Ever wondered who is responsible for the design and construction of many of the award-winning civic facilities in New York? With a portfolio valued at over $6 billion and a staff of almost 1,200, the New York City Department of Design and Construction (DDC) is the city’s primary capital construction and infrastructure project manager. DDC is also an innovator in the use of GIS and building information modeling (BIM) for which it was awarded runner-up status in the first ever [acronym] Magazine Public Sector CAD Awards, held last November in Washington, D.C. DDC employs a variety of Autodesk digital design tools to minimize errors in the design process, improve collaboration across stakeholders and reduce project complexity, while making more effective use of public funds. Included in its design arsenal are Revit Architecture, Revit Structure and AutoCAD MEP for design coordination, documentation and visualization. While Navisworks and Solibri Model Checker are also used for coordination and model conflict resolution and serve other uses as well.

Bumper-to-bumper traffic is incredibly frustrating when you have no idea as to the cause of it. That’s the way it goes in the Washington, DC metro area! And, while I know there is construction and repair to the transportation arteries in and around the DC metro area, seemingly, I must have the world’s worst short term memory, because every day I get frustrated in my effort to get home. Until the other day… Speaking recently in Kansas, President Obama said, “I believe that this country succeeds when everyone gets a fair shot”. Hearing the President talk about the US facing “a make or break moment for the middle class”: I recalled from high school history class that middle class growth was at its greatest starting in the 50’s and throughout the 70’s. So, I got on the “Google Machine” and started searching for any information that would satisfy my curiosity about middle class growth during that 30 year period and its contributors. One of the biggest contributors to job growth and the rise of the US middle class was Infrastructure expansion. Two years ago the President signed the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act into law giving $46 billion for transportation projects, including $27 billion for highway and bridge construction and repair and $11.5 billion for mass transit and rail projects. Wow, I thought, this ought to create jobs and alleviate the congestion that causes me so much aggravation; that was 2 years ago!! What happened?