When the Michigan Independent Citizens Redistricting Commission faced a tidal wave of public input—more than 30,000 comments—the Center for Local, State, and Urban Policy (CLOSUP) and Ford School students stepped in. Their analysis helped the commiss...
A majority of Michigan city and village officials say they are concerned about the lack of budgeting expertise among the elected officials in their communities as they deal with rising economic and political uncertainty and challenging state and fede...
Fewer than half of Michigan’s smaller and more rural communities report good fiscal health, reflecting a trend of rising financial stress among local governments across the state and growing concerns about having enough money to keep up with increase...
CLOSUP's Stephanie Leiser, Debra Horner, and Natalie Fitzpatrick discuss the Michigan Public Policy Survey and how it has shown that, although there is concerns over the state of democracy in the United States, democracy remains strong at the local l...
Recent results from CLOSUP's Michigan Public Policy Survey show that local leaders have less trust in residents responsibly participating in the policymaking process while the health of democracy at the local level has improved slightly
Officials across Michigan report alarming declines of engagement with their constituents despite more widespread use of various outreach methods and activities in the latest installment of the Michigan Public Policy Survey.
Among Michigan law enforcement agency leaders, concerns about funding levels are widespread, with almost half of chiefs of police and county sheriffs saying the local governments they serve do not provide sufficient money for their agencies.
A majority of local government and law enforcement officials in Michigan say they lack confidence the state’s new “red-flag law” aimed at reducing gun violence will do so, according to a University of Michigan survey.
At a time when many of us are concerned about the strength of democracy in the U.S. and around the world, CLOSUP's research tells us that democracy remains strongest at the local level. Every day, in jurisdictions across the state, local officials interact with residents to help determine community priorities, allocate funds for services, hear complaints and resolve disputes, register voters, and much more.
Join us for an intimate conversation between two leading voices for rural prosperity as they share experiences visiting rural communities across the country, and highlight inspiring stories from within the state of Michigan.
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.
CLOSUP Lecture Series,
Conversations Across Differences
Free and open to the public – this is a virtual webinar on Zoom - please register!
Student researchers will share their research on the similarities and differences across the urban/rural continuum with respect to: the state of civic discourse; public participation in decision-making; citizen engagement; internet connectivity and access to information; and privatization of local government services.
CLOSUP Lecture Series,
Conversations Across Differences,
Policy Talks @ the Ford School
The Local Voices Network is a community-driven listening network which aims to improve our understanding of one another through communication. Kathy Cramer, one of the groups' founders, will talk about how it works and what 's coming out of the chapters in Wisconsin, New York, Massachusetts, and Alabama.
CLOSUP Lecture Series,
Conversations Across Differences
Please join us in a Conversation Across Difference, as 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 (P3s), and what they mean for cost and quality.
The United States has seen dramatic growth in energy development with much of it occurring on privately owned lands, creating a unique raft of opportunity and risk for landowners. The presentation reviews research on the nexus of property ownership rights and regulatory policy, with a focus on Shale and Wind Energy. It introduces the concept of 'Private Participation' in the planning and siting of energy projects and discusses how private property ownership will continue to influence the energy revolution.
While much attention has been focused on the threats that hydraulic fracturing poses to water systems—whether by its consumptive use of freshwater or the risk of contaminating ground- and surface waters—the financial wealth that oil and gas development brings to state and local governments may provide opportunities to protect water resources. This diverse group of scholars will discuss their research at the intersection of fracking and water policy, and as a panel explore whether there are particular policies or practices that might be scaled-up or replicated outside their geographical area of study to create more sustainable energy-water systems.
Free and open to the public. Lunch provided. Speaker: Susan Christopherson, Professor, Department of City and Regional Planning, Cornell University See the presentation from the event:
A Distinctive US Approach to Shale Gas Development?
Abstract: Vertical drilling for natural gas, using at times another form of hydraulic fracturing, is permitted and has occurred for many years in the Marcellus Shale states.
