Within cities, residents face stark disparities in their access to fresh, healthy produce, with low-income communities often the most affected by this limited access. Inequitable access to food perpetuates poor health outcomes among low-income populations and undermines efforts to improve public health and promote community. The increase in diet-related diseases such as diabetes, obesity, cardiovascular disease and some cancers have put us on a path to change modern history: many children born today will have a shorter life expectancy than their parents. In addition to nutritional and health impacts, the flow of food dollars out of the region represent a significant loss for local economies. Yet there are bright spots of innovation, where local policies promote and increase residents' access to healthy food. While there is no single solution to address this large and interconnected system of access to affordable, healthy food, there is a range policy strategies that can help develop local food capacities, enhance public health and improve urban economies.

Passing a local resolution is one way for communities to promote obesity prevention policies. Today more than two-thirds of adults in the United States are overweight or obese, and among children and adolescents, 16.3 percent are obese and 31.9 percent are obese or overweight. Obese children are likely to become obese adults: in fact, an obese older teenager has up to an 80 percent chance of becoming an obese adult. The health consequences of this trend are dire. If the obesity epidemic continues unchecked, experts warn that excess weight could reduce average life expectancy by five years or more over the next several decades.

A critical first step when considering a local tax is to review state law to determine what kinds of taxes are authorized for local governments in your state. Whereas states have broad authority to impose almost any type of tax, local governments can only impose taxes that have been specifically authorized by the state legislature or state constitution. Some states grant relatively broad authority for some local taxes (such as business license taxes, which are allowed in every municipality in California), whereas other states require specific state enabling legislation for each local tax. Therefore, it is essential that any local jurisdiction considering a tax consult with a local municipal tax expert to ascertain the available tax options. When crafting a tax law, there are numerous policy considerations that will affect the scope and breadth of the tax, and also the disposition of the proceeds. This document discusses these critical policy considerations, including the effect of adopting different provisions; legal, administrative, and political considerations; and other factors.

In the face of increasing demands from students and other stakeholders concerned about the role of traditional energy companies in accelerating climate change, institutional investors are asking tough questions about the feasibility of divestment from fossil fuel companies. Based on the real-world experiences of leading asset managers and asset owners that have successfully invested without reliance on fossil-fuel companies over the last decade, this paper charts three distinctive pathways for institutional investors to follow in order to transition their portfolios away from fossil fuels and toward investment opportunities in a cleaner, more sustainable future.

This act requires that a municipal public fund create a list of fossil fuel companies that match specific criteria, divest all holdings from the companies on this list over a 3-year period, and reinvest funds in socially responsible investments that satisfy prudent person standards. This act also requires investment offerings for participant-directed retirement funds that are devoid of holdings in fossil fuel companies. This act also urges divestment action from fiduciaries of local government investment pools and that credit agencies factor climate risks into their ratings of publicly held companies.

A resolution declaring the intent of a city that does not invest in stock to refrain from investing in fossil fuel companies in the future.

By 2050, two out of every three people on the planet will live in a city. Urbanization and new ideas go hand in hand; by their very nature, cities have long served to create pockets of innovation, changing and improving the way we live our lives in the process. Historically this process was organic and somewhat serendipitous, but modern advances in technology mean that today\'s city administrations can play a more deliberate role in accelerating and nurturing innovation. The stories hidden in even the most routine city data sets give insights into how real people live their lives, enabling government to do more than simply clean the roads or provide clean water. Armed with these data points on what people do - not what they say they do or what they wish they did - government can create tailored solutions for their residents and discover what works, all without breaking the bank.

Resolution urging San Francisco Retirement Board of the Employees' Retirement System to divest from publicly-traded fossil fuel companies.

Government is often thought of as a place where good ideas go to die. We who work in local government know this is not true. We also know, however, that cities\' current set of approaches and solutions won\'t be enough to address our most pressing challenges. We need more and fundamentally different ways to deliver public value, and to understand and address wickedly complex problems. This guidebook is intended to give local leaders a practical, action-oriented framework for breakthrough innovation: a set of approaches and practices out of the startup and municipal innovation worlds that help practitioners break out of deeply embedded assumptions about how government is supposed to operate and open new possibilities for problem-solving and impact.