May in Washington D.C., means United For Infrastructure Week. ASCE marked the occasion by releasing a new economic study called Bridging the Gap, analyzing the additional potential costs to both the U.S. GDP and the American taxpayer if IIJA levels of infrastructure investment aren’t continued beyond 2026. Infrastructure Week also is a great opportunity for collaboration. Case in point: ASCE and the Global Infrastructure Investor Association, an organization representing the private sector on a global scale. In episode 167 of ASCE Plot Points, ASCE President Marsia Geldert-Murphey talks with Jon Phillips, CEO of GIIA, about the effects of IIJA on America's infrastructure and where the United States stands on the global stage in terms of attracting private investment dollars.

Diniece Mendes is director for freight mobility at the New York City Department of Transportation and serves on the ASCE Transportation and Development Institute’s Board of Governors. She’s also – as of this spring – a movie star. Mendes is one of five ASCE members to feature in the new IMAX film Cities of the Future, playing on giant screens around the world. In episode 166 of ASCE Plot Points, Mendes talks about the movie experience, living and working in New York, and what she sees as the most important things that civil engineers need to do to bring the cities of the future to life.

Los Angeles is No. 1 on the 2024 list of ASCE Best Places for Civil Engineers.

That’s three straight years for L.A., if you’re keeping track at home.

So what’s the city’s secret to success? What’s so special about the civil engineering scene there?

Ruwanka Purasinghe, P.E., M.ASCE, civil engineering associate for the Los Angeles Department of Water and Power and president-elect of the ASCE Los Angeles Section, has some answers.

In episode 165 of ASCE Plot Points, Purasinghe talks about, yes, what makes Los Angeles such a great place for civil engineers.