ProGov21 Policy Library

Electrify Everything! How City Government Can Lead the Way

Type Policy Brief or Report

Year 2024

Level City or Town

State(s) Vermont

Source Mayors Innovation Project

Policy Areas Energy, Environment & Natural Resources, Transportation & Mobility

Climate change and fossil fuel dependency leave communities vulnerable and compromise public health. Cities should prioritize infrastructure investments and incentivize energy efficiency to ensure long-term sustainability. This case study highlights how one community transitioned...

What are the best practices for supporting LGBTQ+ folks experiencing homelessness, particularly youth?

Type Policy Brief or Report

Year 2023

Level City or Town

State(s) Kentucky, Maryland, Tennessee

Source Mayors Innovation Project

Policy Areas Children & Families, Civil Rights, Housing

LGBTQ+ youth are disproportionately affected by housing insecurity. This policy brief includes best practices for supporting LGBTQ+ youth experiencing housing insecurity such as providing housing and social services through mixed-use development centers, ensuring that shelters and...

Innovation Showcase

Type Policy Brief or Report

Year 2022

Level City or Town

State(s) California, Missouri, Ohio, Washington, Wisconsin

Source Mayors Innovation Project

Policy Areas Community Development, Housing, Public Safety

Violence and homelessness in cities require a multifaceted approach that prioritizes public health, community safety, and social services. Cities should implement coordinated strategies, including public health interventions, strategic policing plans, community safety teams, and innovative...

Model Resolution Divesting from Fossil Fuel Companies

Type Ordinance or Resolution

Year 2014

Level City or Town

State(s) All States

Source Mayors Innovation Project

Policy Areas Environment & Natural Resources, Energy

This resolution applied to cities that do not control the Pension Board and do not otherwise invest in fossil fuel stocks. It declares the city's commitment to divest from publicly‐traded fossil fuel companies....

Setting the Agenda: A Mayor’s Guide to Water Affordability

Type Policy Brief or Report

Year 2019

Level City or Town, County

State(s) All States

Source Mayors Innovation Project

Policy Areas Economic Justice, Environment & Natural Resources, Community Development

It is becoming more difficult for families to access clean and affordable water due to aging water infrastructure systems, climate change, and the rising cost of living. This report outlines best practices and innovative solutions mayors can adopt to ensure that residents have equitable...

Reporting and Responding to Political Violence

Type Policy Brief or Report

Year 2023

Level City or Town

State(s) California, Louisiana, New York, North Carolina, Ohio, Oklahoma, Virginia, Wisconsin

Source Mayors Innovation Project

Policy Areas Public Safety

Leaders from historically marginalized backgrounds face more serious threats to their safety than their white, cisgender, heterosexual male counterparts. This brief provides methods for keeping elected officials safe and defending democracy. Best practices include creating policies...

Best Practices for Pop-up Shops

Type Policy Brief or Report

Year 2023

Level City or Town

State(s) California, Colorado

Source Mayors Innovation Project

Policy Areas Community Development, Economic Justice

The COVID-19 pandemic changed the landscape for small local businesses, leaving many communities with vacant storefronts. Local officials can support economic recovery by supporting pop-up shop programs to support small businesses, provide free or subsidized retail space, and offer...

Building Resiliency: The Role of Anchor Institutions in Sustaining Community Economic Development

Type Policy Brief or Report

Year 2013

Level County

State(s) All States

Source Mayors Innovation Project

Policy Areas Democracy & Governance, Education, Health, Economic Justice, Civil Rights, Environment & Natural Resources, Children & Families

Chester, Pennsylvania, a small, formerly industrial city located on the Delaware River, not far from Philadelphia, exemplifies the problems and possibilities faced by older manufacturing cities across the United States, especially in the Northeast and Midwest. Chester's problems of...

Model Ordinance: Divestment from Fossil Fuel Companies

Type Ordinance or Resolution

Year 2014

Level City or Town

State(s) All States

Source Mayors Innovation Project

Policy Areas Economic Justice, Civil Rights, Environment & Natural Resources, Energy

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....

A Divest & Invest Guide for Local Governments

Type Policy Brief or Report

Year 2019

Level City or Town

State(s) All States

Source Mayors Innovation Project

Policy Areas Environment & Natural Resources

It is up to local governments to lead the nation’s fight against climate change. Cities reduce emissions, make infrastructure less vulnerable, and coordinate with other local governments to amplify their impact. This report presents a toolbox of measures that cities can take to combat...

Setting the Agenda: A Mayor's Guide to Water Affordability

Type Policy Brief or Report

Year 2019

Level City or Town, County

State(s) All States

Source Mayors Innovation Project

Policy Areas Environment & Natural Resources

This brief provides a roadmap to consider water affordability programs as a means to address aging and failing water infrastructure and diminishing access to clean and affordable water. The brief describes best practices and innovative solutions so that utilities can address the aging...

Basic Water Utility Management: A Guide for Local Leaders

Type Policy Brief or Report

Year 2019

Level City or Town

State(s) All States

Source Mayors Innovation Project

Policy Areas Environment & Natural Resources

Part of a mayor’s job is to understand vital operations of a city, including water utilities and infrastructure. This report presents tools to help mayors understand their water systems and utilities better. In particular, it summarizes the elements of a successful water system, including...

Community Advocates in Wilkinsburg, PA, Ensure Every Baby Reaches Their Full Potential

Type Policy Brief or Report

Year 2021

Level County

State(s) Pennsylvania

Source Mayors Innovation Project

Policy Areas Community Development, Health, Food

Babies in Wilkinsburg, PA suffer from elevated blood lead levels and high mortality rates. In response, the Best Babies Zone (BBZ) Initiative has undergone multiple strategies in Wilkinsburg to improve access to quality health care and transform their educational, economic, and community...

Paying For Water Systems

Type Policy Brief or Report

Year 2019

Level City or Town

State(s) All States

Source Mayors Innovation Project

Policy Areas Environment & Natural Resources, Finance & Procurement

Many public water utilities struggle to pay for repairs and upgrades necessary to improve energy efficiency, reduce leaks, and prevent infiltration. This brief outlines existing mechanisms to raise these funds as well as promising new methods for public officials to consider. Some...

Creating a Healthy Food Zone Around Schools

Type Fact Sheet or Infographic

Year 2009

Level County

State(s) All States

Source Mayors Innovation Project

Policy Areas Health, Children & Families, Democracy & Governance, Food, Economic Justice, Civil Rights, Education, Community Development, Public Spaces, Transportation & Mobility

Many schools are surrounded by fast food restaurants, which provide students with easy access to unhealthy foods and undermine schools' efforts to offer nutritious meals. Prohibiting fast food restaurants from locating near schools is one strategy to help reduce childhood obesity...

Model Resolution Declaring a City's Commitment to Not Invest in Fossil Fuels

Type Ordinance or Resolution

Year 2014

Level City or Town

State(s) All States

Source Mayors Innovation Project

Policy Areas Environment & Natural Resources, Energy

This resolution applies to cities that do not currently invest in fossil fuel stock. It declares the intent of a city without fossil fuel investments to refrain from investing in fossil fuel companies in the future....

Ensuring Racial Equity in Public Contracting

Type Policy Brief or Report

Year 2013

Level County

State(s) All States

Source Mayors Innovation Project

Policy Areas Economic Justice, Civil Rights, Community Development, Public Spaces, Democracy & Governance

Businesses owned by people of color create jobs and build wealth in communities of color. Yet despite rapid growth of entrepreneurship among people of color - and women of color in particular - these businesses face significant barriers to growth and success. Government spending on...

Leading With Transit: How City Leadership on Transit Can Create More Equitable, Sustainable, and Economically Vibrant Cities

Type Policy Brief or Report

Year 2018

Level City or Town

State(s) All States

Source Mayors Innovation Project

Policy Areas Transportation & Mobility

This brief focuses on what cities can do to create equitable and efficient transit that benefits everyone. An equitable transit system must be safe, convenient, affordable, and accessible; responsive to community needs; and integrated with other policy areas. Moreover, it outlines...

The Power of Sustainable Purchasing

Type Policy Brief or Report

Year 2018

Level County

State(s) All States

Source Mayors Innovation Project

Policy Areas Economic Justice, Civil Rights, Democracy & Governance, Environment & Natural Resources, Energy

Companies, governments, and institutions of all kinds purchase goods and services for their own use. But what they buy - and how they buy it - has a significant impact on local communities, the environment, and the economy - and in some unexpected ways, on the success of the business...

Creating an Affordable Housing Ecosystem

Type Policy Brief or Report

Year 2024

Level City or Town

State(s) Michigan

Source Mayors Innovation Project

Policy Areas Community Development, Economic Justice, Housing

Access to affordable housing in urban areas is limited, leading to economic disparities and concentrations of poverty. Communities can enhance economic development and sustainability by distributing affordable housing and job opportunities more equitably. This example from Lansing,...

Creating an Affordable Housing Ecosystem

Type Policy Brief or Report

Year 2024

Level City or Town, National

State(s) California, Vermont

Source Mayors Innovation Project

Policy Areas Community Development, Housing

Access to affordable housing in urban areas is limited, leading to economic disparities and concentrations of poverty. Communities can enhance economic development and sustainability by distributing affordable housing and job opportunities more equitably. This presentation by The...

Re-Thinking the Urban Freeway: Options for Rebuilding, Replacing, Altering or Otherwise Addressing Aging Freeways

Type Policy Brief or Report

Year 2013

Level City or Town

State(s) All States

Source Mayors Innovation Project

Policy Areas Environment & Natural Resources, Community Development, Public Spaces, Transportation & Mobility

Urban freeways create barriers to movement within cities, institutionalize social inequities, contribute to environmental degradation, and encourage suburban sprawl. As urban freeways approach the end of their useful lives, decisions on the fate of an individual freeway will be place...

Promoting Access to Healthy, Local Food

Type Policy Brief or Report

Year 2012

Level County

State(s) All States

Source Mayors Innovation Project

Policy Areas Health, Children & Families, Democracy & Governance, Food

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...

Creating an Affordable Housing Ecosystem

Type Policy Brief or Report

Year 2024

Level City or Town

State(s) All States, Tennessee

Source Mayors Innovation Project

Policy Areas Community Development, Housing

The housing burden, exacerbated by the expiration of pandemic-era relief measures and rising inflation, has made it difficult for local governments to keep people housed despite rapid new housing developments. Access to affordable housing in urban areas is limited, leading to economic...

Addressing Health Disparities in Cities: Lessons from the Field

Type Policy Brief or Report

Year 2015

Level County

State(s) All States

Source Mayors Innovation Project

Policy Areas Health, Children & Families, Democracy & Governance, Food, Environment & Natural Resources, Economic Justice, Civil Rights, Education, Community Development, Public Spaces, Transportation & Mobility

A child's health is a key predictor for his or her future success and well-being. Unfortunately, far too many children face barriers that prevent them from reaching their full potential because of where they live, learn and play. The inequitable distribution of social, economic and...

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