ASC's Intersections Newsletter — January 30, 2026
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Nora’s Note
Rewarding Better Mobility. With transportation topping 30% of greenhouse gas emissions, encouraging change in how we travel is vital to climate action—and Northern Virginia is leading the way with a first-of-its kind commuter mobility app that delivers the information commuters need and rewards them for making better travel choices. Supporting technology developer Metropia and the Virginia Department of Transportation, ASC’s transportation team branded and launched the new GoMyWayVA™ mobile app with a campaign that took home a 2026 Gold AVA Digital Award for Integrated Digital Campaigns. GoMyWayVA™ delivers real-time traffic data, user travel patterns, personalized route suggestions, cost insights, and estimated travel times—and more than 3,000 users are already collecting incentives for smart travel. Said one five-star user, “I will never commute without it. Solves so many issues in the DMV.” Early results saw a 16.15% engagement rate, more than 20,000 paid impressions, and a 4.1% click-through rate. Read a case study on the GoMyWayVA™ campaign.
Transportation
The new NYC transportation commissioner, Mike Flynn, points to Paris, Bogotá, and Tokyo as models for rethinking New York City streets. International approaches to pedestrian safety, rapid bus systems, and walkability offer pathways for reducing car dependence and improving public space locally. Paris has steadily been revitalizing its city center via car bans and pedestrian expansion, recently voting to close 500 more streets to cars and reduce parking spaces by 10%. Bogotá received a sustainability award in 2022 from the Institute for Transportation and Policy Development for its world-class bus network and bike lane development. Tokyo’s stellar subway system and vast pedestrian plazas discourage driving entirely. Learn more about how NYC could adapt strategies from Paris’s street redesigns, Bogotá’s transit leadership, and Tokyo’s walkable urban form. (Source: Gothamist)
Mass Transit: Sound Transit Crosslake connection to open March 28
Transportation Today: North Carolina awards $16.3M in rail grants
Transportation Topics: House transportation panel signals optimism on highway bill
Climate
After Hurricane Helene knocked out power across western North Carolina in September 2024, rural communities are turning devastation and disaster into an opportunity for long-term resilience with solar and battery hubs. New, clean energy microgrids, built with the help of local nonprofits, fire departments, and state-funded grants, are providing back-up power during outages, lowering energy costs, and creating a replicable model for future disaster-proof infrastructure in rural areas. Throughout North Carolina, solar and energy storage projects are in full swing as climate resilience becomes essential to a community’s health. Learn more about this climate disaster response work here. (Source: Canary Media)
Anthropocene Magazine: Solar farms could come with a pollinator bonus
Happy Eco News: Waste-based sustainable aviation fuel could power your next flight
ABC News: Tree bark microbes play a role in eliminating greenhouse gases, study finds
Economic Development
A $13B funding cut to housing in New York State was looming, however, Congress has fought back to increase funding by $7.3B, already passing in the House and expecting to pass in the Senate. This new housing funding affects key rental support programs, including Section 8, project-based rental assistance, as well as assistance for seniors, people with disabilities, and people with AIDS. Housing security greatly fuels the overall health of cities, encouraging local development, community resilience in high-cost markets, workforce stability, and consumer spending. Federal funding also helps reduce pressure on state and local budgets, and for cities like New York, this aid clears up budget space for organizations like NYCHA and state-funded social services. Read more about the legislation, here. (Source: The City)
Smart Cities Dive: With zoning and regulatory changes, cities aim to spur housing growth
New York YIMBY: 313 East 17th Street’s residential conversion nears completion in Gramercy, Manhattan
Bronx Times: Congress approves over $15 million in federal funding for Bronx projects
Digital
In Virginia, House Representatives are working to pass a bill that would allow the state to select civilian volunteers to combat cybersecurity threats. Cyberattacks have evolved with the ever-changing landscape of technology, pivoting from prior trends of attacking large corporations to focusing on local government digital systems—such as schools, hospitals, and municipalities—who do not have the bandwidth for 24-hour surveillance. Virginia Tech Professor Tijay Chungexplains this trend change, “attacking localities are easy targets: low risk, high reward.” House Bill 83 wants to allocate $410,000 to the Virginia Information Technology Agency (VITA) to create the Virginia Cyber Civilian Corps. This techno-activism is representative of a national trend, with over 30 states creating cybersecurity task forces, one being Idaho successfully implementing an election security effort. Learn more about Virginia’s legislation here. (Source: Route Fifty)
Gov Tech: Detroit launches technology grant fund for small businesses
Reuters: AI spending frenzy could reshape the economy, Bridgewater CIOs says
Federal News Network: Lawmaker eyes bill to codify NIST AI center
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