CLOSUP publications

The Upper Peninsula of Michigan is a fairly secluded place. It’s almost like its own world, often feeling detached from the rest of the country and even from the Lower Peninsula of the same state. We’re so under the radar that non-Michiganders can...

It’s the end of the world as we know it, and I don’t feel fine. As a child, I saw the world as a place filled with pure happiness. It’s as though a bright, golden hue illuminated from everything I saw. I thought that no harm could fester in this...

When I was a young child, I saw my first wind turbine in the hills of Iowa when my family was driving from Michigan to Colorado. Many people consider them an eyesore, but I thought they looked absolutely wonderful. They were like giant pinwheels...

In 2018, Michigan residents voted in favor of Proposal 18-2, a ballot measure that shifted redistricting authority from the state legislature to an independent commission. By August 2020, 13 commissioners, made up of Democrats, Republicans, and...

Local government leaders in Michigan’s Upper Peninsula (U.P.) are more likely to report significant unmet needs among their residents for anti-poverty resources compared with local leaders in the Lower Peninsula. U.P. leaders are also more likely to...

Every decade the decennial US census is followed by a tumultuous process of redrawing state voting maps. This process gives states an opportunity to update their voting districts to account for shifting population distributions. In many states, this...

While transportation electrification is critically important for reducing greenhouse gas emissions, light-duty electric vehicle adoption by individuals is still very low in the United States. Although state-level programs and city-level programs in...

The Michigan Public Policy Survey (MPPS) is an ongoing research program that surveys the top elected and appointed officials in every local government jurisdiction in Michigan. This report aims at understanding how the gender demographics of these...

Many US States have adopted policies known as renewable portfolio standards (RPS) to address climate change by mandating the production of electricity from renewable energy sources. In 2020, Virginia became one of the few states to implement an RPS...

In the face of the urgent and growing climate crisis, policy experts on climate and the economy have pushed for national and other governments to implement a tax on carbon. The Biden administration is considering adopting such a policy (Green,...

Carbon taxes have been suggested by economists as the most cost-effective means to curb greenhouse gases emissions, but many people fear that such a tax would be inequitable. A content analysis of newspapers local to British Columbia and Alberta,...

Waste is a growing issue in the United States that can be potentially aided with Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR) methods. This paper analyzes the current inventory of all EPR policies across the US. The analysis consists of the bill author’s...

Divestment of large institutions, particularly higher education institutions, from the fossil fuel industry is an important mitigation and adaptation strategy that also contributes to shifting the global culture and conversation around climate...

Disclosure of climate-related financial risk has been introduced as a way to accelerate the transition to a more sustainable, low-carbon financial system, by reducing information asymmetry between a company and its stakeholders. This paper conducts...

Though the climate crisis will eventually spare no one, it is inherently an issue of justice and equity. This paper aims to discern how two coastal cities - Baltimore and Seattle - are contending with climate change and, more specifically, climate...

Concentrated Animal Feeding Operations (CAFOs) are large-scale farms that cause significant environmental degradation and contamination through the discharge of their waste. National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System, or NPDES, permits are one...

Every year, the Center for Local, State, and Urban Policy (CLOSUP) sends the Michigan Public Policy Survey (MPPS) to local government officials all over the state. The MPPS is a program of state-wide surveys of local government leaders in Michigan...

In the past few years, the Great Lakes have experienced an increase in harmful algal blooms in large part due to agricultural runoff and results in increased levels of toxins in the water putting the drinking supply at risk. The current policies are...

Since the introduction of the Federal Tax Credit (FTC) for electric vehicles, the US has been able to reduce the number of gasoline powered vehicles on the road by incentivizing users to purchase electric vehicles (EVs). However, as the FTC phases...

Over the past 12 years, more research has been done on the importance of pollinators in our environment and lives. Therefore, governmental policies on a state level are of special consequence at this time. To investigate this, an inventory of state...

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...

The most recent U.S. American Community Survey revealed that despite a second year of growth for median income in Michigan, poverty rates for residents in the state’s poorest cities-- Detroit and Flint-- have stagnated. Survey results also uncover...

The city of Detroit, Michigan, is undergoing a development boom unlike anything it has seen in recent years. The District Detroit is one such project, pioneered by one of the city’s most recognized families. What is difficult to discern, though, is...

As the effects of climate change intensify and Earth’s supply of fossil fuels continues to dwindle in the face of expanding consumerism and rising populations, the development of clean energy alternatives is more important than ever. Michigan’s...

Early conservation efforts were focused on setting aside lands to remain undeveloped and for plant and animal species to have a protected zone. Shifting environmental problems such as climate change have created a need for conservation efforts to...