National Public Works Week provides an opportunity each year to educate the general public about the value and necessity of public works projects throughout North America. This year’s event is held May 16-22, 2021, and is hosted by the American Public Works Association (APWA).
“Every year National Public Works Week gets bigger and better,” reads the APWA website. “The number of participating municipalities continues to grow, which means the number of citizens who are exposed to the value of public works grows.”
Public works provide an infrastructure of services in transportation, water, wastewater, and stormwater treatment, public buildings and spaces, parks, and grounds, emergency management and first response, solid waste, and right-of-way management.
“Across North America, our more than 30,000 members in the U.S. and Canada use this week to energize and educate the public on the importance of public works to their daily lives: planning, building, managing and operating at the heart of their local communities to improve everyday quality of life,” continues APWA.
APWA has sponsored National Public Works Week since 1960. The theme for the 2021 National Public Works Week poster is “Stronger Together.”
“This year’s exciting poster challenges our members and their citizens to think about the role public works plays in creating a great place to live,” APWA continues. “By working together, the impact citizens and public works professionals can have on their communities is magnified and results in the ability to accomplish goals once thought unattainable.”
APWA encourages public works agencies and professionals to take the opportunity this week to make their stories known in their communities. The National Public Works Week How-To Guide and Downloadables area are available to agencies to assist in the development and implementation of their own individual celebrations.
Be sure to join NPWW discussions on social media by using #NPWW and #PWStrongerTogether on your posts.