We Build Arizona

One of the events I attended while visiting Arizona was a networking social with APWA, AGC (Association of General Contractors) and invited state officials. A coalition, called We Build Arizona, has been formed to promote a ballot initiative to create jobs and fund education and infrastructure.  The Arizona legislature has raided $1.5 billion dedicated for highway, road construction and other infrastructure needs.  As with any ballot initiatives, there is always compromise. There are so many funding needs. But success is important and marrying needs to create a program that is a win-win makes sense. Money for education infrastructure and support for teachers together with funding for transportation infrastructure has the potential to be successful when funding for transportation alone might not. I applaud Arizona’s AGC and the members of the Arizona Chapter for their efforts in advocating for infrastructure funding and recognizing the value of relationships among associations as well as with statewide decision makers.

Are there other inititatives in the works?

Outreach in Arizona

It was an APWA week last week! I had the great fortune to spend the time with the Arizona Chapter, Region 7 delegates and the Engineering and Technology (E&T)Technical Committee. What was obvious with all the groups is their commitment to the public works profession!
One discussion at the Region 7 delegates and E&T meeting centered around our need to focus on the business of public works, not just the engineering and technology – although very important. The competition for funds is fierce and we tend to present technical reasons to fund projects and operations but don’t often “sell” projects for social and long-term economic benefits. Dave shared his thoughts – when you drive up upon an accident on a highway, with fire apparatus, police cars and ambulances all around, we feel an emotional support for our colleagues in emergency services. These men and women are helping to save a life. Yet, when we flush the toilet, we don’t feel any emotional attachment to the men and women at the water treatment plant! Without them, the water wouldn’t be flowing. Dave suggested that we need to do a much better job in convincing our councils and citizens that we are a critical service that needs to be funded.
The good news is that many are doing things to reach out and educate our communities so that they do feel the emotional connection and therefore support our programs. Maher shared an outreach Peoria has embarked on – Eye on Public Works. These are 30-minute video programs on a public works topic, with a paid professional interviewing public works professionals. The programs are aired on the community access channel and posted on YouTube with a link on the City’s website. Using the City’s studio, the cost is so reasonable! Peoria PW pays for the time of the program host, costing between $200-300 per program. Take a few minutes to check out an episode. It may inspire you to develop a creative and cost-effective way to influence our decision makers.

International Women’s Day

Even though I have already posted a blog today, I want to recognize the women in our organization on International Women’s Day! Use this link to go to Wikipedia to see the history behind this worldwide celebration. Elizabeth Treadway, APWA President-Elect, joined our members in the Ontario Chapter this week in a day-long event of speakers and camaraderie. I am unaware of any other chapters or branches that have a similar event but it is something to think about for the future.
As the world becomes smaller and APWA continues to look at our global partners to share and learn, understanding foreign cultures is important. This year’s UN theme is “Empower Women – End Hunger and Poverty”. Wouldn’t that be something to celebrate.

Cities are Vacuum Cleaners

Chris Champion, our partner at IPWEA in Australia, posted a video on the sustainability of cities. It is about 18 minutes long and worth watching. One speaker says that cities are “vacuum cleaners or magnets that suck up human creativity” and will drive creative solutions for the future. As you can imagine, the population in cities around the world is growing exponentially. Many cities are using that creativity to create more livable, sustainable places for the future.
It highlights Boston and the mayor’s efforts to engage the community (around minute 10). The video shares information about an app that allows the citizen to report a service request (pothole, street light, graffiti) and receive a report back when it has been addressed. The goal is to get people caring more about their city and increase its livability. I know that a number of cities have developed this technology to engage their communities. In addition, there are a number of examples of projects that are focusing on sustainability – using renewable energy. Stockholm has a great redevelopment project highlighted.
I encourage you to spend the time, if only to watch the great cinematography of people and cities around the world. In closing their say “We cannot create a better world without better cities.” What do you think?

Habit Changing

How many of you heard the story this morning about marketing for success by changing a behavior and making it habit-forming? It was called “The Power of Habit” and was broadcast on NPR.

The first example was the development of Pepsodent toothpaste. In the early 1900’s people didn’t brush their teeth. The creator marketed his toothpaste as a way to get rid of the film on people’s teeth. The reward was a beautiful smile and a tingling, fresh feeling. Obviously, he was successful in creating a new habit!
The second example has more relevance to public works – striving for a high performance organization. He told a story about Alcoa. A new CEO takes over at a time when the relationship between managers and employees is very strained – 15,000 employees had recently gone on strike. The expectation was that the new CEO would come in and focus on profits and making employees work harder. But instead, he focused on worker safety. He found a way to increase efficiencies by having managers and employees work together to identify bad practices, implement changes which created more efficient processes, improved quality and, for Alcoa, higher profits. New habits created a higher performing workforce.
I think the story is relevant. Maybe by focusing on changing the bad habits we have in our organizations, we could develop a lasting, higher performing organization?

$20/gallon!

I recently received a link to an article about an author who is predicting the impacts of rising gas prices. Christopher Steiner wrote a book called “$20 Per Gallon: How the Inevitable Rise in the Price of Gasoline Will Change Our Lives for the Better” and spoke in Orlando recently sharing his theories with planners in central Florida. At first glance, I thought “this will never happen!” On second thought, that is probably what our parents would have said when gas was $0.25/gal.
I suspect that not many folks would agree with him based solely on their perception of what the book may talk about. If you go to his website, he has an interactive timeline that predicts the impacts of the price per gallon, starting at $6/gal and ending at $20/gal, which I find interesting and thought provoking.

We plan for transportation improvements, looking out 20-30 years, and often base our projections based on historic trends. Should we assume that the trends will continue as they have historically grown or should we include a “gas price” factor to better predict future traffic volumes?  Do you think the price per gallon will have these positive impacts?  How should we be planning for the future?

Super Bowl Monday – a “Giant” of a game!

Just to be perfectly clear, I am a Giants fan, and not just last night. I remember going to a game (a long time ago as a Red Bank Regional high school student, in Red Bank, NJ ) and sitting with the high school band in the end zone on folding chairs (we were the half time show, just like Madonna!).
We all tend to use sports analogies to help clarify our stories. So as I was driving to work this morning, I was thinking about how I could relate the Giants WIN to public works. (Did I tell you I was a Giants fan?) I thought about how the Giants were average mid-season (7-7) and successfully won every game since – they must have refocused and made commitments to each other on the team to strive for success. I thought about the game last night – Eli’s focus on the goal, systematically making progress down the field; or Eli’s mistakes, taking two time-outs as he was running out of time between play; or the Manningham’s miraculous catch on third down to keep the drive alive, his effort to control the ball and keep his feet in bounds. How can I relate this to our work as public works professionals?
I am sure I could, but I won’t. I will just bask in the glory! Go G-Men!!!!!