By Noya Wang, City of Alhambra Council Member, District 4
The day I truly fell in love with public works as a civil engineer? March 16, 2020 — the day the world hit pause due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
While most people were figuring out how to work from home, I got a call to come in for overtime. Crises didn’t stop — they multiplied. Water and sewer usage spiked as people stayed home. Trash overflowed. City facilities were converted into emergency shelters, testing sites, and distribution centers. And it was also “go” time — the rare window to accelerate infrastructure work that’s usually too disruptive during normal life. Paving roads, repairing sewer lines, upgrading facilities and catching up on deferred maintenance. There were fewer interruptions, and more urgency than ever.
That was the moment I understood:
Public works isn’t just about fixing things — it’s about keeping life functioning in the background, even when the world stops.
And it’s not just during pandemics. In every wildfire, windstorm, or earthquake, when most people are told to stay home or shelter in place, public works head out. They clear roads for ambulances and fire trucks, they remove fallen trees and downed power lines. They unclog catch basins and storm drains — often in the rain, in the dark, in the mud. They show up, so we can stay safe.
If you’ve ever turned on your faucet, driven down a freshly paved street, walked on a sidewalk without tripping, flushed your toilet without a second thought, enjoyed the shade of a street tree, or watched the rainwater puddle in front of your driveway drain into a curbside catch basin — you’ve experienced the magic of our hidden infrastructure, made possible by public works, in action.
These systems are to a city what organs and blood vessels and nerves are to our bodies: vital and constantly working in the background and quietly supporting everything we do. We only notice them in the rare instances when they fail, realizing that we absolutely cannot live without them.
Welcome to the first of many columns about The City You Don’t See, where I will be sharing stories and my insights from the world of public works and civil engineering. You get to shape the stories by sharing your inputs, ideas, and questions.
In future columns, I want to take you behind the scenes — into the vital systems of our City. But more than “what” they do, I’ll also explore the “why” and “how” behind city decisions:
- How does the City maintain and update its infrastructure — and who pays for it?
- Why can’t we just install speed humps everywhere?
- Why do stop sign requests take months to evaluate?
- If we have City staff, why do we still hire consultants?
- Who decides the priorities about what gets fixed first — and what gets deferred?
- If our building codes are there to protect us from fires and earthquakes, why are we still vulnerable to disasters?
I love what I do — because public works isn’t just about pipes and pavement, it is about people and our community. It is about building foundations, trust and resilience to enable us to lead productive lives.
In the next issue, we will dig in! If there is something about our City infrastructure you’ve always wondered about, no matter how small or specific, let me know! This column is for you, and your questions and ideas will help shape the stories I tell. Email me! nwang@alhambraca.gov
