University of Wisconsin–Madison
Progressive Local Government
For the 21st Century

ProGov21 Policy Library

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Small Business Relief Programs: Local and State Governments Have Marshalled $9.27 Billion for Small Business Relief, But Desperately Need More Funds
Type Policy Brief or Report
Year 2020
Level City or Town, County, State, National
State(s) All States
Source Institute for Local Self-Reliance
Policy Areas Economic Justice
Cities, counties, states, and community organizations have established more than 800 programs to provide financial assistance to small businesses during the COVID-19 pandemic. As these programs provided by local and state governments run out of funds, this report argues that additional...
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Wilson Hits a Fiber-to-the-Home Run with Greenlight Municipal Broadband Network
Type Policy Brief or Report
Year 2020
Level City or Town
State(s) North Carolina
Source Institute for Local Self-Reliance
Policy Areas Community Development, Data & Technology
Due to monopoly control of broadband technology, millions of Americans do not have internet access because it is not available or affordable. To circumvent this problem, the city of Wilson began building a citywide Fiber-to-the-Home (FTTH) network called Greenlight in 2008, after...
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Building Indigenous Future Zones: Four Tribal Broadband Case Studies
Type Policy Brief or Report
Year 2021
Level City or Town, County, National
State(s) All States
Source Institute for Local Self-Reliance
Policy Areas Community Development, Data & Technology
Basic infrastructure, including internet access, is still lacking on many reservations; in fact, tribal lands have seen increases in high-speed internet access at even lower rates than rural areas. One step to better Internet infrastructure is increasing the authority of Native Nations...
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Safeguarding Small Business During The Pandemic: 26 Strategies For Local Leaders
Type Policy Brief or Report
Year 2020
Level Other Boards and Agencies
State(s) All States
Source Institute for Local Self-Reliance
Policy Areas Economic Justice, Community Development
America's small businesses are facing an existential crisis. The COVID-19 pandemic has closed shops and offices across the nation, with dire economic consequences. And the local governments and nonprofit organizations that support small businesses are on the front lines of this crisis....
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Water Main Geothermal: Could Existing Water Pipes Replace Dirty Energy Utilities?
Type Policy Brief or Report
Year 2020
Level City or Town
State(s) All States
Source Institute for Local Self-Reliance
Policy Areas Environment & Natural Resources, Housing
Water main geothermal combines the efficiency and technical capability of ground-source geothermal in cold climates with costs competitive to fossil gas furnaces. This report shows that water main geothermal could provide a viable, cost-effective alternative to traditional home heating...
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Equitable Community Solar: Policy and Program Guidance for Community Solar Programs that Promote Racial and Economic Equity
Type Policy Brief or Report
Year 2020
Level City or Town, State
State(s) All States
Source Institute for Local Self-Reliance
Policy Areas Environment & Natural Resources
Community solar, also called “shared solar”, creates local economic value. Residents save money on their monthly bills by subscribing to a “solar garden”––they reserve a share in a solar array located offsite, and the power generated by their solar panels shows up as a credit on their...
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Cooperatives Fiberize Rural America: A Trusted Model For The Internet Era
Type Policy Brief or Report
Year 2017
Level City or Town, County
State(s) All States
Source Institute for Local Self-Reliance
Policy Areas Data & Technology
Rural regions in the United States largely lack high-quality internet access. However, a substantial minority of rural areas actually have internet infrastructure that is better than what metro regions have on average. Locally-rooted cooperatives have already invested in fiber optic...
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A Public Housing Digital Inclusion Blueprint
Type Policy Brief or Report
Year 2019
Level City or Town
State(s) California
Source Institute for Local Self-Reliance
Policy Areas Community Development, Housing, Data & Technology
Internet connectivity is divided along socioeconomic lines, with fewer options available to those who have less capacity to pay for the service. Communities large and small, rural and urban, have residents who lack adequate access to digital services and internet connectivity. Digital...
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How Telecom Monopolies are Blocking Better Internet Access, and What We Can Do About It
Type Policy Brief or Report
Year 2021
Level City or Town, County, State
State(s) All States
Source Institute for Local Self-Reliance
Policy Areas Data & Technology
Monopoly control of broadband technology is leaving many Americans unable to access high-speed internet. In particular, the market power of the biggest cable companies allows them to lock customers into overpriced, underperforming Internet service contracts for which they don’t have...
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Investigating City Commitments to 100% Renewable Energy: Local Transitions and Energy Democracy
Type Policy Brief or Report
Year 2020
Level City or Town
State(s) All States
Source Institute for Local Self-Reliance
Policy Areas Environment & Natural Resources
Renewable energy serves as a viable solution to replace fossil fuel generation to create a healthier environment. A number of cities across the United States are pledging to reach community-wide goals of 100 percent renewable energy, in order to combat the social, environmental, and...
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1997 St. Paul Ordinance Requiring Living Wages for Projects using Government Assistance
Type Ordinance or Resolution
Year 1997
Level City or Town
State(s) Minnesota
Source Institute for Local Self-Reliance
Policy Areas Economic Justice, Finance & Procurement
The document discusses the Living Wage Ordinance implemented in St. Paul, Minnesota in 1997. It mandates that recipients of city economic development assistance of $100,000 or more pay their employees a living wage, defined as 110% of the federal poverty level for a family of four,...
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How Big Utilities are Impeding Clean Energy, and What We Can Do About It
Type Policy Brief or Report
Year 2021
Level City or Town, County, State
State(s) All States
Source Institute for Local Self-Reliance
Policy Areas Democracy & Governance, Environment & Natural Resources, Energy
Corporate utilities dominate how electricity is generated, transmitted, and distributed or sold to the customer — resulting in both a lack of safety measures as well as costly, short-sided, and dirty energy investments. This affects all of us as we confront our climate crisis and...
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2003 Carbondale Ordinance 27 Requiring Community Impact Assessments for Residential Developments
Type Ordinance or Resolution
Year 2003
Level City or Town
State(s) Colorado
Source Institute for Local Self-Reliance
Policy Areas Community Development, Public Spaces, Transportation & Mobility, Environment & Natural Resources
This ordinance requires that residential developments generating more than 500 Average Daily Trips (ADT) shall be subject to a Community Impact Assessment review process. The purpose of the review is to ensure that the Town has the ability to address and mitigate any adverse impacts...
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Baltimore’s Fair Development Plan for Zero Waste
Type Policy Brief or Report
Year 2020
Level City or Town
State(s) Maryland
Source Institute for Local Self-Reliance
Policy Areas Economic Justice, Civil Rights, Environment & Natural Resources, Community Development
This report identifies the root causes of Baltimore’s failed and inequitable waste system, and how its impacts intersect with racial and economic justice. The Baltimore Sustainability Plan will enable the city to move towards a new system of fair development aligned with human rights...
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Energy Self-Reliant States 2020
Type Policy Brief or Report
Year 2020
Level State
State(s) All States
Source Institute for Local Self-Reliance
Policy Areas Environment & Natural Resources
A nation of renewable-powered, job-generating, self-reliant states is within reach – and necessary; improved renewable electricity technology would allow nearly every state to produce 100 percent of its electricity needs from local renewable sources. This report includes a series...
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Affordable Space How Rising Commercial Rents Are Threatening Independent Businesses, and What Cities Are Doing About It
Type Policy Brief or Report
Year 2016
Level County
State(s) All States
Source Institute for Local Self-Reliance
Policy Areas Community Development, Public Spaces, Finance & Procurement, Economic Justice, Civil Rights, Democracy & Governance, Housing, Public Safety
The cost of leasing commercial space is soaring in many U.S. cities, threatening the future of independent businesses. In cities as diverse as Oakland and Nashville, Milwaukee and Portland, Maine, retail rents have shot up by double-digit percentages over the last year alone. As the...
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Minnesota’s Solar Gardens: The Status and Benefits of Community Solar
Type Policy Brief or Report
Year 2019
Level City or Town, County, State
State(s) Minnesota
Source Institute for Local Self-Reliance
Policy Areas Environment & Natural Resources, Community Development, Energy
Minnesota is the national leader in community solar, with 208 projects around the state, more than a third of all community solar projects in the US. The Community Solar Garden policy makes it easy to develop and subscribe to solar power. Residents, businesses, and non-profit organizations...
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All Hands on Deck: Minnesota Local Government Models for Expanding Fiber Internet Access
Type Policy Brief or Report
Year 2014
Level City or Town, County
State(s) Minnesota
Source Institute for Local Self-Reliance
Policy Areas Data & Technology
In 2010 the Minnesota legislature set a goal of having universal Internet access across the state with download speeds of 10-20 Mbps and upload speeds of 5-10 Mbps no later than 2015. As of 2014, Minnesota is not on track to meet these goals, because internet access varies significantly...
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1998 Detroit Ordinance 45-98: Living Wage and Local Hiring
Type Ordinance or Resolution
Year 2008
Level City or Town
State(s) Michigan
Source Institute for Local Self-Reliance
Policy Areas Economic Justice
This ordinance mandates city service contractors or recipients of city financial assistance of $50,000 or more pay employees a living wage equivalent to the federal poverty line for a family of four. It also requires companies to have local-hiring policies for new jobs created through...
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