Welcome to High Road Highlights, formerly known as COWS notes! In this newsletter, we'll be highlighting all of our amazing programs and initiatives, as well as providing you with resources on the various ways you can help get your city on the high road. Whether you're a community leader, thinker, or simply someone who cares about creating positive change, High Road Highlights is here to keep you informed and connected.

From January 19-20, mayors harnessed their collective experience to brainstorm new solutions for some of the biggest challenges facing their communities. Topics included ensuring safe and equitable access to voting, decarbonizing buildings, modernizing your zoning code, and succeeding at competitive funding opportunities. The meeting also included an Innovation Showcase, where mayors were given the opportunity to present a project they are proud of in front of their esteemed colleagues. Highlights from the showcase include Albuquerque, NM’s  Balanced Resource Acquisition and Information Network (B.R.A.I.N.), the City's newest resource in the fight against climate change; Madison, WI’s canvassing for clean energy program; and Tigard, OR’s Opportunity Café, a business incubator for local entrepreneurs.

Local governments have struggled to hire and retain workers, and are facing ongoing labor shortages that negatively affect public services. In January, ProGov21 is focusing on Human Resources within local governments. This latest roadmap identifies strategies for municipalities to develop data-driven hiring and retention plans, expand their talent pipeline and recruitment team, and coordinate with unions and professional organizations.

Induced travel is the phenomenon where new highway capacity causes traffic to increase around the same proportion. An important question for USDOT and other transportation professionals: Do traffic forecasts properly account for the effects of induced travel? As part of the Bipartisan Infrastructure law, the USDOT has to review existing travel forecast models and consider the potential implications of induced travel. At the annual Transportation Research Board meeting, federal officials attended a workshop to learn from modeling experts and practitioners. State Smart Transportation Initiative’s new blog post offers one perspective on the issues and lays out several opportunities gleaned through discussions at TRB.  

Based at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, the High Road Strategy Center is a national think-and-do tank that promotes “high road” solutions to social problems. Learn more here, or click below to learn about our projects housed at the High Road Strategy Center: