A government procurement expert makes the case that public officials at all levels should rethink how they deliver services, describing in detail the innovative ways that essential infrastructure and public service needs are being financed and completed sooner, better, and with less stress on limited government budgets.

With his signature straightforward candor, Washington D.C. infrastructure guru Norman F. Anderson unleashes a fascinating, nation-saving plan for the future that is rooted in two questions: What will the U.S. look like in 2030, and what do we want it to look like? Anderson's analysis is driven by the crisis facing America as the cornerstones of society — vast, fast highways; power stations; and telecommunications networks — languish from lack of funds, while the huge opportunity in new infrastructure, including AI, 5G, and new forms of mobility, are set-up to drive extraordinary productive and opportunity across the U.S. economy. What do we need? Leadership, political will, and, ultimately an engaging vision. The answers he offers are equal parts inspiring, terrifying and utterly sensible. In twelve chapters, Anderson explores the nature and power of vision, demonstrating that, as the Fourth Industrial Revolution unfolds in real-time, driven by 5G, machine learning and AI, infrastructure must become the essential strategic pillar of American society — one that, if built and nurtured, will bolster our economy, job market, national security and quality of life. It's where the battlefield on which our bifurcated battle with China is being played out. Anderson uncovers the vast obstacles that have crippled infrastructure growth in the U.S. over the last thirty years and talks to industry veterans and cutting edge-technologists about shifting from a broken system to one that works - and one that will once again allow the U.S. to drive infrastructure growth around the world (especially in the critical areas of health and mobility). Along the way, he shares the mind-bending projects of the future that are under development, explains the dangers of failing to counter China’s explosive infrastructure growth, and provides our leaders in Washington with a ten-point plan to remake America as an infrastructure leader. Engaging, timely and daring, Vision: Our Strategic Infrastructure Roadmap Forward turns the stereotyped perceptions of infrastructure on their head. Infrastructure is not tedious subject-matter for wonks who love constructing roads and power-lines — it is core to our economic and social strategy, the DNA that will define our society. And this book is an eye-opening treatise on how to create a future that works for all of us.

Engineers argue that inadequate maintenance of roads, bridges, airports, waterways, and other critical aspects of infrastructure along with underinvestment have created an infrastructure crisis in the United States. Many politicians agree with this claim and are attempting to take action. However, we are faced with the issue of which projects are most essential and how to fund them. Is the state of America's infrastructure that dire compared to the rest of the world? Are these efforts to improve it a cynical ploy from politicians to gain attention and ensure reelection? This volume considers the many perspectives of this pressing issue.

This series introduces readers to some of today's most pressing issues. Each book offers an objective, non-biased exploration of its subject, and engages the reader while avoiding sensationalism. Readers will learn about topics such as homelessness in the United States, laser-powered fusion energy, government intervention in business, the U.S. auto industry, failed states, modern-day piracy, the Taliban, and the rebuilding of America's infrastructure. Each book features a striking design and photographs that draw in the reader. This set makes often-complicated current events accessible for students, and can help any reader reach a greater understanding of the events that shape our world.

Focuses on the need for America to modernize and streamline the nation's transportation and energy production systems.

How government operates is going through a revolution that will result in an estimated $3 trillion of new business opportunities for private enterprise. Cities are outsourcing functions as mundane as parking garages; public-private partnerships are forming to replace aging bridges and other infrastructure projects; and government at all levels is looking to private enterprise to streamline operations and invent solutions to stubborn problems. Governments at all levels have to rethink how they deliver services and what services can be more efficiently delivered in collaboration with private enterprise. Nabers, who served for more than a decade as a statewide executive, pulls back the curtain on what makes government officials tick, the practical and political cross-currents that are unique challenges to doing business with government, and how to bridge the cultural divide between public officials and corporate executives who live in different worlds, speak different languages, and have distinctly different ways of doing business.

A renowned historian and engineer explores the past, present, and future of America's crumbling infrastructure. Acclaimed engineer and historian Henry Petroski explores our core infrastructure from both historical and contemporary perspectives, explaining how essential their maintenance is to America's economic health. Petroski reveals the genesis of the many parts of America's highway system--our interstate numbering system, the centerline that divides roads, and such taken-for-granted objects as guardrails, stop signs, and traffic lights--all crucial to our national and local infrastructure. A compelling work of history, The Road Taken is also an urgent clarion call aimed at American citizens, politicians, and anyone with a vested interest in our economic well-being. Physical infrastructure in the United States is crumbling, and Petroski reveals the complex and challenging interplay between government and industry inherent in major infrastructure improvement. The road we take in the next decade toward rebuilding our aging infrastructure will in large part determine our future national prosperity.

"Never before have so many Americans been more frustrated with our economic system, more fearful that it is failing, or more open to fresh ideas about a new one. The seeds of a new economy--and, if we act upon it, a new system--are forming. What is that next system? It's not corporate capitalism, not state socialism, but something else--something entirely American. In What Then Must We Do?, Gar Alperovitz speaks directly to the reader about why the time is right for a revolutionary new economy movement, what it means to democratize the ownership of wealth, what it will take to build a new system to replace the decaying one--and how to strengthen our communities through cooperatives, worker-owned companies, neighborhood corporations, small and medium-size independent businesses, and publicly owned enterprises. For the growing group of Americans pacing at the edge of confidence in the old system, or already among its detractors, What Then Must We Do? offers an evolutionary, common-sense solution for moving from despair and anger to strategy and action."--Publisher's website.

You can't make it better until you make it work. In America, we don't create bad infrastructure-we just fail to maintain it. The crumbling infrastructure of US cities and towns is often overshadowed by budget concerns, national turmoil, and global crises. As a leader in your local government, you know this better than anyone. But progress is possible. In Mission Control, technologist and entrepreneur Benjamin Schmidt shares how you can join the data-driven revolution and lead the way in adopting new processes and technologies to save money, achieve better outcomes, and make a tangible difference in your civil infrastructure management. A pioneer in public infrastructure technology, Benjamin explains how to overcome the common obstacles and wrong turns that stop innovators in their tracks, demonstrating how obtaining the right data works as a foundation for informed decision-making. Sometimes a good idea just needs a push in the right direction. Learn how to avoid the pitfalls, gain momentum, and take actionable steps with a proven framework for inspiring progress and disrupting the status quo.