What can government learn from Boston’s snow crisis?

Over the past month or so, the city of Boston has received a fresh 8 billion cubic feet of snow. Dealing with the snow is a logistical problem that fell squarely into the lap of government -- and as with any new problem, there are lessons to be learned.

Snow removal cost Boston $30 million in January alone, and that cost accounts for 2 percent of the city’s general fund budget. More snow means more unwelcome costs for the city.

To better handle this situation and others like it, the city’s Office for New Urban Mechanics is crowdsourcing the problem. The city is asking the public and university professors to help the city come up with a clever way to handle all the snow.

The world will watch and wait to see what people can come up with.