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How could a U.S. sovereign wealth fund help to create infrastructure? Look to a train in Montreal

Oct 22, 2024
The importance of establishing a fund like those in China, Norway and many Gulf states is one of the few points on which Kamala Harris and Donald Trump agree.
Montreal's new light rail system, funded and built by the province's pension fund, is partially open. The rest of the network is slated to be complete by 2027.
Henry Epp/Marketplace

Our old electrical grid is limiting how much wind and solar power we can use

Sep 17, 2024
It isn't easy to upgrade a 20th-century system of transmission lines, generating stations and home outlets for 21st-century needs.
Solar and wind power generate direct current, which must be converted to alternating current to "play well" with the existing electrical grid, historian Julie Cohn says.
Joe Raedle/Getty Images

Streets used to be full of kids playing. Can those spaces be reclaimed?

Sep 17, 2024
As neighborhoods experiment with play streets, grownups can reconsider modern parenting, Stephanie Murray wrote in The Atlantic.
Children playing safely on city streets may be a thing of the past.
Douwe Bijlsma/BSR Agency/Getty Images

How a small Kentucky town was 10 years ahead of the government

Aug 28, 2024
As the federal government tries to connect every home to high-speed internet by 2030, Kai Ryssdal visits a Kentucky town that already did that — 10 years ago.
An early transition toward high-speed fiber internet has transformed some American communities.
Andie Corban/Marketplace

Energy transition progress report: We're 10% of the way there

So what will it take for the other 90%? A lot of sweeping physical transformation.
Mario Tama/Getty Images

Indonesia prepares to change its capital city and challenges await

Aug 12, 2024
Other nations, including Brazil and Nigeria, have established a new capital. But if you build it, will people come?
Above, the new presidential palace in Indonesia's soon-to-be capital city of Nusantara seen on July 11.
Stringer/AFP via Getty Images

For public good, not for profit.

Biden White House has a lot on its economic plate before term ends

Jul 26, 2024
Lindsay Owens of the Groundwork Collaborative points to relief from junk fees and medical debt as well as policy fights around taxes.
President Joe Biden speaking in Chicago about his "Bidenomics" economic agenda.
Andrew Caballero-Reynolds/AFP via Getty Images

What will Biden's economic legacy be?

There were legislative accomplishments, like the Inflation Reduction Act and the CHIPS Act. But there was also elevated inflation.
Andrew Caballero-Reynolds/AFP via Getty Images

The country's power grid needs updating — not just in Houston

Jul 12, 2024
Poles, lines and other infrastructure around the country are aging, and subject to damage from today's more extreme weather.
Texas' grid is one of many outdated systems struggling to manage extreme weather.
Brandon Bell/Getty Images