CLOSUP publications

In February 2014, owners of farmland in 14 townships in Michigan were sent a mail survey about their opinions of wind energy, recent investments in their homes and farms, and their future plans for their land. A total of 1,210 landowners—72% of all...

This report presents findings on the presence and use of formal financial planning and management policies in Michigan local jurisdictions, based on statewide surveys of local government leaders in the Spring 2014 wave of the Michigan Public Policy...

This report presents Michigan local government leaders’ assessments of privatizing—or contracting out—public services or government operations in their jurisdictions. These findings are based on statewide surveys of local government leaders in the...

The extraction of shale gas—mainly through the process of hydraulic fracturing or “fracking”—has become a central if contentious area of energy policy in the European Union (EU). Like their US counterparts, European policymakers are attracted by the...

The Canadian province of Québec has the largest reserves of shale gas in Eastern Canada, but Québeckers are in the midst of a heated debate over the desirability of exploiting this resource. At issue is the controversial technique of hydraulic...

This report summarizes main findings of a comparative survey project, with a focus on explaining why attitudes toward fracking in Quebec are markedly different than in Pennsylvania and Michigan. The report is divided into three main parts. First the...

This report presents Michigan local government leaders’ assessments of their jurisdictions’ fiscal conditions and the actions they are taking in response to ongoing and widespread fiscal challenges. The findings are based on responses from six...

Given the large economic, environmental, and social implications from the issue of shale gas and the process to extract it of hydraulic fracturing combined with horizontal drilling (or “fracking” as it is commonly known), it is not surprising that...

This report presents the opinions of Michigan’s local government leaders regarding the bonds – economic and otherwise – between their jurisdictions and the Great Lakes, their support or opposition to policies designed to protect the health of the...

This report presents the opinions of Michigan’s local government leaders regarding the direction in which the state is headed, as well as their evaluations of the job performance of Governor Rick Snyder, the Michigan Legislature, and 14 individual...

Conventional wisdom holds that a carbon tax is a political non-starter. However, results from the latest version of the National Surveys on Energy and Environment (NSEE) provide evidence of substantial public support for a tax on the carbon content...

This report presents the opinions of Michigan local government leaders on issues related to wind energy. It looks at the prevalence of wind turbines in jurisdictions across the state, opinions about the benefits and drawbacks of wind energy, sources...

This report summarizes results from national-level surveys on public attitudes toward climate change administered in Canada and the US in Fall 2013. Since 2008, the National Surveys on Energy and Environment (formerly the National Surveys of...

The winter of 2014 took its toll on many aspects of life in the United States. From individual level costs such as increased heating expenses and disrupted work schedules to broad economic effects including strained public works budgets and slower...

This report presents the opinions of Michigan local government leaders on issues in their communities related to the process of extracting natural gas through high-volume hydraulic fracturing and horizontal drilling of underground shale deposits,...

This report reviews historical and current environmental problems in the Great Lakes and discusses attempts to address them through both joint (Canada-US) and unilateral policy. It then presents the results of a telephone survey of 1,247 residents...

This report outlines the status of wind energy policy and development in the Great Lakes Region, and compares this to public opinion on wind energy within the context of existing literature. The vast majority of residents within the Basin would like...

This report presents the views of people living within the Great Lakes Basin regarding hydraulic fracturing and shale gas drilling. Hydraulic fracturing, the injection of a fluid after drilling to crack open shale rock to release oil or gas, has...

In one of the most striking developments in recent years, the fracturing of shale deposits has transformed the U.S. energy economy by sharply increasing the supply of natural gas and lowering its cost. Shale fracturing, or fracking, also poses...

The first decade of the 2000s was a period of active and largely unanticipated state engagement in the development of policies to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. This triggered substantial social science literature that explored the drivers behind...

Property tax revenues are one of the most important sources of funding for local governments in Michigan, but jurisdictions’ revenues are constrained in part because most have at least some properties that are exempt from taxes. This report presents...

This report presents Michigan local government leaders’ opinions regarding issues surrounding municipal bankruptcies in general, as well as the city of Detroit’s bankruptcy specifically. The findings in this report are based on a statewide survey of...

With a unique approach and expanded data measures, this study attempts to contribute to the research on what leads metro economies in the United States to function the way they do, what makes some of the economies more successful than others, and...

Natural gas extraction through high-volume hydraulic fracturing, often used with horizontal drilling (“fracking”), increased by 24 percent from 2006 to 2011, and is projected to grow unabated. One of the most promising sources of natural gas is the...

This report presents Michigan local government leaders’ opinions regarding the community and economic development strategy known as placemaking, and its use by Michigan jurisdictions. By engaging in placemaking, policymakers attempt to capitalize on...