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A new roadway, neighborhood, public space, school, or utility improvement begins long before design. It begins with questions. How is a community changing? What do residents and businesses need? Where are people having difficulty traveling? Which infrastructure systems can support future growth? What should be addressed now, and what can be phased over time? Planning brings those questions into focus. By combining data, community knowledge, technical analysis, and a long-term view, planners help public agencies understand their options and make informed decisions before committing resources to design and construction. Each October, the American Planning Association recognizes National Community Planning Month and the role planning plays in creating safer, more resilient, more equitable, and more prosperous communities. For DCCM, the month is also an opportunity to highlight the important work that happens before many visible infrastructure improvements take shape. In This Article How planners turn existing conditions and future needs into practical choices Why public input and technical data are both essential to the process How alternatives analysis helps communities evaluate tradeoffs What allows a plan to move from a document to implementation Maps and displays help participants explore planning ideas and share local perspectives during a public input session. What Happens Before a Project Is Designed? Communities rarely begin with a single, clearly defined solution. They may be experiencing congestion along a growing corridor, repeated drainage concerns, pressure for new development, changing housing needs, or demand for safer walking and bicycling connections. The visible problem may be clear, but the best response often is not. Planning establishes the foundation for that decision. The process may include documenting existing conditions, identifying community priorities, forecasting future needs, evaluating constraints, and comparing possible improvements. It also considers how one decision could affect other systems, including transportation, utilities, land use, the environment, public services, and economic development. This early work helps agencies avoid designing a solution before they fully understand the problem. Key takeaway: Planning does not begin by asking, “What should we build?” It begins by asking, “What are we trying to improve?” How Does Data Reveal What a Community Needs? Good planning depends on more than observation. Planners use data to understand how a community functions today and how conditions may change over time. Depending on the assignment, that information may include: Population and development trends Traffic volumes, travel patterns, and crash history Walking, bicycling, and transit connections Existing land uses and development regulations Utility and infrastructure capacity Environmental conditions and flood risk Community facilities and public services Right-of-way, funding, and implementation constraints The goal is not simply to collect information. It is to identify relationships. A transportation concern may be connected to development patterns. A redevelopment opportunity may depend on utility capacity. A proposed safety improvement may affect nearby properties or access to local businesses. By examining these connections early, planners can help decision-makers understand both immediate needs and long-term consequences. GIS brings aerial imagery and location data together to help teams plan and manage infrastructure. Why Does Public Input Matter? Data can show where traffic slows, where crashes occur, or where development is expected. The people who use a street, neighborhood, park, or public facility every day provide another essential form of knowledge. Residents may identify a difficult crossing that is not apparent from a map. Business owners may explain how delivery access affects daily operations. School staff may describe arrival and dismissal patterns that occur during a narrow window. Property owners may raise concerns about access, drainage, or right-of-way. Public engagement gives planners the opportunity to test assumptions, identify concerns, and explain potential tradeoffs before recommendations are finalized. Open houses, stakeholder interviews, focus groups, surveys, workshops, and online tools can each serve a different purpose within that process. Effective engagement does not mean every participant will prefer the same solution. It means the planning process clearly documents what the community values, where concerns remain, and how public input informed the recommendations. Jack Schick and Elijah Wheeler share their local travel experiences at an H-GAC public meeting in Houston, bringing firsthand insight to regional transportation planning. How Do Communities Compare Different Options? Most planning decisions involve tradeoffs. An improvement that increases roadway capacity could affect pedestrian comfort or adjacent properties. A new connection could improve access while introducing environmental or construction challenges. A preferred concept must also be practical to fund, permit, design, and build. Alternatives analysis gives communities a consistent way to compare options. Evaluation criteria may include: Safety Mobility and accessibility Community support Property and right-of-way impacts Environmental considerations Cost and funding eligibility Constructability Long-term operations and maintenance The strongest recommendation is not necessarily the largest or most expensive option. It is the one that responds most effectively to the community’s priorities, constraints, and available resources. Planning in Practice: Cedar Bayou Crossing Corridor Study DCCM conducted a corridor study for a proposed Cedar Bayou crossing in the Harris County and Baytown area of Texas. The study explored potential alignments for a new east-to-west connection and assessed whether the crossing was feasible. To compare options, the team examined existing roadways, traffic patterns, crash data, transit operations, and the corridor’s hydrology and environmental conditions. Public meetings and other community outreach brought local perspectives into the process. The study concluded with recommended improvements, preliminary plans for several alternatives and their estimated costs, and a preferred alignment. It shows how planning can bring technical findings and community input together to guide a decision before detailed design begins. What Turns a Plan into Action? A plan creates value when its recommendations can be carried forward. That requires more than a compelling vision. Actionable plans identify priorities, responsible parties, potential funding sources, implementation phases, and ways to measure progress. They distinguish between improvements that can begin relatively quickly and those requiring additional study, coordination, design, or funding. Plans must also be adaptable. Communities change, funding opportunities emerge, development patterns shift, and new information becomes available. Establishing a process for monitoring conditions and revisiting priorities helps a plan remain useful after its initial adoption.

Every river is in motion, even when its surface looks calm. Water moves around bends, carries sediment, reshapes banks, and responds to floods and changes upstream. Those processes affect the places people live, the infrastructure they rely on, and the health of the river itself. For World Rivers Day, DCCM’s Coraggio Maglio, PE, VP, Water & Coastal Resources Business Line Leader, takes us behind the model to explore how engineers study these changing systems and use what they learn to make more informed decisions. https://vimeo.com/1230383156 What can river modeling tell us A river model brings together information about a waterway, its surrounding landscape, and the forces acting on it. Engineers can use it to examine how water may move during different conditions, where velocities may increase, and how a proposed change could affect the system. The model does not replace observation and field data; it helps teams test questions that are difficult to answer by looking at the river alone. Why sediment movement matters Rivers carry and deposit sediment as flows change. That movement can build new areas, erode banks, alter channels, and influence how a river behaves during a flood. Understanding those patterns helps engineers evaluate risks to nearby communities and infrastructure while considering the river’s natural processes. Planning for a changing river Past conditions provide a starting point, but rivers and the landscapes around them continue to change. Engineers examine a range of possible flows and future conditions to understand how a proposed solution may perform over time. That broader view supports decisions about flood mitigation, bank stabilization, navigation, and other river improvements. World Rivers Day is a chance to appreciate rivers as living, changing systems and to consider the work needed to understand them. Watch the video to hear Coraggio explain what river modeling can reveal and why the movement we cannot always see matters. Learn more about DCCM’s water resources and river engineering work.

DCCM understands that roundabouts come in a wide range of sizes and even shapes. DCCM’s Indiana office is located near the U.S.’s roundabout capital, giving us unique insight and expertise into how these unique intersection configurations can be more than just a traffic solution..

Each September, National Preparedness Month encourages individuals, families, businesses, and communities to take practical steps before an emergency occurs. FEMA’s 2026 theme, Americans Stand Ready, recognizes the resourcefulness and shared responsibility that help communities respond to disruption and recover more effectively. Preparedness may begin at home, but it extends far beyond an emergency kit. Roads must remain accessible. Drainage systems must move stormwater safely. Water, wastewater, power, and communication networks must continue supporting essential needs. Public agencies need reliable information, coordinated plans, and the capacity to act quickly. Hazards vary across the nation, but the principle remains the same: preparation is most effective when it starts well before an emergency. Start with Five Practical Actions Preparedness does not have to happen all at once. Use National Preparedness Month to complete or update these five essentials: Know your local risks. Learn which hazards are most likely where you live, work, and travel. Review local evacuation zones, flood information, shelter locations, and emergency procedures. Make a communication plan. Decide how household members or coworkers will reconnect if phone service is limited. Choose an out-of-area contact and identify meeting locations. Include plans for children, older adults, people with disabilities, medical needs, and pets. Build and maintain emergency supplies. Keep water, nonperishable food, medications, flashlights, batteries, chargers, first-aid supplies, copies of important documents, and other essentials in an accessible location. Prepare smaller kits for vehicles and workplaces when appropriate. Receive alerts from more than one source. Enable Wireless Emergency Alerts on mobile devices and subscribe to state or local alert systems. A battery-powered or hand-crank weather radio can provide information when power or cellular service is interrupted. Practice the plan. A plan is more useful when everyone understands it. Walk through evacuation routes, shelter procedures, employee responsibilities, and backup communication methods. Update the plan after moves, staffing changes, new medical needs, or changes to local risk. FEMA provides free tools to help households make a plan and build an emergency kit. Organizations can also use the Ready Business resources to review continuity planning, employee communications, data protection, and operational recovery. Prepare for the Risks in Your Region With teams serving communities nationwide, DCCM understands that preparedness priorities are shaped by local conditions. The examples below highlight several regions within our national footprint and the hazards most relevant to those communities. Gulf Coast, Texas, and the Southeast Florida, Louisiana, coastal Texas, Georgia, and Tennessee can experience hurricanes, flooding, severe thunderstorms, tornadoes, extreme heat, and extended power outages. Inland Texas communities may also face drought and wildfire. Know your evacuation zone, identify more than one route to safety, and learn which roads commonly flood. Choose a sturdy shelter location away from windows for tornadoes and severe winds. Plan for medications, mobility needs, pets, and prolonged heat or power loss. Follow local officials during an emergency, and never drive onto a flooded roadway. Indiana and the Midwest Indiana communities prepare for severe storms, tornadoes, river and flash flooding, winter weather, temperature extremes, and power outages. Know the safest location at home, work, and school. Keep emergency supplies in vehicles, especially during winter, and plan for interruptions to heating, cooling, travel, and communications. Businesses and public agencies should identify the staff, systems, suppliers, and backup resources required to maintain critical operations. California California communities may face wildfire, earthquake, flooding, landslide, extreme heat, drought, and power disruptions. In wildfire-prone areas, prepare a go-bag, maintain more than one evacuation route, and follow local guidance for defensible space. For earthquakes, practice Drop, Cover, and Hold On, secure heavy items, and keep supplies accessible. The U.S. Geological Survey’s ShakeAlert system can warn that strong shaking is expected imminently. Preparedness at the Community Scale Personal readiness is essential, but community resilience also depends on the systems people rely on every day. For public agencies, utilities, school systems, businesses, and property owners, preparedness means understanding vulnerabilities, prioritizing improvements, and having the right technical and operational support available before, during, and after an event. DCCM supports that work through a broad range of services, including: Hydrologic and hydraulic modeling, watershed studies, floodplain management, and drainage master planning Stormwater, detention, flood-control, river, coastal, and erosion-control improvements Water and wastewater planning, pump and lift stations, pipelines, and utility coordination Transportation planning and design that support reliable access, mobility, and recovery Surveying, subsurface utility engineering, GIS, and digital mapping that provide accurate information for planning and field response Building safety, code consultation, Wildland Urban Interface review, and inspection services Environmental planning, permitting, and restoration support Program and project management, construction management and inspection, municipal staff augmentation, emergency response, and disaster recovery support These services connect preparedness to the physical systems that support daily life. Risk studies and field data help communities see where vulnerabilities exist. Planning and design translate that information into practical improvements. Construction oversight helps ensure those improvements are delivered as intended. Program management and staff support help agencies coordinate funding, permitting, communication, and recovery across many projects and stakeholders. Resilience in Practice In Auburndale, Florida, the PK Avenue Stormwater & Roadway Improvements addressed chronic roadway flooding within a 261-acre urban drainage basin. DCCM helped develop a concept that combined transportation and stormwater improvements, including bioretention swales, pervious parking with subsurface storage, and a one-acre retention pond. The improvements demonstrate how communities can reduce flood risk while enhancing mobility, water quality, and public spaces. Along the Upper Mississippi River, DCCM completed a hydrodynamic and sediment-transport study to evaluate the risk of the river forming a cutoff across the Dogtooth Island Peninsula following a levee breach. A high-resolution, two-dimensional model helped assess floodplain conditions, flow patterns, and sediment movement while evaluating structural and nonstructural alternatives. The study provided USACE with critical information to support risk-informed river management decisions. On St. Thomas in the U.S. Virgin Islands, DCCM provided hydraulic modeling, analysis, and design support for improvements along Turpentine Run, where the surrounding community has experienced decades of flooding from hurricanes, tropical storms, and major rainfall events. The work evaluated existing and proposed conditions and informed improvements designed

Behind every growing career are the people, projects, and opportunities that help shape it. For Alexis Rogge, her journey at DCCM has been defined by all three. What began as an internship during the final semester of graduate school has grown into a career spanning justice, public safety, civic, and aquatic projects. Along the way, Alexis has been trusted with new responsibilities, challenged to learn unfamiliar project types, and supported by mentors who have helped her build both technical knowledge and confidence.

Across DCCM, teams came together to make a positive impact in their communities through back-to-school donation drives, helping provide children and youth with the resources they need for a strong start to the upcoming school year. Northeast Florida Team Supports Port in the Storm DCCM’s Northeast Florida team partnered with Port in the Storm Homeless Youth Center in St. Augustine, Florida, an organization dedicated to supporting homeless and unaccompanied youth by providing safe housing, essential resources, life-skills development, job-readiness training, and housing support. Team members donated a variety of school supplies, including notebooks, backpacks, writing utensils, and headphones, along with shelter essentials such as hygiene products, snack bars, cleaning supplies, and laundry items. The team also contributed Target and Walmart gift cards to help support the organization’s ongoing programs and services. Houston Team Partners with BEAR The Houston Infrastructure and Power team partnered with BEAR (Be A Resource for CPS Kids), a Houston-area nonprofit that supports children impacted by abuse and neglect who are connected to Child Protective Services. Employees from across the organization contributed by donating school supplies in person and purchasing items through the BEAR Amazon Wishlist. Together, they collected more than 500 school supplies, greatly surpassing both the original goal of 100 items and the expanded goal of 350. The donations will help equip children with the essential supplies they need as they return to the classroom. Making a Difference Together These efforts reflect DCCM’s commitment to strengthening the communities where we live and work. Through the generosity of employees and the support of local organizations, children and youth across multiple communities will begin the school year with resources that can help them succeed. Want to be part of a team that’s committed to making a difference? Explore our current opportunities and join us at DCCM.

Back-to-school season brings renewed energy to campuses as students return to classrooms, athletic fields, laboratories, and gathering spaces. It also puts educational infrastructure to work. Every school, college, and university depends on coordinated systems that support safe access, reliable utilities, daily campus operations, recreation, and future growth. Although these systems often operate behind the scenes, they shape the experience of students and educators throughout the school year. From planning an expanding K-12 campus to mapping utilities across a university, thoughtful campus infrastructure planning helps educational institutions make informed investments, respond to changing needs, and create stronger environments for learning. Planning Educational Facilities for Growth and Change Each new school year can bring changes in enrollment, instructional programs, technology, and how campus spaces are used. Long-range facility planning helps educational institutions evaluate their existing buildings, anticipate future needs, and identify improvements that will provide lasting value. For Adams Central Community Schools in Monroe, Indiana, DCCM conducted a long-range feasibility study, space programming, and redesign for the K-12 district. The selected approach added a new wing for grades K-5 with special education classrooms, kindergarten spaces, a modern media center, a cafetorium, and relocated administrative offices. Existing areas were repurposed for grades 6-12. By combining new construction with the strategic reuse of existing space, the district addressed the needs of multiple grade levels while minimizing disruption to students during construction. This type of planning allows schools to make improvements today without limiting opportunities for future growth. Creating Safer School Access and Campus Circulation The school day begins before students enter the building. Campus entrances, school zones, sidewalks, parking areas, bus loops, and parent drop-off lanes all influence how safely and efficiently students, staff, and visitors move through a site. Arrival and dismissal are especially complex because buses, passenger vehicles, staff traffic, pedestrians, and service vehicles often converge within a short period. Effective transportation planning helps school districts understand these movements and make informed decisions about access points, circulation routes, traffic controls, and school-zone improvements. For the proposed Community High School in Nevada, Texas, DCCM completed a traffic impact analysis and school zone study for a campus planned east of FM 1138. Designed for approximately 800 students, with a maximum capacity of 1,000, the school required a detailed evaluation of access points and circulation patterns for buses, staff, and parents during peak arrival and dismissal periods. Planning these systems before a campus opens can help create a smoother first day and a safer experience throughout every school year that follows. Managing Campus Utility Infrastructure Once students arrive, reliable utilities help keep nearly every part of the campus functioning. Campus utility infrastructure can include water, wastewater, gas, electrical, stormwater, and communications systems, all of which must be coordinated with existing conditions, construction schedules, permitting requirements, and long-term plans. For New Frontier Public School in San Antonio, Texas, DCCM provided gas design engineering and support services for a new gas service line within a joint utility trench. The project included a site survey and work-area assessment, verification of connection points, utility locates, CPS Energy GIS design, project coordination, environmental review, and City of San Antonio permitting. Existing gas lines and other underground utilities were also identified to help prevent construction conflicts. At an established campus, utility improvements present a different set of considerations. Through its continuing services contract with Duval County Public Schools, DCCM is providing design and permitting services for a new lift station at Samuel Wolfson High School #224 in Jacksonville, Florida. The project requires careful integration with existing campus systems while meeting regulatory standards and providing reliable wastewater service for the school community. For larger campuses, the first challenge may be developing an accurate understanding of what is already underground. At Dalton State College in Dalton, Georgia, DCCM completed a comprehensive utility mapping, assessment, and GIS development project across the 136-acre campus. The work encompassed water, electrical, gas, stormwater, sanitary sewer, and communications infrastructure. An aerial flyover established an updated campus base map, followed by above-ground utility mapping and detailed assessments of the stormwater and sanitary sewer systems. Existing records were then consolidated into a customized WebGIS. This centralized GIS resource gives campus staff clearer information for managing assets, coordinating maintenance, and planning future improvements. Together, these projects demonstrate how utility design, coordination, assessment, and mapping support reliable campus operations while helping educational institutions prepare for future needs. Building Higher Education Infrastructure for Research and Innovation As educational programs become more specialized, colleges and universities must support advanced research, technology, and collaboration. The infrastructure surrounding these facilities must be planned with the same level of care as the learning and research spaces inside them. DCCM provided professional engineering and surveying services for the Applied Research Center at Florida Polytechnic University in Lakeland, Florida. The 90,000-square-foot facility required topographic surveying, preliminary site planning, civil engineering design, construction specifications, permitting, and limited construction-phase observation. The site plan also included a paved service court for deliveries. Permitting coordination addressed an Environmental Resource Permit modification, State Fire Marshal review, and National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System requirements. By coordinating access, drainage, site conditions, permitting, and construction requirements, the project established a strong foundation for a facility dedicated to applied research and innovation. Supporting Learning Beyond the Classroom Returning to school also means returning to athletic fields, gathering spaces, and activities that help students build relationships and feel connected to their campus. These outdoor environments must be thoughtfully integrated with drainage, utilities, accessibility, pedestrian routes, and surrounding facilities. In Northeast Florida, DCCM supported the development of recreation facilities at Tocoi Creek High School in St. Augustine. DCCM has also provided services for the Christ’s Church Academy campus expansion in Jacksonville, helping create additional space to support the school’s students and programs. These projects reflect an important part of educational infrastructure. A successful campus is more than a collection of buildings. Recreational and outdoor spaces contribute to student wellness, teamwork, and the broader learning experience. Designing Technical College Campuses for Workforce Development For many students, education is a direct

Every day, millions of people drive across bridges, turn on the tap for clean water, walk on sidewalks, and travel roads without giving much thought to the engineers behind them. They simply trust that these systems are safe, reliable, and built to last. That trust is exactly what the Professional Engineer (PE) license represents. While earning a PE is often viewed as a career milestone, our engineers describe it differently. To them, becoming licensed isn’t about adding two letters after their name. It’s about accepting a greater responsibility—to their profession, their clients, and most importantly, the public. “Being a professional engineer means using my knowledge, experience, and integrity to improve communities while protecting the health, safety, and welfare of the public.” Jeremy Frydrych, PE VP, Residential, Georgia Those words reflect a principle that every licensed engineer is sworn to uphold. Whether designing a highway interchange, improving stormwater infrastructure, or delivering safe drinking water to a community, every decision has real consequences. A PE’s seal isn’t simply a signature—it represents accountability. Katie Johnson sees that responsibility every day. “Having my name, my seal, and my signature attached to my work gives me a very strong motivation to make sure everything is of the highest quality.” Katie Johnson, PE Sr. Project Engineer That commitment doesn’t happen overnight. Every Professional Engineer remembers the long nights spent studying after work, the weekends devoted to practice exams, and the sacrifices made by their families along the way. For Austin Hungate, those sacrifices became part of the journey. “The most challenging part was the amount of hours I spent studying. I studied every night and on the weekends while my wife took care of our daughter. It all worked out in the end.” Austin Hungate, PE Project Manager, Water/Wastewater Engineering For Dustin Barth, the biggest lesson was learning that there would never be a perfect opportunity. “It never is a perfect time to start studying. You just have to realize the sacrifice is temporary.” Dustin Barth, PE Director of MEP, Indiana Those sacrifices ultimately prepare engineers for something much bigger than passing an exam. They prepare them to lead projects, make difficult decisions, and serve communities with confidence. Coraggio Maglio believes that’s what makes engineering so rewarding. “I like solving problems and working with municipalities and state and federal agencies to develop solutions that are holistic, safer, better, and more cost-effective for communities and the public.” Coraggio Maglio, PE VP, Water & Coastal Resources Business Line Leader The impact extends far beyond a single project. Every roadway that improves safety, every utility that delivers clean water, and every piece of resilient infrastructure contributes to a stronger community. As Katie Johnson puts it: “Making sure everybody has access to safe drinking water, safe roads, and accessible sidewalks is incredibly motivating and fulfilling.” Katie Johnson, PE Sr. Project Engineer Becoming a Professional Engineer also opens doors—not simply because of the credential itself, but because it demonstrates readiness for greater responsibility. “Getting your PE puts you in the best position to succeed. You can’t control when opportunities arise, but you can control whether you’re ready for them.” Dustin Barth, PE Director of MEP, Indiana That mindset of continuous growth is something every engineer who shared their story emphasized. The journey requires discipline, perseverance, and confidence. Ali Samani’s advice to future PEs is simple: “Be calm. Be confident. It’s 100% doable.” Ali Riahi Samani, PE Modeler On Professional Engineers Day, we celebrate more than technical expertise. We celebrate the people behind the profession—individuals who dedicate themselves to solving complex challenges, improving communities, and protecting the public every single day. At DCCM, we’re proud of our Professional Engineers and grateful for the leadership, integrity, and commitment they bring to every project they touch. Interested in building your career with DCCM? Visit our website to learn more about our company and explore current opportunities on our Careers page.