ProGov21 Policy Library

A Guide for Public-Sector Resilience Bond Sponsorship

Type Policy Brief or Report

Year 2017

Level City or Town

State(s) All States

Source Re:Focus Partners

Policy Areas Environment & Natural Resources, Community Development

Governments are typically “insurers of last resort.” When disaster strikes, vulnerable communities turn to government agencies for support and recovery assistance. More recently, as the frequency and severity of different types of disasters have grown, the gap between insured losses...

Connecting People To Parks

Type Policy Brief or Report

Year 2021

Level City or Town, County

State(s) All States

Source Safe Routes to School National Partnership

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

This guide provides a framework to increase safe and equitable access to parks and green spaces. It focuses on access to parks via active transportation as well as ensuring a high-quality, safe experience within the park itself. The guide includes recommendations to help local decisionmakers...

The Power of Parks to Promote Health

Type Policy Brief or Report

Year 2023

Level City or Town, County

State(s) All States

Source The Trust for Public Land

Policy Areas Community Development, Health, Public Spaces

Parks and natural spaces promote mental, physical, and environmental wellbeing, and many parks departments are leveraging parks and recreational resources to improve health outcomes. This report outlines the benefits of preserving access to parks and green spaces and provides policy...

The Excellent City Park System: What Makes it Great and How to Get There

Type Policy Brief or Report

Year 2013

Level City or Town, County

State(s) All States

Source The Trust for Public Land

Policy Areas Community Development, Economic Justice, Public Spaces

This report outlines best practices for effective park development and recommends that cities take inventory of their land assets, prioritize park safety and equity, and regularly engage with the public. It also highlights case studies that have implemented successful park development...

Green Roofing

Type Policy Brief or Report

Year 2020

Level City or Town

State(s) All States

Source Sustainable Development Code

Policy Areas Democracy & Governance, Environment & Natural Resources, Public Spaces

Cities can use their zoning codes to mandate sustainable development practices like green roofing, which promotes heat absorption, increases stormwater filtration, and provides recreational opportunities. This policy brief outlines how municipalities have leveraged incentives like...

A Short Guide to Setting Up a City-Scale Retrofit Program

Type Policy Brief or Report

Year 2009

Level City or Town

State(s) All States

Source Center on Wisconsin Strategy, Green for All

Policy Areas Energy, Environment & Natural Resources

This policy brief explains how local governments can design and implement retrofitting and/or renovation programs that make homes more energy efficient. It also presents strategies for capturing financial savings from retrofits, creating high-quality green jobs, and ensuring that...

Complete Parks Playbook

Type Policy Brief or Report

Year 2018

Level City or Town, County

State(s) All States, Pennsylvania, Texas

Source ChangeLab Solutions

Policy Areas Education, Environment & Natural Resources, Health, Public Spaces

Parks enhance communities by promoting physical, mental, and social health. This guide outlines the 'complete parks approach', which helps local governments promote parks improvements by engaging communities who have historically been overlooked during parks planning discussions,...

Generating and Prioritizing Funding for Active Transportation

Type Policy Brief or Report

Year 2020

Level City or Town, County

State(s) All States

Source Safe Routes to School National Partnership

Policy Areas Public Spaces, Transportation & Mobility

Transportation plays a critical role in the health and economic development of a metropolitan area. When people have the ability to walk, bike, or take transit safely to a destination, the whole region benefits from healthier people, better air quality, and reduced traffic fatalities....

The Green Streets, Green Jobs, Green Towns (G3) Approach

Type Policy Brief or Report

Year 2023

Level City or Town

State(s) All States

Source Environmental Protection Agency

Policy Areas Environment & Natural Resources, Finance & Procurement, Public Spaces

The Green Streets, Green Jobs, Green Towns (G3) Initiative provides support to communities in urbanized watersheds looking to reduce stormwater runoff using green infrastructure. This brief outlines how communities can incorporate green technology into roadway and utility upgrades....

Integrating Valuation Methods to Recognize Green Infrastructure's Multiple Benefits

Type Policy Brief or Report

Year 2010

Level City or Town

State(s) All States

Source Center for Neighborhood Technology

Policy Areas Energy, Environment & Natural Resources

This report outlines the environmental and economic benefits associated with different types of green infrastructure, including urban forests, permeable pavement, water harvesting technology, green roofs, and infiltration practices like rain gardens, bioswales, and constructed wetlands....

2019 San Francisco Ordinance 74-19 Benchmarking Energy Usage

Type Ordinance or Resolution

Year 2019

Level City or Town, County

State(s) California

Source City and County of San Francisco

Policy Areas Data & Technology, Energy

The ordinance requires owners of certain residential and non-residential buildings to track and report their energy usage to San Francisco's Department of the Environment. In turn, the Department of the Environment will make this data available to the public. ...

The Power of Parks to Address Climate Change

Type Policy Brief or Report

Year 2022

Level City or Town

State(s) All States

Source The Trust for Public Land

Policy Areas Economic Justice, Environment & Natural Resources, Public Spaces

Parks and green spaces reduce air temperatures and absorb floodwater, making them vital resources in mitigating the effects of climate change. This report outlines how cities are supporting park services and promoting natural spaces to lower urban temperatures, manage stormwater,...

Green Space: An Underestimated Tool to Create More Equal Cities

Type Policy Brief or Report

Year 2020

Level City or Town

State(s) All States

Source World Resources Institute

Policy Areas Civil Rights, Economic Justice, Environment & Natural Resources, Public Spaces

Improving access to urban green spaces can promote equity in health, safety, and climate resilience. This report outlines how access to quality green spaces like public parks and athletic fields is often linked to wealth and examines how local governments can improve green space equity...

2016 San Francisco Ordinance 160222 Prohibiting Leasing for the Extraction of Fossil Fuels

Type Ordinance or Resolution

Year 2016

Level City or Town, County

State(s) California

Source City and County of San Francisco

Policy Areas Energy, Environment & Natural Resources

This ordinance prohibits the city and county from entering into or extending leases that allow for the extraction of fossil fuels on city-owned or controlled land. It also requires the Director of Property to inspect these properties to ensure that any current or former lessee complies...

District of Columbia Green Building Act of 2006

Type Ordinance or Resolution

Year 2006

Level City or Town

State(s) District of Columbia

Source District of Columbia City Council

Policy Areas Environment & Natural Resources

This act establishes energy efficient and environmentally sustainable building standards for new construction and an incentives program to promote sustainable building practices across the city. Incentives include expedited document review, grants to offset costs related to sustainable...

Economic Benefits of Parks

Type Policy Brief or Report

Year 2011

Level City or Town, County, State

State(s) All States, Pennsylvania

Source We Conserve PA

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

This guide examines economic impact studies of public parks, and finds parks provide many economic benefits to their surrounding communities, including increased property values, increased tax revenues, decreased medical costs due to recreational opportunities, and decreased stormwater...

City of Milwaukee Green Infrastructure Plan

Type Policy Brief or Report

Year 2019

Level City or Town

State(s) Wisconsin

Source City of Milwaukee

Policy Areas Economic Justice, Environment & Natural Resources, Finance & Procurement, Public Spaces

By 2030, Milwaukee will add approximately 36 million gallons of stormwater storage by implementing green infrastructure constructed by an inclusive workforce that is representative of the City's Diversity. This report outlines successful green infrastructure implementation practices,...

Climate Investment at a Scale that Matters: Utility Franchise Fees & Pollution Control Annual

Type Policy Brief or Report

Year 2024

Level City or Town

State(s) Minnesota

Source Institute for Market Transformation

Policy Areas Energy, Environment & Natural Resources

Utility Franchise Fees and Pollution Control Annual Registration can prevent catastrophic future harms, mitigate damage, and help communities become climate resilient. Local funding mechanisms allow cities to target the biggest fees and reinvest in marginalized communities. This fact...

Urban Heat Islands 101

Type Policy Brief or Report

Year 2023

Level City or Town

State(s) All States

Source Resources for the Future

Policy Areas Economic Justice, Environment & Natural Resources, Public Spaces

The urban heat island effect describes an increase in temperatures caused by heat absorbing surfaces in urban areas and heat-generating human activity. This guide explains how these heat islands are formed and outlines the impacts of extreme heat on public health, the economy, and...

Purchase of Development Rights

Type Policy Brief or Report

Year 2018

Level City or Town

State(s) All States

Source Sustainable Development Code

Policy Areas Community Development, Democracy & Governance, Environment & Natural Resources, Public Spaces

Local governments prevent environmentally damaging land development by developing purchase of development rights (PDR) programs. PDR programs enable landowners to sell the development rights of their land to a trust while keeping ownership and use. This brief outlines best practices...

Local Sustainability: A menu of policy options greening communities

Type Policy Brief or Report

Year 2011

Level City or Town, County, City or Town

State(s) Ohio

Source Policy Matters Ohio

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

This policy brief provides an overview of "The Oberlin Project," a partnership between the City of Oberlin and Oberlin College exemplifying energy, waste, transit, industrial, and workforce development policies designed for sustainable economic growth. Among a variety of interventions...

Local Technical Assistance Toolkit: Energy Efficiency in Water and Wastewater Facilities

Type Policy Brief or Report

Year 2011

Level City or Town

State(s) All States

Source American Council for an Energy-Efficient Economy

Policy Areas Energy, Community Development, Public Spaces, Environment & Natural Resources, Economic Justice

This toolkit recommends local governments improve the efficiency of their water facilities by requiring energy audits, updating regulations on equipment management, and providing financial incentives for energy-efficient projects. It also includes links to relevant resources and features...

Leveraging Catastrophe Bonds: As a Mechanism for Resilient Infrastructure Project Finance

Type Policy Brief or Report

Year 2017

Level City or Town

State(s) All States

Source Re:Focus Partners

Policy Areas Environment & Natural Resources, Community Development

Often the most cost-effective solutions to disaster risk are the ones available to communities prior to a disaster to protect against a loss occurring in the first place. Yet cities around the world are struggling to fund even basic infrastructure projects, let alone more complex...

Beyond Neoliberalism: A Policy Agenda for a Progressive City

Type Policy Brief or Report

Year 2021

Level City or Town

State(s) All States

Source Drexel University

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

Progressive cities should embrace redistributive policies and community organizing to increase equality in employment, affordable housing, and public transportation, and mitigate adverse environmental impacts. This report examines systemic inequities and provides progressive solutions...

Cash for Communities: Leveraging Historic Federal Funds for Racial, Economic, and Climate Justice

Type Policy Brief or Report

Year 2024

Level City or Town, County

State(s) All States

Source Local Progress

Policy Areas Community Development, Democracy & Governance, Economic Justice, Finance & Procurement

Local governments and school districts can utilize unprecedented levels of funding administered through the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) to increase clean energy utilization, invest in green infrastructure, and create high-quality green jobs. This policy brief provides strategies...

ProGov21 Policy Library

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