Budget cuts are dramatically reshaping many local governments. This piece from The Atlanta Journal-Constitution looks at how the recession will restructure governments in the Atlanta area.
Thousands of jobs are being cut across the metropolitan area from a multitude of government agencies, and millions of dollars are being cut from local budgets. What's expected to follow is a significantly downsized government.
"'In most past recessions you have that one year of pain and then you can put things back together. This is going to be very different. We are fundamentally resizing government,' Alan Essig, a former state budget analyst who heads the Georgia Budget and Policy Institute, told The Atlanta Journal-Constitution. 'If we're not going to increase revenue some sizable amount, all these budget cuts are permanent.'
If you can think of a service provided by local or state government, chances are good that you'll be able to find either a reduction in that service or an increase in what you pay for it, or both. Even at the federal level, with its trillion-dollar deficits, the U.S. Postal Service is proposing a massive cut this spring: a discontinuation of Saturday mail delivery for the first time since daily mail began running in this country."
FULL STORY: Recession's effect: Shrunken cities, counties
Fiscal Effects of the Pandemic Depend on Tax Structures
Cities that rely on sales and income tax revenues to fund vital local services can expect immediate fiscal consequences from the coronavirus pandemic.
Comment: EPA Cuts will Send Atlanta Back to Eye-burning Ozone, Lung-damaging Smog, and Raw Sewage in the Chattahoochee River
A veteran political journalist takes stock of the hard-earned ground Georgia stands to lose with slashed environmental protection.
How Atlanta Built 7,000 Housing Units in 3 Years
The city’s comprehensive, neighborhood-focused housing strategy focuses on identifying properties and land that can be repurposed for housing and encouraging development in underserved neighborhoods.
Maui's Vacation Rental Debate Turns Ugly
Verbal attacks, misinformation campaigns and fistfights plague a high-stakes debate to convert thousands of vacation rentals into long-term housing.
Planetizen Federal Action Tracker
A weekly monitor of how Trump’s orders and actions are impacting planners and planning in America.
Chicago’s Ghost Rails
Just beneath the surface of the modern city lie the remnants of its expansive early 20th-century streetcar system.
Bend, Oregon Zoning Reforms Prioritize Small-Scale Housing
The city altered its zoning code to allow multi-family housing and eliminated parking mandates citywide.
Amtrak Cutting Jobs, Funding to High-Speed Rail
The agency plans to cut 10 percent of its workforce and has confirmed it will not fund new high-speed rail projects.
LA Denies Basic Services to Unhoused Residents
The city has repeatedly failed to respond to requests for trash pickup at encampment sites, and eliminated a program that provided mobile showers and toilets.
Urban Design for Planners 1: Software Tools
This six-course series explores essential urban design concepts using open source software and equips planners with the tools they need to participate fully in the urban design process.
Planning for Universal Design
Learn the tools for implementing Universal Design in planning regulations.
planning NEXT
Appalachian Highlands Housing Partners
Mpact (founded as Rail~Volution)
City of Camden Redevelopment Agency
City of Astoria
City of Portland
City of Laramie