SmartCities.org

Zero Waste USA in partnership with the National Recycling Coalition is excited to announce the National Zero Waste Virtual Conference, December 8-9, 2021… Read More

In this recently published commentary, ILSR says cities and counties need sources of renewable capital for the generation of investment in recycling, composting and reuse infrastructure. They also need guidelines for proper investment strategies… Read More

After President Biden nominated Alvaro Bedoya to the Federal Trade Commission, ILSR issued a statement applauding the nomination and urging Bedoya’s speedy Senate confirmation.… Read More

Watch Kennedy Smith’s Route Fifty panel about how cities can leverage federal funds to revitalize their downtowns and equitably rebuild their local economies.… Read More

This statement was issued by ILSR Co-Director Stacy Mitchell in response to new amendments to an antitrust complaint filed against Amazon by D.C. Attorney General Karl A. Racine.… Read More

20 states have policies allowing some form of community renewable energy. This quarterly update (2021 Q2) shows the capacity built in states with most active programs: Colorado, Massachusetts, Minnesota, and New York. It focuses on programs in investor-owned utility service territory.… Read More

For this episode of the Local Energy Rules Podcast, host John Farrell and guest Ingrid Vila discuss why rooftop solar should power every home in Puerto Rico, reducing residential electricity rates and covering basic needs during future crises.… Read More

Host Jess Del Fiacco is joined by Ry Marcattilio-McCracken and Sean Gonsalves, Senior Researchers with ILSR’s Community Broadband initiative, as well as Christopher Ali, an Associate Professor in the Department of Media Studies at the University of Virginia. Christopher discusses his new book Farm Fresh Broadband: The Politics of Rural Connectivity and recent news in the broadband policy space.… Read More

Minnesota’s community solar program reached 811 megawatts in August 2021, enough to power more than 100,000 homes each year or about as much capacity as a typical nuclear power plant!… Read More

A few years ago, I worked with some ARISE-US members to carry out a survey of small businesses in post-Katrina New Orleans of disaster risk reduction (DRR) awareness.  One theme stood out to me more than any other.  The businesses that had lived through Katrina and survived well understood the need to be prepared and to have continuity plans.  Those that were new since Katrina all tended to have the view that, to paraphrase, “well, government (city, state, federal…) will take care of things”.

While the experience after Katrina, of all disasters, should be enough to show anyone in the US that there are limits on what government can do, it does raise the question, of what could and should public and private sectors expect of one another?