In the last few years the rise of electric scooters, shareable bicycles (both electric and regular), etc. has been hard to ignore. These mobility services deemed ‘shared micro-mobility’, are changing the way we think about transportation and the infrastructure it uses. For one, they’re clearly popular. According to the National Association of City Transportation Officials (NACTO), there were 35 million micro-mobility trips taken in 2017 in the United States alone. In 2018, the number more than doubled with a total of 84 billion shared micro-mobility trips. Shared micro-mobility isn’t only popular in the US though, shared bicycles are the 3rd most popular mode of public transit in China, and there are scooter and shared bicycle companies on every continent.
Read moreUsing Greywater
Approximately 50-80% of residential wastewater is greywater, finding ways to reuse portions of it can reduce stress on water and wastewater treatment plants. Reusing greywater can provide a 30% reduction in water use for the average household, and an even bigger reduction on a commercial scale.
Read moreAssessing Your Own Water Quality
How do you know if the water you’re drinking is safe? How do you find more information about your local water supply? What should you do if you’re worried about lead in your drinking water?
While the stories about the drinking water in Flint and other cities can be worrisome, there are plenty of things to do if you’re concerned your water quality. We’ll explore various ways to learn more about your drinking water in this article.
Read moreThe Flint Water Crisis
The City of Flint, Michigan has been in the news for having high levels of lead in its drinking water. However this problem isn’t an isolated problem, it prevails in many other cities too, such as Sebring, Ohio, Brick Township, New Jersey and more. Typically, part of the problem is caused by old pipes, through which lead can leach into water. Though congress banned lead water pipes in 1986, millions are of older lines are still in use throughout the United States. Most often problems begin with a change in the water source or treatment process changes, which alter how the water interacts with the pipes, leaving them vulnerable to leaching. Additionally, funds and budgets for water treatment are getting tighter and tighter. According to the Association of State Drinking Water Administrators, 17 states have cut drinking water budgets by more than 20%, 27 states have cut spending on full-time employees, and lastly federal officials have reduced drinking water grants.
Read moreWater Infrastructure
The average American uses between 80-100 gallons of water per day. But how often do we think about where it comes from or where it goes? Water infrastructure, both for drinking water and wastewater is incredibly important for our everyday lives.
Read moreA Brief History of Civil Engineering Through the Ages
We can see examples of civil engineering throughout history, even though the term ‘civil engineering’ wasn’t used until the 18th century. For millennia, people have designed structures, buildings and infrastructure to serve the general public. In history, we see this starting between 4000 and 2000 BC in ancient Egypt, Mesopotamia and the Indus Valley. Many of these examples of early civil engineering achievements still exist in Egypt, China, Rome and many other places.
Read moreWhat is a 100-Year Flood?
The recent Hurricane Florence dumped massive amounts of water in parts of North Carolina, in what many news sources are saying could be categorized as a 500-year or 1000-year flood event. But what does a 1000-year, 100-year, 50-year, etc. flood actually mean?
Read moreAir Quality, Infrastructure and Public Health
Roads in the US are getting more crowded and congested, and the total vehicle miles traveled (VMT) hit a record high in 2016 with 3.2 trillion miles. Congestion refers to periods when the volume of traffic exceeds the road’s capacity, think about a traffic jam where cars sit idling. All over the US, congestion is getting worse, especially in urban areas. One study found that from 1980 to 2003 the total VMT increased by 111% in urban areas, while urban lane-miles only increased by 51%, which created a net effect of heavier traffic congestion.
Read moreBlueprint Columbus: Near South - Morrill / Ann Area
The City of Columbus has a complex sewer system made up of three types of sewers:
Combined Sewers - these carry both sewage and rain water to treatment plants, where both are treated then released into a river
Separate Sewers - these are separated sanitary (for sewage) and storm sewers
Storm Sewers - located on curbs or in drainage ditches, these sewers empty rain water (and anything carried with it) directly back into rivers.
Many cities, including Columbus, are experiencing issues with their combined and separated sanitary sewer systems, because they are often overloaded during heavy rain events. This causes combined sewers to overflow into rivers (see image below), which causes public health and ecological problems.
Read moreBuilding Accessible Infrastructure for Everyone
Steve Krug once said “The one argument for accessibility that doesn’t get made nearly often enough is how extraordinarily better it makes some people’s lives. How many opportunities do we have to dramatically improve people’s lives just by doing our job a little better?” Throughout our lives our physical and mental abilities change as we age, making ability more of a spectrum than a binary concept as we once thought. By keeping this in mind as we build infrastructure, we can make infrastructure more accessible to all people regardless of where they are on the ability-spectrum.
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