History
In an age where technology advances at an exponential pace, public works
departments are constantly finding new ways to bring safety, economy,
sustainability, and service to their communities. To help our members
stay in-the-know on which industry-changing endeavors are on the horizon
(or in some cases, already here), APWA began the Top 5 Trending
Technologies survey and report in 2018.
The term trending technologies was selected because as
technologies are implemented in public works, large cities may start
using the technology and then, several years later, medium and then
small size cities. Although a technology may not be emerging by the time
it reached the small cities, it is still trending.
Each year, the APWA Engineering and Technology Committee’s Trending
Technology Subcommittee gathers suggestions and selects the 16 trending
technologies that will impact public works in the coming year. Each
contender is selected because of its projected impact on the public
sector—across all departments and at all levels. Those 16 trending
technologies then go toe-to-toe in an NCAA-style bracket challenge,
where we open the voting up to the public to result in the Trending
Technologies for the year. Thanks to your votes, we’re able to use the
Top 5 Trending Technologies to develop programs such as Click, Listen
& Learns, Reporter articles, PWX Education Sessions, and more.