City Budgets
Seattle Makes Historic Affordable Housing Investment
While the 2024 budget plan invests in housing and social programs, city leaders warn the city will face a shortfall of almost $250 million in 2025.
Feds to the Rescue, but the Peril Remains: Preventing the Next Fiscal Apocalypse
Former Santa Monica City Manager Rick Cole talks about the implications of the fiscal reset on city budget, policy, and service priorities going forward.
Report Details Dire Fiscal Straits of Local Governments
The National League of Cities has produced a highly-anticipated report detailing the fiscal fallout of the sudden and swift economic downturn that followed the coronavirus to American shores.
Surveying the Fiscal Nightmare for Cities and States
Governing takes a tour through the fiscal impacts of a suddenly cratered economy and an ongoing public health crisis.
Toronto's Poverty Plan Meets the Budget Process
Toronto approved a ten-year poverty reduction strategy in 2015, but the policies and programs included in that plan still require budgetary commitments.
Oakland Keeps its DOT, Moves Forward With Innovative Street Repaving Plan
The city of Oakland had a particularly tough budget approval process this year. The future of capital investments in the city's transportation system was at stake.
Department of Transportation Caught in Political Tug of War in Oakland
The political debate surrounding the future of Oakland's streets has recently turned up a notch.
Minneapolis Mayor Pushing to Fund a Slew of Programs to Make Housing More Affordable
Mayor Jacob Frey wants $40 million of the city’s budget to fund programs related to housing affordability.
Opinion: Bike Lane Funding in Dallas on the Line
As the Dallas City Council prepares to vote this month on a general fund budget, the future of bike lanes is not looking good.
Means-Based, Transit-Fare Discounts Take a Leap Forward in the Big Apple
The 2019 New York City budget includes $106 million to subsidize half the transit fare for qualified residents for six months. The city joins the ranks of Seattle, Toronto, and the Bay Area that offer income-based discounts for transit fares.
Police Departments Budgets Grow, but Cities Aren't Any Safer
A Next City article argues that investing in job programs and other public goods would do more to make those communities safe than investing in police departments.
Seattle City Council Parts With Mayor on Affordable Housing Funds
Political drama connected to the funding of affordable will require changes to the mayor's proposed city budget.
Dallas Doesn't Deliver on Promised Libraries
In 2006, Dallas voters approved a bond package that promised $42 million for new libraries. Ten years later, and after $11.75 million in spending, none of the projects are close to completion.
Chicago Considers Raising Parking Taxes to Pay for Potholes
In need of 80 additional employees to keep up with the city's pothole repair deficit, Mayor Rah Emanuel is proposing that the city raise taxes parking.
Nuisance Liens Persist in Philadelphia—City Owed $423 Million
An investigation by the Philadelphia Inquirer finds that Philadelphia is owed $423 million in "nuisance liens" or unpaid bills for the city's Department of Licenses and Inspections. The city has only collected $15.6 million in owed liens since 2009.
Trend Watch: Swapping Gasoline Excise Taxes for Wholesale Sales Taxes
The D.C. Council is going the way of neighbors Virginia and Maryland by approving new wholesale sales taxes on gasoline and diesel. In it's budget approved on May 22, the council swapped the current 23.5-cent excise tax for a new 8.3% fuel tax.
Local Governments Work Together to Fight Recession
Chuck Raasch looks at how combining services can help local governments "to capitalize on the economics of scale and offset declining revenue since the Great Recession."
Seven Cities That Have Gone Bust (And Lived to Tell the Tale)
Nate Berg takes a look at the seven biggest cities to have filed for bankruptcy in the last two decades, the largest of which officially broke the bank as of yesterday.
An Inside Look at Making L.A.'s Difficult Decisions in a Time of Austerity
LA Councilmember Paul Krekorian discusses reducing the city's budget deficit, the impacts his decisions will have on core services and civil servants, and the tolls that come with taking on a budget crisis during a period of fiscal austerity.
Back from Bankruptcy, Can Vallejo Become a National Model?
Since declaring bankruptcy in 2008, the climb out of the budgetary depths hasn't been an easy one for the city of Vallejo, California. But, as it springs back to life, could Vallejo become a model for how to run a city in an age of austerity?
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.
Ascent Environmental
Borough of Carlisle
Institute for Housing and Urban Development Studies (IHS)
City of Grandview
Harvard GSD Executive Education
Toledo-Lucas County Plan Commissions
Salt Lake City
NYU Wagner Graduate School of Public Service
