Publication

The Center for Local, State, and Urban Policy (CLOSUP) has released a new resource that summarizes Michigan local government leaders' views on democracy and democratic governance. The findings come from the Michigan Public Policy Survey (MPPS), a...

Concerns about hiring and keeping law enforcement officers have skyrocketed among local government officials in Michigan in the past decade.Local law enforcement officials themselves are even more pessimistic about recruitment and retention within...

Local leaders in Michigan are slightly less optimistic in their views on the health of democracy at the state and national levels, according to an ongoing survey by the University of Michigan.Although assessments of civic health at the national...

The percentage of Michigan local governments that say they have or are considering renewable energy goals has doubled since 2019.Local officials also report that a variety of energy issues, such as energy infrastructure zoning and planning for...

Michigan’s local leaders overwhelmingly support adding rooftop solar infrastructure in their communities, while a majority strongly oppose developing nuclear power.Those are among the key findings in the latest Michigan Public Policy Survey...

Local officials across Michigan increasingly view electric vehicle infrastructure planning as relevant for their governments, though many cite too few public charging stations and costs associated with adding them as barriers to expansion.The...

Michigan local officials are reporting alarm at the lack of housing options across the state. Those concerns include single-family homes and multi-family units, and cut across affordable, entry-level and mid-level housing availability.  The results...

Increasing transparency in how local government works got a boost when the U.S. Congress passed the Financial Data Transparency Act (FDTA) on December 15, 2022. The act requires the Securities and Exchange Commission to adopt data standards related...

A majority of Michigan local leaders' assessments of their fiscal stress this year remain essentially unchanged compared to both 2021 and 2020, despite significant infusions of federal and state aid in recent years.  The findings come from the...

Local officials in Michigan have rendered a mixed verdict on the state's new constitutionally mandated approach to redrawing electoral maps with the goal of reducing gerrymandering and promoting fairer elections. Only 24% of local officials are...

Michigan township and city officials are now even more confident in their jurisdiction’s election security and ability to administer an accurate election than they were when asked a similar question in 2020, when confidence was already high,...

A survey of Michigan local government leaders on the federal American Rescue Plan Act funding and uses finds the top spending priorities are on capital improvements, infrastructure and public safety.  Further, the state's largest jurisdictions are...

How should scientists, advocates, and others communicate to the general public about new geoengineering technologies that mitigate climate change? Specifically, does the discussion of climate change technologies create a moral hazard effect, in...

More than 60% of Michigan's local government leaders say the state has gotten off on the wrong track—down slightly from last year yet still among the most pessimistic responses since tracking began in 2011.  According to those local leaders...

The North American Colloquium (NAC) is a forum that strengthens a wider North American conversation and more fruitful trilateral cooperation between Canada, Mexico and the U.S., led by the International Policy Center at the University of Michigan’s...

Local leaders from across the state have reported lingering effects of the COVID-19 pandemic, according to a new report, and worsening outlooks for how much longer some of those impacts will last. While the numbers of local communities reporting on...

Michigan's local economies are still struggling with the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic but at a much lower rate than at the start of the crisis in spring 2020, according to a University of Michigan statewide survey of local government...

Michigan’s local government leaders reported mixed familiarity with the state’s new approach to redistricting, according to a 2020 survey whose results were released today by the the Center for Local, State, and Urban Policy (CLOSUP) at the...

As the Biden administration embarks on its first hundred days, experts from the Gerald R. Ford School of Public Policy have produced a series of policy briefs on key issues. Download the PDF of this brief or read the web-formatted version...

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