Climate change has already impacted communities across the US, however, even with sophisticated models, the where, when, and how severe future impacts will be is still uncertain. For this reason, some municipalities, especially those that lack staff or funds, may be hesitant to undertake highly specific climate resilient projects or implement climate change policies. “No
Planning for Trees Improves Climate Resiliency As the climate changes and the earth warms, extreme heat days (temperatures over 95°F) have increased in frequency and wildfires fueled by dry vegetation burn bigger and for longer, negatively impacting air quality both locally and nationally. While unable to completely cancel out the impacts of an extreme […]
With stay-at-home orders in place, people are increasingly turning to online technology to meet virtually. For projects with a requirement to conduct public outreach or with a need to hold public board meetings or presentations, technologies like Zoom are critical. However, swift, widespread adoption of the technology also revealed vulnerabilities and weaknesses of the Zoom
In a changing world subject to ever-increasing climate-related hazards, including increased air pollution, extreme heat, sea-level rise, and wildfires, planning and developing projects with a consideration of environmental justice is crucial. Per the EPA, environmental justice (EJ) is “the fair treatment and meaningful involvement” of all people regarding development, implementation, and enforcement of environmental laws,
Municipal agencies are increasingly including considerable small business (SB) and disadvantaged business enterprise (DBE) participation goals for as-needed and other contract efforts. At the same time, communities and businesses are recognizing the value of SB and DBE partnerships among contractors and small, local service providers for technical services. However, predicting task orders and workload at
Record-high temperatures and rainfall levels approaching the record low in California have fueled devastating fire seasons that begin earlier and earlier each year. In an effort to prevent increasingly catastrophic wildfires, California Governor Jerry Brown signed several bills in September that prioritize land management activities focused on forest health, fuel management, and fire prevention. Senate
National City—a small, disadvantaged city in San Diego County—will expand its urban forest by planting 1,700 trees in city-managed properties with a $650,000 CAL FIRE grant. CAL FIRE’s Urban and Community Forestry Program focuses on using trees to provide neighborhoods the benefits of urban forests, such as sequestering greenhouse house gas, filtering airborne particulate for
Cities in the Coachella Valley have a history of dealing with damaging summer flash floods. Intense thunderstorms can dump several inches of rain in a short time while runoff rushes from the nearby San Jacinto Mountains into the lowland flats where the cities are built. The City of La Quinta suffered back-to-back damaging summer storms
Many cities whose sewer systems were constructed in the first half of the 20th century are plagued by sanitary sewer overflows (SSOs) due to long-neglected root intrusion and pipe defects. To combat this, sewers can be rehabilitated using trenchless cured-in-place pipe (CIPP) lining. This method can fully rehabilitate aging pipes at least three times faster and
California is home to countless historic places, some dating back more than a century, and many of which carry no official historic designation. Historic designation on local, state or national registers offers a variety of benefits to property owners and communities, including the formal recognition of a property’s historical or architectural significance, the promotion and
