By providing support for workers and small businesses, local governments will play a crucial role in weathering the virus and stabilizing the economy.
“[L]ocal governments are well-positioned to step in with economic aid in the near-term,” according to an article by Joseph Parilla for Brookings, filling in for federal and state levels of government in critical areas of economic stabilization.
“Worker protections are a critical first step in any city-level economic stabilization plan,” according to Parilla, who lists efforts in Washington, D.C., California, and Washington to provide unemployment insurance for workers who can’t work due to quarantine or shelter in place orders.
“The second major policy response among cities has been small business stabilization,” adds Parilla. Examples of small business stabilization listed by Parilla include a move by Seattle to defer business and occupation taxes for eligible businesses, expand its Small Business Stabilization Fund, and “provide technical assistance to business owners seeking relief from the U.S. Small Business Administration.”
Key to all local efforts, and Parilla lists more in the source article, is the need to move quickly. “According to the JPMorgan Chase Institute, 47% of small businesses have less than two weeks of cash liquidity on hand, with restaurants and retail operating at the slimmest margins.”
Read the full story: How cities are helping workers and small businesses during the coronavirus crisis
Housing Market Showing Signs of the Coronavirus Pandemic
A high-ranking federal official also issued a warning about the potential for the pandemic to affect mortgage borrowers.
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.
The Historical Effect of Pandemics on the Economy and the Housing Market
Research into previous pandemics, like SARS in 2003, the Spanish Flu in 1918, and the early months of COVID-19 in China, offers insight into what to expect for the economy and the housing market during and after the current pandemic.
Planetizen Federal Action Tracker
A weekly monitor of how Trump’s orders and actions are impacting planners and planning in America.
California plans to bury El Niño’s downpour
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Desperate measures: Advocates weigh draining Lake Powell to fill Colorado River
Draining the reservoir could reduce evaporation losses by a couple hundred thousand acre-feet.
Mamdani’s pied-à-terre tax survives legal challenge
A panel of judges found that the plaintiffs failed to demonstrate injury as a result of New York City's implementation of the tax.
Eastern Nebraska is running out of electricity
Data centers and electrification are straining eastern Nebraska’s grid, throttling economic development.
Seattle passes record-breaking transit services expansion
Proposition 1 will double the city’s transit tax to add 95,000 more bus trips and preserve 180,000 bus trips annually.
FREE Course: Walkable City 1: Why Walkability?
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Reinventing Malls: Planning Alchemy—Turning Gray Fields Into Gold
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City of Rosemead
Rutgers University, Edward J. Bloustein School of Planning and Public Policy
One Hundred Miles
University of Michigan School for Environment and Sustainability (SEAS)
Hunter College, City University of New York (CUNY)
The Architects Foundation
City of Cambridge
Montrose County
The Pocatello Development Authority