CLOSUP was established in 2001 to create a bridge between the University of Michigan and Michigan's communities. We are celebrating 25 years of CLOSUP, featuring voices of past and current directors, students, and partners.
The Honorable Lori Lightfoot, the 56th mayor of Chicago, reflects on her background and preparation for public service, the challenges she faced as mayor, and lessons about leading in crises. February, 2024.
Two leading voices for rural prosperity: Tony Pipa (Scholar, Center for Sustainable Development, Brookings Institution, and Host, Reimagine Rural Podcast), share his experiences visiting rural communities across the country, and Sarah Lucas (Director...
The 2023 Mayors Forum will focus on topics particular to Big Ten college cities including development of infrastructure that promotes social cohesion, challenges and opportunities of creating an infrastructure for urban technology, and campus and com...
In a final webinar in our redistricting series, a panel looks back on Michigan's new approach to redistricting by an independent citizens commission. November, 2022.
Learn more about the event and speakers.
The tumult of the first years of this decade has played out in our nation’s cities and thrust the challenges and opportunities for mayors and their leadership into the spotlight. September, 2022.
The 16/50 Project hosts an interactive panel experience to meet the force of women leading communities in Michigan, engage with local government challenges, and learn more about the municipal management profession. March, 2022.
Join us for a lively discussion on Michigan’s new redistricting approach and new maps that will shape elections and decision making in Michigan for the next decade. January 19, 2022.
This webinar analyzes the testimony the Commission has received from citizens and Communities of Interest about their mapping preferences, a discussion of the timeline for creating final maps, and useful tips for the public. September, 2021.
Stephanie Leiser, lecturer in the Gerald R. Ford School of Public Policy, discusses the Local Fiscal Health Project, an initiative of the Center for Local, State, and Urban Policy to help local governments navigate fiscal challenges.
Learn how to participate in the process of drawing the new district maps in Michigan, the role of "communities of interest", and how to engage with the new Michigan Independent Citizens Redistricting Commission in the redistricting process. February ...
Please join P3E and Ford School Student Affairs Committee for a virtual brown bag with the Center for Local, State and Urban Policy (CLOSUP). CLOSUP Interim Director Thomas Ivacko and Professor Stephanie Leiser discussed how local governments are bei...
Panelists Jocelyn Benson, Connie Malloy, Chris Lamar, Christopher Thomas, & moderator Nancy Wang discuss Michigan's approach to redistricting via an Independent Citizens Commission. November, 2019.
Katherine Cramer explains what she heard while inviting herself into the conversations of people in small communities in the U.S. state of Wisconsin. October, 2019.
This lecture discusses the use of longitudinal administrative tax data from Washington DC (DC) to study how Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC) expansions undertaken by the Washington DC affect income and inequality in the city. We find that federal and ...
This webinar was jointly hosted by CLOSUP and the Michigan Municipal League. The webinar features Professor Manny Teodoro from Texas A&M University, speaking on water and sewer system finance and policy, including how to measure affordability, and p...
Professor Teodoro discusses alternative ownership and management models for water and sewer utilities, as well as the political dimensions of public, private, and public-private partnerships. January, 2019.
Carolyn Hughes Tuohy talks about her new book, Remaking Policy: Scale, Pace and Political Strategy in Health Care Reform (University of Toronto Press 2018). October, 2018.
In this presentation, Sanya Carley introduces a framework for conceptualizing vulnerability and then provide an illustration of its potential application using the case of the renewable portfolio standard. March, 2018.
In this webinar, researchers from UM will share the results of Michigan landowner surveys to paint an unbiased picture of the pros and cons of wind energy. The webinar will also give local leaders some practical advice to help them think through whet...
Thomas to discuss voter registration policy and effects of President Trump's voter fraud commission, Voting Rights Act and allegations of Russian interference, challenges and reforms going forward. November, 2017.
Jenna Bednar, Margaret Cook, Barry Rabe and moderator Sarah Mills discuss their research at the intersection of fracking and water policy. April, 2017.
Leigh Raymond explores a surprising new strategy for climate change policy that has emerged in the last 10 years: "reclaiming the atmospheric commons." October, 2016
How do Americans think about energy? Is the debate over fossil fuels, nuclear power, and renewable energy highly partisan and ideological? David Konisky answers these questions & more in a discussion of his 2014 book, Cheap and Clean. November, 2015....
Ian Rowlands examines the ways in which electricity generated by renewable resources (like solar and wind) have been encouraged in the province of Ontario (Canada) during the past 20 years. September, 2015.
How bad are the roads? The University of Michigan surveyed top elected and appointed officials in Michigan's 1,856 units of government on a wide range of road related issues. Fewer than one in five local leaders labeled their roads in good condition....
