Calls to embrace urban sprawl as the solution to America’s housing shortage are gaining steam—but critics say it’s a costly detour. While “just build everywhere” may sound simple, the environmental and economic consequences are far from it. Sprawl eats up farmland, fuels[...]
City hall meetings don’t have to happen at city hall—and Minot is proving it by bringing the conversation directly to neighborhoods across town. Monday night’s gathering focused on something that affects many residents: getting around the city when you can’t drive yourself.[...]
Most developers see land as a blank canvas to be scraped clean and rebuilt from scratch. Steve Nygren saw something different when he looked at 900 acres outside Atlanta—he saw an opportunity to prove that you could build more housing per square[...]
The MHA Nation is breaking ground on a new water facility to support the expansion of Fort Berthold Rural Water Systems. The current facility, built in 1994, no longer meets the needs of a system that now serves all six segments of[...]
When Plympton, Massachusetts faced a classic municipal headache—residents dumping so much trash they were bankrupting the town’s waste system—officials had to get creative. Instead of simply doubling fees and hitting everyone equally hard, they borrowed a page from economics textbooks and made[...]
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Calgary thought it was making a smart financial move when it stopped adding fluoride to its drinking water in 2011. Fourteen years later, the Canadian city is spending over $20 million to fix what one councilman now calls a costly mistake. As[...]
It’s easy to overlook the pipes, roads, and systems that make city life possible—until they fail. That’s the lesson behind CityWorks, a hands-on exhibit at the New York Hall of Science that turns urban infrastructure into an experience you can touch, see,[...]
When cities are designed around cars, people become afterthoughts. Dr. Patricia Tice wants to flip that script. In this episode of The Bottom-Up Revolution, she brings nearly 30 years of experience in transportation engineering to a simple but powerful idea: human connection[...]
Garrison Dam is often hailed as a symbol of American ingenuity—an engineering feat that tamed the Missouri River and created Lake Sakakawea. But that story isn’t complete without the one beneath the waterline: the forced displacement of the Mandan, Hidatsa, and Arikara[...]
Everything’s bigger in Texas, including the housing affordability crisis. Now the Lone Star State is trying something surprisingly modest to fix it: letting people build smaller homes. Senate Bill 15 would require cities to allow residential lots as small as 3,000 square[...]
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It is not just the weather or commodity prices farmers have to worry about. Many rural communities struggle to keep their roads and bridges in good shape, making farming life even harder and now, North Dakota is trying to correct the issue.[...]
For decades, zoning laws quietly shaped how and where people could live. Now, Iowa is giving that power back to homeowners. With a new statewide law, cities and counties must allow accessory dwelling units—backyard cottages, in-law flats, or basement apartments—on single-family lots.[...]
BISMARCK, ND — At its June meeting, the North Dakota State Water Commission (SWC) approved 26 cost-share requests for a broad range of strategic initiatives designed to enhance water infrastructure, support economic development, and ensure sustainable water access across the state. In[...]
The dream of an indoor skate park in Fargo hit concrete reality when city officials flagged a zoning issue that forced the North Dakota Skateboarding Association to scrap its planned location. The group had nearly reached its fundraising goal and was ready[...]
Minot’s construction season is in full swing, with 13 projects totaling $43 million underway—and 16th Street Southwest is just one piece of the puzzle. At a neighborhood meeting this week, City Engineer Lance Meyer laid out both the immediate disruptions and long-term[...]
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In the desert city of St. George, Utah, growth and drought are pushing leaders toward an unlikely solution: sewage. With the Virgin River dwindling and the population booming, local officials are investing over a billion dollars in infrastructure to clean and reuse[...]