The Obama Administration is hoping to address the nation's huge deficits. Neal Peirce looks at how proposed solutions might trickle down to states and municipalities.
Some of the proposed solutions could be a boon to states, counties and cities, but other ideas could have negative implications.
"[T]he bipartisan deficit commission that Obama created, headed by former Clinton White House aide Erskine Bowles and former Sen. Alan Simpson (R-Wyo.), includes one recommendation that states and cities will abhor. It would make bonds issued by state and local governments, today tax-exempt, fully taxable.
That shift would increase the necessary yields on state or local bonds so sharply that roughly 30 percent would be added to the cost of practically every capital investment states or cities make, notes Frank Shafroth, a veteran of positions in the local state and local government field and currently adjunct professor at George Mason and George Washington Universities."
Read the full story: What Would Mega-Fiscal Reform Mean for States, Cities?
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
If the state plays its cards right, it may be able to store a billion acre-feet of El Niño’s water in aquifers.
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.
Chicago voters approve permanent festival grounds, penalty for vacant property owners
Currently, major summer and fall festivals take over public parks for weeks at a time, drawing criticism from nearby residents
NYC votes to cut outdoor dining red tape, speed up permitting
New York City also voted to allow the Department of Transportation to begin work on urgent projects before notifying elected officials.
California appears to reject Prop. 45
The proposition would have expanded the projects that qualify for a streamlined environmental review, effectively paring down the California Environmental Quality Act.
FREE Course: Walkable City 1: Why Walkability?
After describing his path towards focusing on walkability as the essence of good planning, Jeff Speck marches through his five principal reasons for making more walkable places.
Reinventing Malls: Planning Alchemy—Turning Gray Fields Into Gold
The course focuses on the opportunities and imperatives that shape reinvention of mall sites.
City of Rosemead
Rutgers University, Edward J. Bloustein School of Planning and Public Policy
One Hundred Miles
Hunter College, City University of New York (CUNY)
The Architects Foundation
University of Cincinnati Online
City of Cambridge
Montrose County
The Pocatello Development Authority