CLOSUP publications

The cowboy state of Wyoming more than lives up to its reputation as a rugged, big, beautiful place. Between Yosemite in the West and vast prairies in the East, stupendous mineral deposits and an undeniable presence of grit as well as independence,...

This report presents information from Michigan local government officials regarding local energy issues and policies. In addition, the report looks at local officials’ opinions on environmental leadership in local government. These findings are...

This report presents Michigan local government leaders’ assessments of their jurisdictions’ fiscal conditions and the actions they plan to take in the coming year given their financial situations. The findings are based on responses from 10...

This report presents the assessments of Michigan’s local government leaders regarding the next recession, including its expected timing and impacts, and whether their jurisdictions have taken action to prepare for it. These findings are based on...

Municipal fiscal condition is typically assessed using objective financial indicators, but little is understood about how local officials subjectively evaluate their own fiscal health. Using both qualitative and quantitative approaches to analyze...

Since 2008, the University of Michigan and Muhlenberg College have conducted the National Surveys on Energy and Environment (NSEE), a biannual national opinion survey on energy and climate policy. To celebrate the tenth anniversary of the survey,...

This report presents the opinions of Michigan’s local government leaders regarding the upcoming 2020 U.S. Census, including their confidence in the potential accuracy of the count both locally and at the state level, assessments of groups within...

The generation of energy from wind turbines is becoming increasingly common as utilities and consumers seek to integrate alternative energy sources into power grids. However, the complex economic aspects of wind energy, such as up-front capital...

This brief explores whether states with regulatory authority over oil and gas production include methane within their own established severance tax regimes. It acknowledges minimal published scholarship on this issue, aside from general discussion...

To achieve parity in the benefits of solar energy, a growing number of states have developed policies and programs to address socioeconomic disparities by designating and targeting low- to moderate-income (LMI) households, as well as racial and...

Decarbonizing the electricity sector will require a shift in the geography of where our electricity is produced. Currently, most electricity comes from large, centralized fossil fuel and nuclear power plants sited in or near urban areas where much...

This policy brief introduces an inventory of 185 energy justice programs, policies, or organizations at the national, state, and local level in the United States. We identified these programs through an extensive search of social media,...

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 Gretchen Whitmer and the Michigan Legislature. These...

This report presents the opinions of Michigan’s local government leaders regarding relationships among members of their board or council as well as between the board/council and local government employees. Assessments include a look at various...

Our March survey of academic experts included a state democracy module cosponsored by the Center for Local, State, and Urban Policy at the University of Michigan’s Gerald R. Ford School for Public Policy. The module asked expert respondents to rate...

The Spring 2018 County-wide Poverty Fact Sheets are from the Michigan Public Policy Survey (MPPS), an ongoing survey of the top elected and appointed officials in every unit of general purpose local government across the state. The MPPS is designed...

This paper examines the emerging international trend of dockless electric scooters and evaluates how Michigan’s state and local policymakers can best respond. While there are important public safety and other concerns that must be addressed with...

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...

The 130,000 undocumented immigrants in Michigan are disproportionately affected by poverty, limiting their access to higher education due to affordability concerns, in addition to the various institutional obstacles that create hardships for this...

A decade of major job loss resulted in declining government revenue, wages, and youth population in Michigan, all of which has place economic strain on the state and its residents. Michigan, once the leader in auto industry manufacturing, now...

Autonomous vehicles (AVs) are the transportation of the future, promising mobility like the world has never seen. The development of this technology is still underway, and a finished product is years-to-decades away. Michigan should fight to be the...

The United States Government and the various state governments all have laws establishing rules around government ethics and transparency. These are put in place to avoid conflicts of interest or corruption among public officials and to ensure that...

Michigan has access to some of the largest bodies of freshwater in the world, and is surrounded by more than one-fifth of the world’s surface fresh water (US EPA, 2015). However, the quality of its constituents’ drinking water contradicts this sort...

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...

This report presents the views of Michigan’s local government officials regarding poverty and economic hardship among residents in their jurisdiction, as well as assessments of unmet needs for particular services and resources. In addition, the...