CLOSUP publications

Local policies aimed at reducing the emissions that contribute to climate change are growing in popularity in the United States, but progress on reducing vehicle emissions remains incremental. Cities are slowly shifting away from zoning policies...

Since the 1980's international climate negotiations have occurred more frequently and with increasing importance. Research on international climate agreements has largely been limited to their effectiveness, with very few considering the formation...

A combination of rapid population growth, lack of proactive water management policy, and prolonged drought have put Cape Town, South Africa on the verge of becoming the first major, global city to effectively run out of water, a crisis projected to...

Many Michigan cities’ water infrastructure are unable to handle excessive stormwater which can result in flooding or combined sewer overflows. Green infrastructure has been used as a solution to allow water to naturally infiltrate into the ground,...

A sea of carceral facilities has quietly seeped across the U.S. in the past several decades, yet almost no peer-reviewed research documenting the effect of a prison’s location on prisoners exists. To begin reversing this silence, this paper realizes...

In this chapter, we present time-series data on American support for such policies, showing how attitudes have shifted—or not—over the last decade. We also detail how sensitive support or opposition is to more specific policy design elements: the...

This report presents the opinions of Michigan's local government leaders on issues related to land use planning and zoning, including use of master plans and capital improvements plans (CIPs), staff or external contractors associated with planning...

In this chapter, we examine whether American public opinion about the proper role for various governmental levels to address climate change has shifted over the last decade. Using time-series data, we consider which levels of government Americans...

This report presents the opinions of Michigan’s local government leaders on a range of issues regarding their jurisdictions’ workforce, including employee pay and fringe benefit rates, whether the size of the workforce is adequate for providing...

In this chapter, we look at how American attitudes about fossil fuels have changed over the last decade. We use time-series data to consider shifts in support for phasing out coal-fired power plants altogether and for so-called “clean coal,” as well...

This report presents the opinions of Michigan’s local government leaders on issues related to election administration in their jurisdictions, including problems encountered, worker recruitment and training, updating voting equipment, and potential...

Since the enactment of the Clean Water Act in 1972, waters in the United States have continually improved in quality. However, wetlands—and what constitutes a “navigable” waterway—have not been clearly deemed jurisdictional or not by the CWA....

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...

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...

The excessive generation of greenhouse gases by fossil fuel electricity production, and its resulting contribution to climate change, are some of the most threatening environmental issues today. To combat this problem, many US states have adopted a...

Climate change mitigation policies are often politically challenging to implement; this is especially true in the U.S. where carbon-pricing mechanisms are a political non-starter across both federal and sub-federal levels of government. While...

In the United States, there is a growing concern about the negative impacts of single-use plastic bags on human health and the environment. Several local and sub-national governments have implemented bans on the use of plastic bags as a result of...

According to IPCC models, it will be impossible to prevent global temperatures from rising two degrees above preindustrial levels without the deployment of negative emissions technologies such as carbon capture and storage (CCS), which remove carbon...

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 nine...

Net energy metering (NEM), the policy that allows utility customers with onsite electricity sources such as solar panels or small wind turbines to sell excess energy they generate back to the electric grid, has played a significant role in the...

This report presents Michigan local government leaders’ assessments of issues related to citizen engagement with their local governments, and the role that citizens play in the local policymaking process. The findings in this report are based on...

In fall 2016, school officials from four Michigan communities with utility-scale windfarms were contacted requesting interviews. We interviewed with four officials from three of these communities. The officials included financial administrators and...

This report presents the opinions of Michigan’s local government leaders regarding concerns over state government preemption of local decision making and preferred areas of shared and separate policy authority between local and state government. The...

This report presents findings from the Spring 2017 National Surveys on Energy and Environment (NSEE) fielded just prior to President Trump’s June 2017 announcement to withdraw the U.S. from the 2015 international climate agreement negotiated in...

This report presents the opinions of Michigan’s local government leaders regarding the relationships between their local jurisdictions and the State government, including particular factors that affect State-local relations, how those relations...