Sustainability in Engineering

As part of our outreach to the engineering community, John Milne of the Engineering and Construction Division has developed a series of articles, papers and presentations on sustainability for the American Public Works Association, or APWA, and their international partner, the Institute of Public Works Engineering Australasia, or IPWEA. The APWA and IPWEA work was later summarized in a paper and presentation developed for the 200th anniversary of Heriot-Watt University in Edinburgh, Scotland.   

The materials describe using “entropy-based resource management” as an organizing principle for the development of sustainability strategies.  They are intended to stimulate thought and discussion on how public works agencies might work with other partners and disciplines to address the increasing needs for sustainable, resilient infrastructure, and so assure a sustainable economy and environment for our communities.

The articles and technical papers are best read in the order listed, with the first article introducing the concept and the later technical papers providing more detail along with some work examples.

American Public Works Association

• “Entropy-based resource management; Smart, Smart Cities with Green, Complete Streets”, APWA Reporter article, May 2021 (PDF)

Heriot-Watt University, Edinburgh, Scotland

• “Entropy-based resource management; an organizing principle for the development of sustainability strategies”. Heriot-Watt University, Technical Paper, 2021. (PDF)

​Institute of Public Works Engineering Australasia

• “Sustainability; Life, Liberty and the Pursuit of Negative Entropy”, Parts 1 through 3.  IPWEA Technical Papers, 2017-2021. (PDF)

John can be reached for questions, or for additional material, at john.milne@clark.wa.gov.