Kate Garman Burns

Today I was sworn in to serve on the Board of Directors for @wmata and I’m absolutely thrilled to work with this board, @wmataGM and team to sustain and scale the future of WMATA.

Have an innovative idea for public transit? TRB’s Transit Innovations Deserving Exploratory Analysis (IDEA) program provides funding for promising transit concepts. Submit proposal documents by June 30: ow.ly/54hg50YXSbS

Please submit if you had ideas! I’m one of the judges!

Universities think they're too nerdy for city hall. City hall thinks they're too cool for universities. The new Civic Research Agenda report digs into what's stalling the research-to-impact pipeline — and how to fix it. fas.org/initiative/civ…

Why do I think this work is so very important? Because it gives a voice to local governments. It tells folks what they ACTUALLY NEED. That can unlock the promise of "cities as laboratories." Let's do some good. fas.org/publication/ci…

Some key findings: 1. Housing is the number research need of local governments. 2. There are 432 research questions listed in total. 3. We studying perceptions and points of frictions too in our research-to-impact ecosystem report.

Today we are publishing the @scientistsorg Civic Research Agenda -- identifying the priority research needs of cities and counties. Imagine if these questions got answered. fas.org/initiative/civ…

We now have an answer to the question of "is NYC just doing good social media posts about service delivery, or is service delivery actually changing?"

We need a new clean energy playbook. One that smashes the barriers impeding financing, construction, and modernization. One that targets the root of high energy costs. One that reworks the administrative state to work for the people. So we wrote one. fas.org/publication/ce…

Local governments in Massachusetts now have access to an AI-powered tool to help them find and apply for state and federal grant funding opportunities. bit.ly/4d8FQ3b

Congrats to our friends @ Sound Transit on opening their latest rail expansion project, a world’s first over a floating bridge! The Seattle region has a $53+B transit expansion plan because they know transit investments are ultimately investments in the economy & people!

PEAK BLOOM! PEAK BLOOM! PEAK BLOOM! It's official! The cherry blossoms are opening & putting on a splendid spring spectacle. See you soon. 🌸🌸🌸🌸🌸🌸! #CherryBlossom #BloomWatch #WashingtonDC

Zoox in particular is important to watch for expansion because there are no pedals and no steering wheel. Imagine an emergency happening and a responder needing to move the car. It’s all possible but it needs resources, digital infrastructure and EMT training.

New transit swag?! Happy Friday to us all.

Universities play a critical role in supporting cities, but are partnerships aligning with what local governments actually need? Join @KateMGarman for a conversation where she'll share results from MetroLab Network's Local Government Research & Development Agenda survey.

A new AI cost: Hardened data centers, @RachylJones reports

Then if you have this ordinance in place, the CBA can focus on rqmts like 1) building smart infra that lasts (renewables, modernizing grid and poles) and 2) guaranteeing developer dismantles if data center ceases/closes

Take a look at the ordinance Linn County, IA just passed as a very good example: linncountyiowa.gov/1862/Data-Cent…

CBA’s are a great tool. But local govs should also be passing ordinances to create at least what a minimum level of things to be required. It is a yes, and.

The best. The best thing to get in the mail. The best thing to receive the results. In the world of AI and quick info grabs, this work is worth every tax payer dollar.