Urban Studies Commons^™

American Rescue Plan Act (Arpa): City And County Budget Allocations In The Mountain West, Katie M. Gilbertson, Caitlin J. Saladino, William E. Brown Jr.

Economic Development & Workforce

This fact sheet details how city and county governments within the Mountain West states of Arizona, Colorado, Nevada, New Mexico, and Utah allocated funds from the State and Local Fiscal Recovery Fund (SLFRF) portion of the American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA). Brookings Metro in partnership with the National League of Cities and the National Association of Counties created the “Local Government ARPA Investment Tracker” to display how communities across the country allocate this financial resource. This interactive site allows budget information from cities and counties to be added as such decisions are made.

Election Campaign Finance Rules In Canadian Municipalities: An Overview, Brittany L. Bouteiller

Centre for Urban Policy and Local Governance – Publications

The Money and Local Democracy Project explores the effects of campaign finance rules on municipal election campaigns and election outcomes in Canada. Governments around the world regulate election campaign financing to ensure that elections are fair and competitive, although they do so in different ways. Funded by a Western University Undergraduate Student Research Internship (UWO) grant, research assistant Brittany Bouteiller was tasked with conducting preliminary research on 65 municipalities across Canada to determine the availability of campaign finance data from local and provincial governments and to identify clusters or trends. This research bulletin summarizes her findings.

Understanding The Individual And Organizational Attributes Of Servant Leadership In Local Governments, Pallavi Awasthi

FIU Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Servant leaders are driven by a natural feeling to serve first which manifests into a conscious desire to lead. The servant leadership style emphasizes internalizing ethical behavior, along with empathy and service orientation in creating value for the community which is critical in public administration. While the servant leadership concept has gained much interest among business management scholars, it has received little attention in public administration. This dissertation aims to fill this wide gap in public administrative leadership scholarship by investigating the role of servant leadership in public administration.

Specifically, the dissertation seeks to understand individual (servant identity and moral …

Municipal Resource Guide To Leading Practices In Cost Savings, Martin Horak, Andrew Sancton, Rachna Goswami, Umera Ali

Centre for Urban Policy and Local Governance – Publications

Ontario municipalities of all sizes face pressure to “do more with less.” Commissioned by the Ontario Ministry of Municipal Affairs, this Resource Guide provides municipal officials with single-source information about a range of current leading practices in cost savings in small and mid-sized Ontario municipalities. Municipalities across the province are continually developing innovative practices that save costs without incurring service level reductions. Most of these practices involve small-scale initiatives that result in modest savings. Yet even modest savings add up over time, and multiple small initiatives in a single municipality can make a big difference. In addition, by providing an …

Regulation Of Recreational Marijuana In Small Cities And Counties In Colorado, Katherine Nesse, Colin Victory

SPU Works

In November 2016 the number of states where recreational marijuana sales are legal increased to eight. Thousands of cities and counties are now on the front lines of regulating these new land uses. Local governments in Colorado, the first state to implement recreational marijuana legalization, are models for jurisdictions in other states. We study counties and municipalities in the eight micropolitan statistical areas in Colorado to learn how they regulate recreational marijuana businesses. We reviewed codes, ordinances, and other documents of 43 local governments and interviewed planners in a third of these jurisdictions. These places were purposefully selected and reflect …

The Silent Crisis: Including Latinos And Why It Matters, Representation In Executive Positions, Boards, And Commissions In The City Governments Of Boston, Chelsea, And Somerville, Miren Uriarte, James Jennings, Jen Douglas

Human Services Faculty Publication Series

The Silent Crisis: Involving Latinos in Decision-Making & Why Latino Representation Matters provides a measure of the economic, social, and political inclusion of Latinos at mid-decade in three cities of the Commonwealth where about one fourth of the state’s Latino population lives. Often wrongly referred to as a “new population,” Latinos have been present in Massachusetts since the end of the 19th century, arriving in large numbers beginning in the 1960s and 1970s and growing to nearly 630,000 persons (9.6% of the population) by 2010. That same year, they accounted for 62.1% of the population of Chelsea, 17.5% of the …

Land Values As A Source Of Local Government Finance, Tom Dunne

Books/Book Chapters

Funding local government has been a permanent feature of debates about public policy in Ireland and Many feel that the balance of power between local and central government is weighted too much in

This paper suggests that the concept of economic rent, on which the justification for property taxes rests and its relevance to the property market in a modern, economically successful and urbanised Ireland, needs to be vented, discussed and debated.

The proposition is that if a greater understanding was created about the economic characteristics of landed property both value capture and local property taxes would achieve greater public …

A Comparative Analysis Of Southern Nevada Municipalities, And Their Active Participation To Implement Historical Preservation, Rhonda M. Reeves

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

A comparative analysis of southern Nevada municipalities, and their active participation to implement historical preservation is the foundation of research for this paper. The city of Las Vegas and surrounding municipalities have varying preservation programs in place. The distinctions between the municipalities historic preservation programs foster little protection for the historic site itself in most cases. Historic preservationists are actively bringing to the attention of government the importance of preservation, and are seeking more and more action on the part of the government to implement historic preservation mandates and protection.

The federal government funding for historical preservation within states is …

Retaining The Charm Of Rhode Island, Chester Smolski

Smolski Texts

"The town of Exeter in Washington County is an unusual place--it is classified as one of the few remaining rural communities in the state. With 86 percent of Rhode Island considered urban by the Census Bureau, rural designation is something special in this second most densely settled state in the union."

Love The City? Live In It, Chester Smolski

Smolski Texts

"In a recent editorial lauding retired Providence Police Chief Walter Clark, the Journal stated that in choosing a new police chief the most important single quality should be professionalism. The Journal might have added that the new chief should also reside in teh city, because of the 24-hour on-call and hands-on nature of the work expected of such an important position. It should not take a long distance telephone call to reach that person at home, as is so often necessary in times of trouble."

Voting Districts Can Be A Bone Of Contention, Chester Smolski

Smolski Texts

"Size rather than number of voters is the criterion used in establishing district size. The difference in size between the largest and smallest districts from the ideal district, where all districts have the same population, is a source of contention. In 182 when Providence changed from 13 to 15 wards, there was a deviation of 10.6 percent between wards, deemed acceptable by the courts because, the judge ruled, the US Supreme Court has said 1.9 percent is acceptable. In the recent Johnston case, the total deviation came to 52.7 percent--a figure much too high to accept."

A Note To Candidates: Look At Housing, Chester Smolski

Smolski Texts

"The 1980s will be remembered as the time of the federal government's decimation of housing policies and programs that previous administrations had sought so diligently to design and implement. Candidates for federal and state offices need to be aware of current housing problems and possible measures that will improve housing in the state. The following are major concerns and suggested action proposals to help alleviate the housing plight of state residents.

New Development Is In For A Difficult Decade, Chester Smolski

Smolski Texts

"There is little question that during 1990s, proposed new development--whether residential, commercial or office--is going to be in for some rough going. Community aversion to development and what is perceived to be the resulting overcrowding, traffic and extra budget for schools, roads, water and sewage lines and other items pose major obstacles that developers are not encountering. It will likely worsen in the years ahead."

Who Are Nation's Poor? Census Pores Over Stats, Chester Smolski

Smolski Texts

"A wise old Englishman once said, 'The governments are keen on gathering statistics; they collect them, add them and raise them to the nth power, but you must never forget that in the first instance they are given by the village watchman who just puts down what he damn well pleases.'"

Head Counting That Counts, Chester Smolski

Smolski Texts

"Next April, the Census Bureau will take on the principal task for which it was created: To count each member of this nation. No small chore, considering that the number will approach one-quarter billion persons. The 21st decennial undertaking will be watched closely because the numbers will help determine where new markets might be sited, where federal dollars may flow, and a host of other conclusions that may be drawn by ascertaining the numbers and locations of people. But the results will be most closely scrutinized by politicians at all levels of government."

Financing Difficulties Stall Linkage In Providence, Chester Smolski

Smolski Texts

"When the India Point Club luxury condominium development, scheduled to be built on the Providence waterfront, was announced in 1987, there were many local skeptics who said it was too expensive for the Providence market. After all, selling penthouse condos overlooking the dirty Providence River for over $1 million was quite ambitious--and some said impossible."

Wanted: Live-In Teachers, Chester Smolski

Smolski Texts

"Boston, Chicago, Philadelphia, Detroit and Cleveland all have it--a residency requirement--and so does Providence. Having to live in the city for which you work has been deemed to be an important measure in helping to bring people back into the city, and that was the reason it was included in the 1980 Home Rule Charter."

The Cities And Towns Look Ahead, Chester Smolski

Smolski Texts

"What do you want your community to be? Over the next two and one-half years all communities in the state will be required to address this question, and to come up with a formal statement of what these goals and objectives are to be. And it's about time."

How To Keep Teachers In R.I., Chester Smolski

Smolski Texts

"Should Providence city employees be forced to live in the city? The Home Rule Charter, adopted five years ago, requires them to do so. The executive secretary of the Providence Teachers' Union states that this requirement should not apply to teachers. But, is dropping the residency requirement the answer to the problem of finding adequate numbers of substitute and full-time teachers?"

Cluster Battle Is Over, But The War Rages On, Chester Smolski

Smolski Texts

"The Chinese have a saying: 'Life is a tragedy for those who feel and a comedy for those who think.' For Americans, the same could be said for zoning in the seemingly never-ending war between residents and developers over land development."

Potential Of A Failing Neighborhood, Chester Smolskirevitalize Olneyville Plan By State Colleges.

Smolski Texts

"Developing neighborhood pride is one of the keys to a healthy neighborhood and a healthy city. In a city that is losing population and jobs, that is faced with increasing numbers of abandoned houses and vacant lots, that has the highest equalized tax rate (tax rate and assessment rate combined) in the state, and that has unique needs because of the large numbers of elderly, minority and poor residents, maintaining strong neighborhoods is a difficult task. Yet, though the task may be difficult, there is hope and there is potential for declining neighborhoods to revitalize themselves. This was the message …

Welcome To The Beach: Only If You Can Afford It, Chester Smolski

Smolski Texts

"Narragansett has been called 'Home of the most expensive public tan in America' because of beach and parking fees imposed by the Tow Council in June."

Providence Home Rule, Chester Smolski

Smolski Texts

"The opposition bumper stickers have already appeared. In bright fluorescent colors to catch the unsuspecting eye, the message is loud and clear--'Reject Home Rule Charter.' Why should there be this opposition, and who are the people against this progressive move toward better local government?"

Saving The Abandoned House, Chester Smolski

Smolski Texts

"It had been standing vacant in Olneyville for about three weeks, after the last tenant had moved out. Then one day a half-dozen young people came and ripped, smashed and generally tore it apart--the windows, doors and even the aluminum siding. Although the police were called, the vandals got away, and another house became a victim to city living."

Waste, Abuse Assure Changes In Section 8 Housing, Chester Smolski

Smolski Texts

"The series of articles and subsequent editorials on the Section 8 program that appeared in these papers have drawn several angry responses to the editor from residents of this government-assisted housing. Typical is the following: 'When something worthwhile is being done for the handicapped and elderly in Rhode Island, why do you do your best to kill it?...If the Section 8 program is hurt in any way because of your articles, you can sit back and laugh while 1,700 future applicants for housing are crying.'"

Beating The Drum For Tourists: Hartford Leads By A Mile, Chester Smolski

Smolski Texts

"This capital city of the Nutmeg state is remarkably similar to Rhode Island's capital city both in terms of historical development and present day status. Bu there is one striking difference: the ability and commitment to 'sell' itself."

Valley View Saved For Now, But What Of The Future?, Chester Smolski

Smolski Texts

"It is 'a remarkable demonstration that public housing, under the right circumstances and with the right kind of management, can work.' So stated a prominent urbanologist from Loyola University in describing the Valley View housing development in Providence."

The Case For Residency Requirements, Chester Smolski

Smolski Texts

"The issue has been raised previously. It came up again most recently with the applicants for jobs with the Providence Fire Department. The question is, 'Should city employees be required to live in the city which employs them?'"

Substandard Housing And The Cost Of Providing Housing-Related Services, David Podoff, Daniel A. Primont, Louis Esposito, Boston Urban Observatory, University Of Massachusetts Boston

Boston Urban Observatory Publications

Designed as a comparative undertaking by the National League of Cities (NLC) , this study is officially entitled "National Research Agenda Project No. 5: Substandard Housing and the Cost of Providing Housing-Related Services." A similar study was carried out by the urban observatories in Denver and Nashville. According to the study scope of services, the NLC was interested in the cost of "a wide variety of local government activities ... required to support and service urban housing," and how these costs "are affected by housing quality, housing location, age and type of structures. ..." It was also suggested that attention …