7 Steps to Municipal Resilience & Recovery
By Scott Bernstein & Joel Rogers
What can municipal governments (cities, towns and villages), still suffering from all the pain and disruption that COVID has brought to their communities and economies, do now to hasten their recovery and build resilience for the future, while also addressing past inequity? Here are seven essential steps to take, all proven, with real-world examples and implementation examples for each, that complement each other and can be done simultaneously.
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All municipal governments have the power to start on them right now. So why not start today?
We recognize that not all of you have the home rule and local control powers that provide adequate regulatory and revenue freedom. We also know that all of you are operating within bigger private and public systems, sanctioned by law, with widely distributed veto or blocking powers on your attempts at public service. But we also assume that:
- You want to build a prosperous, inclusive, sustainable, stable home for your residents, businesses and civic institutions.
- You’ve identified priorities in doing that work now, a sense of your current assets and liabilities (financial, legal, civic) in doing that work.
- You’re willing to lead and take risks in doing so, but also recognize that success requires inviting, enabling and organizing contribution from a diverse network of local actors.
- You know that effective reform requires clear continuous communication of WHY it’s being done and adjustment to feedback on HOW; both recommend specificity, incrementalism, and “walking in the shoes” of residents.
If these assumptions are correct, these seven steps are for you.
Note: We’ve tried to order the actions in each section by easiest to hardest or required sequence (learning to walk before trying to run, much less bike).
1: Make Recovery Everyone’s Business
Resources
City of Chicago, Report of the Chicago Recovery Task Force
Crain’s Chicago Business, Scott Bernstein, The Recovery of Our Region Requires Collective Intent
Resources
PHEAL, Planning for Health Equity, Action and Leadership—A Guide for the COVID-19 Era
Healthy People 2020 Environmental Objectives
Chicago Health Atlas, Healthy Chicago 2.0 Dashboard
Resources
City of Huntsville AL, COVID-19 Musicians Guide, Sound Diplomacy Huntsville Music Strategy
City of Boston, COVID-19 High Road Kitchens Restaurant Relief Fund
Resources
Atlanta Regional Commission, Atlanta Livable Centers Initiative
Streetsblog, Using Highway $ for Complete Streets
Resources
Asset Based Community Development Institute, Guidebooks and Case Studies to Identifying and Mobilizing Community Assets
Resources
California Strategic Growth Council, Affordable Housing and Sustainable Communities Grants from Greenhouse Gas Cap-and-Trade Auction
Transportation & Climate Initiative, 12-State Consortium Formed to Reduce Transportation Emissions and Support Sustainable Communities and Sustainable Communities
South Coast Air Quality Management District, Making Clean Trucks Affordable for Independent Owner-Operators
Boston Public Radio, Neighborhood Scale Climate Change Readiness
2: Advance Equity & Opportunity for All
Resources
City of Seattle, Racial and Social Justice Initiative
Government Alliance on Race and Equity, Advancing Racial Equity and Transforming Government
Resources
Center for Neighborhood Technology, Urban Opportunity Agenda (poverty reduction strategy and benefits calculator), City Presentations
Resources
National League of Cities, Why Cities Should Find Equitable Ways to Impose and Collect Fines and Fees
Urban Libraries Council, How Eliminating Library Fees Advances Racial Equity; St. Louis Office of Financial Empowerment (children’s saving accounts funded through parking fines)
Resources
Mayors Innovation Project, The Housing Crisis: What Cities Can Do
National League of Cities, Using Data to Understand Your Local Eviction Crisis
Grand Rapids, MI, Eviction Prevention
Resources
GovTech for Localized Surveys & Citizen Engagement, Polco
Innovations in Citizen Participation, Modernizing Democracy
Resources
3: Unleash Your Local Economy
Resources
Chicago Dept. of Planning & Development, Chicago Neighborhood Opportunity Fund Supports Local Businesses and Commercial Corridors
Governing, In Government Procurement, Buying Local Is Popular. But Is It Beneficial?
Resources
Institute for Local Self-Reliance, Safeguarding Small Business During The Pandemic: 26 Strategies For Local Leaders
Resources
Supply Chain Dive, Spending more on local sourcing mitigates socioeconomic and health disparities
Freight Pop, Dynamic, Pop-Up & On-Demand Warehouses
Medium, Project N95 is Here to Help State and Local Governments Address the PPE Shortage
State of CA, Safely Making California
Resources
Mayors Innovation Project, Contracting
Government Alliance on Race and Equity, Contracting for Equity
Meeting of the Minds, Five Takeaways from Procurement Innovation in Glasgow
Governing, Bringing Innovation to Procurement, Innovative Procurement in Philadelphia and Barcelona
Resources
Chicago Metropolitan Agency on Planning, Partnerships for Sharing Services
Lake County Illinois, Joint and Cooperative Purchasing
Northwest Municipal Conference, Suburban Purchasing Cooperative
American Public Power Association, National Directory of Public Power Joint Action Agencies
Resources
Island Press 2020, DIY City: The Collective Power of Small Actions
Resources
US Dept. of Justice, Community Oriented Policing Service, Community Policing Defined
Resources
Incremental Development Alliance, Helping locals strengthen their neighborhoods through small-scale real estate projects
Evanston Developers Cooperative: Built by and For Evanston
Resources
Democracy Collaborative, Expanding Democratic Ownership
Imagined Economy Project, Cities Developing Worker Coops: Efforts in Ten Cities
City of Rochester NY, OWN Rochester
4: Zone for Equitable and Sustainable Neighborhoods
Resources
Placemakers LLC, Pandemic Toolkit: Manual for Rebuilding Community Health & Opportunity Post-COVID
Resources
U.S. National Association of City Transportation Officials (NACTO) Streets for Pandemic Response and Recovery
Federation of Canadian Municipalities’ COVID-19 Street Rebalancing Guide
Open Street Plans Database of Cities with Open Streets (383 cities as of October 30, 2020)
EPA, Soak Up the Rain
Louisville, KY Green Heart Project, Accelerated Tree Canopy Replacement & Health Impacts
Resources
Done through sponsored competition, and/or better procurement, and/or guidance (NACTO, AARP, NAR, Tulsa)
Case examples: Athens-Clarke County GA, Chicago IL, San Francisco CA, Washington DC
Resources
Happy City and Canadian Urban Institute’s Rapid Placemaking to Bring Back Main Street: A Pandemic Recovery Toolkit for Local Communities
Resources
Minneapolis Eliminates SF Zoning
King County Right Size Parking Rules and Calculator
Green Trip Connect Sustainability Certification Bay Area CA
Center for Neighborhood Technology, Stalled Out
Resources
Placemakers, Lean Code Tool (provides model slimmed down zoning codes)
Congress for a New Urbanism, Project for Code Reform (organizes state and national assistances for smaller cities and towns’ efforts to expedite improved zoning codes, including major elements for main streets, housing, green infrastructure for stormwater management and parking; sample manual and code provisions for Vermont towns at www.cnu.org/vermont)
Enabling Better Places: A Zoning Guide for Vermont Neighborhoods, Stormwater, pp. 51-52
Resources
Project for Lean Urbanism, Leaning Toward Live-Work Units
Resources
Fast Company, Put Tiny Businesses Back into Neighborhoods
Resources
American Planning Association, Accessory Dwelling Units (includes guides, case studies, model ordinances)
AARP, The ABCs of ADUs
Metropolitan Mayors Caucus, Granny Flat Academy (links to presentation and training materials)
Resources
Building Safety Journal, The International Residential Code Has a Big Vision for Tiny Homes
5: Speed Up & Broaden Delivery of Essential Services While Saving Money
Resources
Econsult, COVID 19: Cities and Municipal Broadband
Broadband Now, Report on State Barriers or Roadblocks
Community Municipal Networks, Status and Updated Plans
Directory of 331 current community or municipal networks and pricing
Resources
Global Newswire, Big Growth in Contactless from Pandemic
Resources
State Smart Transportation Initiative, Getting the Goods Without the Bads: Freight Transportation Demand Management Strategies to Improve Urban Impacts
Center for Neighborhood Technology, Cargo Oriented Development
ACEEE, Smart Freight
Resources
Shared Use Mobility Center, New Urban Mobility Alliance, WRI Ross Center for Sustainable Communities, Micromobility Policy Atlas (Provides case studies and policies from 100 cities)
Resources
The Transit Center, Bus Stop Balancing and A Transit Agenda for the COVID-19 Emergency
Boulder, CO, Making Neighborhoods AND Employees Eligible for Prepaid Discounted Transit Passes
Resources
Center for Neighborhood Technology, Creating a Chicago Regional Energy Efficiency System
CNT, Increasing Funding and Financing Options for Sustainable Stormwater Infrastructure
Mayors Innovation Project, Guide for Integrated Water Management
6: Leave No Dollar Behind
Resources
Illinois Treasurer, Access To Capital
Resources
Federal Reserve Board, Federal Community Development and Small Business COVID-19 Assistance Resources
Eno Center, Transferability Percentages in Federal Funding, p.21
NEUAC, Energy Affordability Practices and COVID-19 and COVID-19 FAQ
Resources
National League of Cities, Earned Income Tax Credit in Your City
Resources
State of Michigan, Michigan Forbearance Partnership
Resources
National Community Reinvestment Coalition, Summary of Local Responsible Banking Ordinances
Resources
Illinois Treasurer, Community Development Linked Deposits
WXYZ, Michigan Mortgage Forbearance Partnership
Housing Wire, Explaining Mortgage Forbearance
7: Build a Readiness Culture
Resources
Urban3, Data-Driven Storytelling
Chmura, County Economic Vulnerability Index
New York Times, Cities’ Fiscal Shortfall from Pandemic Recession
National Tax Association, The Fiscal Effects of the COVID-19 Pandemic on Cities: An Initial Assessment
Resources
GovLabPHL, The Philadelphia Behavioral Science Initiative
Bloomberg Cities, The Future of City Innovation
Moves the Needle, Hayward, CA Case Study on Lean Innovation
Resources
NGA, Gubernatorial Authority to Remove Legal Barriers During a Declared Emergency
Coates’ Canons, COVID-19: Who Has What Emergency Authority at the Local Level (North Carolina)
Resources
USA Today, Using RVs to Free Up Scarce Hospital Beds
CNU, Is Hospital Oriented Development the Next Big Thing?
Democracy Collaborative, Reimagining Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) Supply Chains
Resources
CARES Act, Flexible funding for quarantine & recovery facilities, stockpiles, supply chains
HEROES Act, Various Energy, Water, Wastewater Affordability Provisions
LIFT Act, Title III, Subtitle B Re-authorizing Environmental and Energy Conservation Block Grants
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