreclosure. The Land bank benefited from the expert guidance of over 100 stakeholders and has formed partnerships with Cook County, Metropolitan Planning Council, City of Chicago, South Suburban Land Bank Authority, Suburban Governments throughout Cook County, Local and National Banks, Realtors, For-profit and non-profit developers and affordable housing agencies.

While the CCLBA continues to receive funding from third parties, including our largest influx of funds – $4.5 million from Illinois Attorney General Madigan’s share of the 2012 National Foreclosure Settlement – the CCLBA has made unprecedented milestones in its goal of becoming a completely self-sustaining organization.

Learn more about the Cook County Land Bank Authority here.

Across the country, land banks have become an effective tool to address these challenges, reversing the cycle of decline and decay, facilitating the transfer of vacant property, and promoting economic development and neighborhood stabilization.

– Center for Community Progress
– Congressman Dan Kildee
– Detroit Land Bank
– Cuyahoga Land Bank
– Greater Syracuse Land Bank
– Genesee County Land Bank
– Twin Cities Land Bank

Visit and share the gallery of NewDEAL Challenge winners at governing.com/newdeal.

Bridging the Digital Divide

Problem

By providing access to information, connecting people to businesses, and opening up new markets, the internet is changing the economy and supporting economic development. Yet nearly 30 percent of American households do not have Internet access, according to a recent report by the U.S. Census Bureau. Those Americans with no online connectivity are disproportionately old, black or Hispanic, poorly educated, and low income. In order for cities to remain competitive in the increasingly digital world, the internet must be accessible to all residents, not just those who live in digital gated communities.

Solution

Through a coordinated approach, Mayor Andy Berke is leading an initiative to connect more people to high speed broadband to unlock the potential of all Chattanoogans. In April 2015, Mayor Berke announced that the City’s municipally owned electric utility, EPB, would offer low-cost, ultra high speed broadband to low-income families. In addition to increasing access to the internet, the City partnered with a local nonprofit to offer classes around the community aimed at increasing online usage and digital literacy. Participants in the program receive guidance on how to submit a resume online, open an email account, and set good rules about internet usage for minors in their home. By connecting residents to the tools they need to be successful in the digital economy, Mayor Berke is helping expand opportunity throughout Chattanooga.

Building Ready Multnomah

Problem

With scientists’ predictions of a massive earthquake affecting a sizable portion of the Pacific Northwest in the next 50 years, too few commercial buildings are prepared for a natural disaster of such scale. Moreover, climate change has meant hotter summers and extreme winters that drive up demand for energy. Yet too few building owners have access to the capital and the expertise needed to address these energy needs.

Solution

Building Ready Multnomah” initiative to make commercial buildings earthquake safe and energy smart. The initiative adopts a “Property Assessed Clean Energy” (PACE) model to help finance energy efficiency upgrades to buildings. This method helps identify the most effective upgrades for each individual building. And by providing longer loan repayment options, payments can be offset by future savings from reduced energy use and the value of renewable energy generated. These savings can also help cover the necessary seismic upgrades to help the community prepare for future natural disasters.

A Wide Road and Sturdy Guardrails for Driverless Cars

Problem

Driverless cars have the potential to reduce traffic fatalities by up to 90%. They will provide affordable, on-demand transportation for those with disabilities, our aging population, and anyone with an unreliable vehicle—no one will ever have to miss work because their car won’t start. However, CO law currently does not address even the possibility of driverless cars. Until driverless cars are as safe as those with drivers, we need to protect people on the roads while ensuring that our state is a safe and attractive place for this developing new industry.

Solution

Driverless cars will provide more accessible and affordable transportation to everyone, but the technology is developing faster than our ability to regulate it. To encourage entrepreneurship while keeping people safe we need clear legal boundaries alongside highly adaptable oversight. My bill works to give CDOT and State Patrol the authority and the flexibility they need to work with companies at all stages of testing while ensuring the safety of all Coloradans by doing four things: The bill recognizes that driverless cars exist. It requires them to follow all traffic laws. If they can’t, a company must get approval for testing from CDOT and State Patrol. And if they go ahead without approval, State Patrol will impound their vehicles. We give CDOT and State Patrol the authority and the flexibility they need to work with companies at all stages of testing while ensuring the safety of all Coloradans. Since we passed this legislation, the French driverless car company EasyRide has named Denver their US headquarters.

Growth and Progress Through Public-Private Partnerships

Problem

Arkansas and other states have more infrastructure needs than they can ever afford to fund from their public treasuries. Roads, bridges, water projects, higher education facilities, and other items need to be built and sustained, but there is no room in existing budgets to allocate toward them. This is a critical problem that will suppress economic growth and impact public safety if it is not addressed.

Solution

Public-Private Partnerships can leverage the efficiency and capital of the private sector to create and sustain infrastructure that would be impossible through public funding alone, leading to more economic growth and opportunity for all. P3s have been utilized successfully around the world for several decades, but they are relatively new in the USA, and this year I passed a comprehensive bill authorizing and enabling P3s in Arkansas. As a result, private entities can now put forth unsolicited bids for proposals for what they think may be in the public interest. The bill encourages competition, while also providing a statutory framework for government entities to solicit private capital and investment, as well as a mechanism for government to capture the value it creates in increased real estate values and economic activity through a revenue sharing arrangement with developers.

Schools as Centers of Sustainability

Problem

As public institutions, our school facilities are generally not on the forefront of design innovation. With twenty-one schools, the district I represent is one of the biggest property owners in the region, yet completely reliant on fossil fuels. For example, not one of them is powered by solar energy and there is just one car charging station for the several thousand employees in the district. Given this context, made sustainability a priority in the district, by first spearheading a climate change resolution that passed and also pushing for a staff position solely devoted to making great strides in this area. Climate change disproportionately impacts future generations and our schools should lead the way in our climate crisis.

Solution

Creating a sustainability position is not just good for the environment but it is smart economics. Districts across the country are now seeing savings of several hundred thousand dollars by shifting to renewable energy sources, conducting audits on energy and water use and employing innovative strategies. Making sustainability a priority in the form of this position, will foster a more comprehensive educational environment for students growing up in a climate crisis, directly showing them the tangible actions that can be taken.

West Sacramento On-Demand: Mobility for All

Problem

West Sacramento On-Demand was developed as an early implementation item of the City’s Mobility Action Plan, which aims to enhance transit, create multi-modal hubs, and leverage smart technology investments. In recent years, transit ridership has declined while costs have risen and the bus simply hasn’t competed with the expediency of other modes. Mounting community feedback demanded more convenient transit options. Concurrently, residents in the City’s transit-oriented Riverfront remained reluctant to give up personal cars due to a lack of transit alternatives, resulting in parking demand challenges. West Sacramento was also concerned about impacts of limited mobility on a growing senior population, like social isolation.

Solution

West Sacramento On-Demand brings convenience and a high quality user experience to the previously underserved or transit dependent, while preserving critical social functions of public transit by safeguarding accessibility across ages, incomes and abilities. Via’s state-of-the-art technology balances speed of service with optimized vehicle occupancies, using a smart algorithm to predict demand and pick up multiple passengers along the way. Using “virtual bus stops”, riders walk up to 500 feet to meet their vehicle, but curb-to-curb and wheelchair accessible service remains available for those who need it. By offering rides for just $3.50, or $1.75 for seniors and disabled riders, the service improves access to critical daily amenities.

Social Progress Index

This week, NewDEAL Leader San Jose Mayor Sam Liccardo partnered with Social Progress Imperative and other organizations to become the first city in the US to launch the Social Progress Index, a tool to help guide public investment to the neighborhoods most in need. The index complements other economic measures to look more deeply at quality of life, using 42 indicators and 50 datasets, and will help city officials steer policy toward resolving inequities and disparities. Read more details on the launch or check out the database on San Jose’s city website.

CSOnet

Problem

Solution

Mountain Accord

Problem

Solution

Cook County Land Bank Authority

Problem

Solution

Bridging the Digital Divide

Problem

Solution

Building Ready Multnomah

Problem

Solution

A Wide Road and Sturdy Guardrails for Driverless Cars

Problem

Solution

Growth and Progress Through Public-Private Partnerships

Problem

Solution

Schools as Centers of Sustainability

Problem

Solution

West Sacramento On-Demand: Mobility for All

Problem

Solution

Social Progress Index

Subscribe

Recent News

View All

State Official: 1864 abortion ban gives Arizona ‘black eye’

State and local leaders from across the nation shine spotlight on Phoenix’s vitality

New Poll: Freedom and Democracy Key to Vote Choice in 2024

NewDEAL Statement on Arizona Supreme Court Decision: One More Step in Stripping Away Rights of Millions of Women