“Biden’s Task and Ours,” Social Policy 50:4 (Winter 2020): 9.

"Productive Places in a Post-Pandemic Era: A Roadmap for Cities and Counties." Envisio Blog, June 6, 2020. With K. Knutson and M. Bell.

 

Pandemic Insights for Local Government Leaders
Apolitical: The global learning platform for government

“How About Productive Democracy for a Change,” Social Policy 50:1 (Spring 2020):19-25.  

Across the Midwest, residential and occupational segregation put African Americans and Hispanics in the region more at risk. And across the Midwest, public policies—by design and by neglect—do little to address or alleviate that risk. Full post here.

CV

This report examines changes in population, lane-miles of freeways, and congestion in the 100 largest urbanized areas in the U.S. between 1993 (the earliest year with a complete dataset) and 2017. It also looks at other related changes in those cities like vehicle-miles traveled (VMT) and driving commute travel times.

Accessibility metrics hold great promise as a means to inform transportation decision-making. Not only do these metrics address the purpose of the transportation system directly – linking travelers to destinations – but they are also infinitely scalable, so they can provide insights at a very granular level. As such, they may be especially useful in evaluating decisions around active transportation facilities, which can be difficult to address in conventional modeling. This white paper investigates a particular issue within active transportation: prioritizing pedestrian improvements to meet ADA standards.

City leaders, including mayors, play a critical role in community wealth building and are this brief’s intended audience. However, this work requires multiple actors, including community organizers and developers. This brief is useful to anyone committed to equitable economic development in their community but is intended primarily for city leaders. This report was made possible by generous funding from the Surdna Foundation.

Read the full "Race in the Heartland" report here.

 

In the 20th Century, people from around the world came to Wisconsin and the Midwest, seeking opportunity in the industrial boom. Manufacturing and unions helped create good jobs for many black workers, but discrimination and segregation limited that sharply. When industrial jobs declined, black Midwesterners suffered the most. Over the last 40 years, opportunity and outcomes for black residents in Wisconsin have fallen below national averages. As a result, black Wisconsinites face stubborn barriers and road blocks that many white people don’t even know are there. Racial disparity in Wisconsin is not inevitable, but closing the gap will require a broad focus and multifaceted approach.

 

'Wisconsin's Extreme Racial Disparity' provides a Wisconsin-focused summary to 'Race in the Heartland', which shows the persistence of racial disparities in the Midwest and what can be done about them.

Wisconsin has the regrettable distinction of ranking among the worst states in the nation for racial inequality. Disparities among black and white residents of our state – spanning poverty, unemployment, educational attainment, and incarceration – have been documented consistently for more than a decade. Although activists and policymakers have increasingly focused on addressing these issues, they remain pressing.

'Race in the Heartland' and 'Wisconsin's Extreme Racial Disparity' provide a careful historical context and a broadly informed policy framework that are critical to winning greater racial equity throughout this region.