The Latest

  • Side view of a two-door car parked at night with people sitting at tables on the sidewalk.
    Image attribution tooltip
    Courtesy of Tesla Motors
    Image attribution tooltip

    Tesla promises driverless robotaxi by 2027

    CEO Elon Musk also announced that fully autonomous versions of Tesla's Model 3 and Model Y vehicles would begin driverless tests in California and Texas next year.

  • Vegetation on the roof of a bus shelter. On the street below is a transit bus.
    Image attribution tooltip
    Retrieved from City of Boston.
    Image attribution tooltip

    Green roofs on bus shelters are Boston’s latest climate resilience move

    It's the nation’s largest single installation of green roofs on bus shelters, the city says. It hopes the infrastructure will ease stress on Boston’s aging drainage system.

  • Sustainable glass office building with trees for reducing carbon dioxide.
    Image attribution tooltip
    Fahroni via Getty Images
    Image attribution tooltip

    How to address a key building decarbonization barrier: the ‘split incentive gap’

    While landlords and developers foot the bill for efficiency upgrades, tenants benefit from lower energy costs. A Sustainable Markets Initiative road map outlines policies and other ways to address the mismatch.

  • Aerial shot of people inside a large indoor space. People sit on folding chairs and lay on mats on the floor.
    Image attribution tooltip
    Nathan Howard via Getty Images
    Image attribution tooltip

    Gas utility faces climate deception lawsuit by Oregon county

    It's the first time a U.S. community has sued a gas utility for allegedly deceiving the public about the climate impacts of fossil fuels, advocates say.

  • Two women and a man seated at a long table with micrphones.
    Image attribution tooltip
    Dan Zukowski/Smart Cities Dive
    Image attribution tooltip

    Zero-emission bus transition: Lessons from the front lines

    There’s likely no economic payback for zero-emission buses, panelists at an American Public Transportation Association conference said, but it’s the right thing to do.

  • Debris from Hurricane Helene cover the ground.
    Image attribution tooltip
    Melissa Sue Gerrits via Getty Images
    Image attribution tooltip

    Helene deals billions in damage to infrastructure

    Roads, bridges, electrical grids and water systems need to be rebuilt following the deadly storm.

  • A blue hybrid-electric bus in New Haven, Connecticut.
    Image attribution tooltip
    Alexander Farnsworth via Getty Images
    Image attribution tooltip

    How the White House influences transportation grantmaking

    Priorities vary among administrations, an Urban Institute report found. “The president actually has substantial discretion over a lot of these programs,” one researcher said.

  • People use buckets to throw floodwater out the windows of a house surrounded by flooding.
    Image attribution tooltip
    Megan Varner via Getty Images
    Image attribution tooltip

    Bill aims to help disaster-struck communities excluded from federal relief

    The bipartisan proposal would give more communities access to federal dollars in the wake of increasing natural disasters.

  • A view of office buildings on October 27, 2022 in San Francisco, California.
    Image attribution tooltip
    Justin Sullivan via Getty Images
    Image attribution tooltip

    Why California’s governor shot down a bill aimed at ramping up adaptive reuse projects

    Converting commercial buildings to residential or other uses may have become even more complicated under the bill, local officials said.

  • A woman at a podium.
    Image attribution tooltip
    Dan Zukowski/Smart Cities Dive
    Image attribution tooltip

    $50B in transit ballot measures riding on November election

    Support for voter-approved transit funding has been strong. Transit agencies and advocates shared their stories at a recent American Public Transportation Association conference.

  • People walk in a lit parking lot at night next to numerous tents.
    Image attribution tooltip
    Mario Tama via Getty Images
    Image attribution tooltip

    California allocates $131M to local homelessness response efforts

    The state will also reimburse local governments for cleaning up encampments on state land, Gov. Gavin Newsom announced Friday.

  • stock image
    Image attribution tooltip
    Retrieved from Pixabay.
    Image attribution tooltip

    EPA requires lead pipes to be replaced nationwide within 10 years

    The landmark rule imposes the strictest limits on lead in drinking water since federal standards were set 30 years ago.

  • Amtrak trains at a station.
    Image attribution tooltip
    Courtesy of Amtrak
    Image attribution tooltip

    FRA opens $1B intercity passenger rail grant funding round

    Projects to expand or improve intercity passenger rail outside the Northeast Corridor can apply for the Federal Railroad Administration funding.

  • Electric air taxis
    Image attribution tooltip
    Courtesy of Joby Aviation
    Image attribution tooltip

    Toyota to invest $500M in Joby Aviation

    The automaker's investment will create a manufacturing alliance for the electric air taxi startup's first phase of commercialization. 

  • Cars line up at a red light in a city.
    Image attribution tooltip
    peeterv via Getty Images
    Image attribution tooltip

    Right-turn-on-red bans not a ‘silver bullet’ for pedestrian safety, experts say

    As more cities restrict drivers from turning right at a red light, some research indicates such policies may not make a big dent in pedestrian and cyclist fatalities and serious injuries.

  • A female engineer squats down to inspect and control the cooling system of a large factory air conditioner
    Image attribution tooltip
    Panupong Piewkleng via Getty Images
    Image attribution tooltip

    Skills gap looms for energy efficiency jobs tied to net-zero emission goals: IEA

    Dialogue among policymakers, employers and labor unions will play a critical role in training workers for skills relevant to the jobs being offered, a new International Energy Agency report says.

  • People around a table on a brightly lit stage.
    Image attribution tooltip
    Permission granted by Dahlia Katz
    Image attribution tooltip

    A hit show on Toronto’s failed smart city project returns to the stage

    The award-winning play, “The Master Plan,” dramatizes the city’s fractured relationship with then-Google subsidiary Sidewalk Labs.

  • City skyline behind trees and homes.
    Image attribution tooltip
    benedek via Getty Images
    Image attribution tooltip

    What’s the value of a city’s nature? San Antonio pilots tool to find out.

    Designed by a Stanford University-based group, the tool shows how land use changes could impact carbon sequestration, urban cooling and residents’ access to nature. More cities may eventually get access.

  • The California Capitol building.
    Image attribution tooltip
    Wallentine via Getty Images
    Image attribution tooltip

    New California laws tighten renter protections

    Gov. Gavin Newsom recently signed multiple bills into law. A major remaining question is whether voters will approve an upcoming ballot measure to expand local governments’ authority to enact rent control.

  • Building debris falling into a river. Other houses still stand by the river.
    Image attribution tooltip
    Sean Rayford via Getty Images
    Image attribution tooltip

    FEMA’s push for resilience in building codes gets scrutiny in House hearing

    Emergency managers touted the cost-effectiveness of more resilient buildings, but keeping up with the latest codes is a struggle for some local governments and homebuilders.

  • A pile of election materials on the ground, with a truck in the background, in Delaware County, Pennsylvania.
    Image attribution tooltip
    Permission granted by Delaware County Public Relations
    Image attribution tooltip

    How cities can handle election waste

    Local governments are preparing to deal with high volumes of yard signs, mailers and campaign material as the fall election season ramps up. Programs in Pennsylvania, Texas, Florida and elsewhere encourage recycling and reuse.

  • People with a row of docked bicycles along a busy sidewalk.
    Image attribution tooltip
    Permission granted by Dan Zukowski
    Image attribution tooltip

    Micromobility on the rebound in 2024

    Industry consolidation and growing ridership for shared scooters and bikes are helping to renew optimism among micromobility industry leaders.

  • A vehicle parked on the curb in front of grass.
    Image attribution tooltip
    efrederiksen via Getty Images
    Image attribution tooltip

    As Los Angeles struggles with RV encampments, a new California law aims to help

    The law allows the city to lease state transportation department property for $1 a month to securely store recreational vehicles formerly inhabited by people experiencing homelessness.

  • Crowds of people walk on a city street
    Image attribution tooltip
    rarrarorro via Getty Images
    Image attribution tooltip

    2025’s top smart city conferences

    Smart city technology, housing, climate action, road safety and more will take center stage at events already announced for next year.

  • Power crews work on the lines after Hurricane Helene
    Image attribution tooltip
    Joe Raedle/Getty Images via Getty Images
    Image attribution tooltip

    1.6M customers still without power after Helene; some local grids must ‘be completely rebuilt’

    Multiple utilities say they will need to completely rebuild, rather than repair, electric systems in the hardest-hit areas.