Policy Topics

Community and Social Issues

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Showing 271 - 300 of 769 results

Internet Access and Connectivity across the Urban-Rural Spectrum

May 1, 2021
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Julie Rubin
Broadband internet is a faster and more efficient way to access online services and information than traditional dial-up or satellite services. While broadband is becoming increasingly ubiquitous across the United States, there remains a “digital...
Student Working Papers

Vote Share Analysis Findings

April 30, 2021
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Chris Campbell
Each spring, the Michigan Public Policy Survey (MPPS) asks officials from Michigan’s cities, townships, counties and villages about a range of topics concerning their jurisdictions’ administrative, fiscal, and social health, as well as other...
Student Working Papers

Zoning Codes and the Adoption of LEED in Michigan Cities

May 1, 2020
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Michael Ngan
Because of an absence of federal policies in the US mandating green building certification, this paper aims to explore if local policy efforts can, as an alternative, effectively drive sustainable design and increase the number of green buildings....
Student Working Papers

Improving Michigan School Discipline Practices

March 1, 2019
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KeAndra Hollis
Over the recent years, many studies have attempted to shed light on the negative impacts and gaps of exclusionary discipline practices within Michigan schools. Research shows that students who face suspension and expulsion are as much as 10 times...
Student Working Papers

Is Affordable Housing Attainable?

March 1, 2019
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Miranda J. Pearson
Growing up people often spend time dreaming of their perfect home, in hopes that one day if they work hard enough and put enough money aside, that their dream will become a reality. A perfect home where one can raise their children and grow old in,...
Student Working Papers

Housing Affordability in Michigan: Public and Private Sector Tradeoffs

March 1, 2019
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Jacob Murray
Housing is becoming increasingly unaffordable. The for-profit housing market is failing working class and low-income families. As a lingering effect of the 2007 foreclosure crises, over 36% of households now rent their home. 1 Rent continues to...
Student Working Papers

Feeding Urbanized Farmland: Food Policy in the Midwest

October 1, 2017
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Claire M. Griffin
The connection of food systems to the urban environment cannot be ignored as cities require outside production to provide the bulk of resources needed to sustain their residents’ physical, social, and economic needs. Literature suggests that food...
Student Working Papers

Potential collaboration between food policy councils and food hubs

October 1, 2017
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Madelyn Celovsky
In recent years, food policy in the U.S. has begun to address some of the implications of the industrialization of agriculture and the lack of food security. As it expands to include more voices and overlapping interests, the potential for...
Student Working Papers

The Promise of Free College

April 1, 2017
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Ingrid Johnson
It seems strange, that of all the cities, towns, and communities across America, Kalamazoo, Michigan would be chosen to make history in education. The relatively small city with the funny name, famous for innovations in the pharmaceutical field and...
Student Working Papers

Reforming Michigan’s Charter Schools

April 1, 2017
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Casey VanderWeide
Michigan has long been on the forefront on implementing charter schools. A charter school, sometimes referred to as a public school academy, is a state-funded public school under the state constitution that is operated “under a charter contract...
Student Working Papers

Fixing the Higher Education Funding System in Michigan

April 1, 2017
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Keerthana Sundar
Education has become a key component of the dialogue surrounding the revitalization of Detroit and the economic progress of Michigan. A lot can be said, and has been said, about Michigan’s K-12 education system. Another important aspect is tertiary...
MPPS

Trust in government among Michigan’s local leaders and citizens

July 1, 2013
This report presents the opinions of Michigan’s local government leaders regarding their trust in the federal, state, and other local governments, based on statewide surveys conducted in the Spring 2013 and Spring 2009 waves of the Michigan Public...