Forum White Papers

Four white papers, drafted by academic and policy experts, will be used to inform discussions throughout the Forum, with afternoon panels specifically focused on each white paper theme.

Questions and themes the 2012 UIC Urban Forum white paper topics will explore include:

Interjurisdictional Competition and Inequities

Richard Feiock (Professor at the Askew School of Public Administration and Policy at FSU)

Local governments compete with each other in service delivery and tax/fee structures, yet not all local governments are endowed with the same resources. This paper examines the competition among local governments conceptually and historically, with a particular emphasis on the recent era of declining resources. Has the nature and extent of interjurisdictional competition been affected by the Great Recession?

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Economic Development in Times of Growth and Scarcity

Raphael Bostic (Former Asst. Secretary for HUD, Professor at USC's Price School of Public Policy)

Local governments adapt to their surrounding circumstances to survive, thrive and prepare for new challenges. What coping and adapting strategies do local governments pursue? Do local governments pursue qualitatively different strategies when experiencing growth compared to scarcity? Are the strategies pursued today of a qualitatively different type than in the 1990s, or are the differences a matter of degree? What factors determine the extent and success of metropolitan governments' coping strategies? Are local governments entertaining public-private partnerships in response to fiscal stress?

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Social Safety Nets and Quality of Life

Margaret Weir (Prof. of Sociology and Poli Sci at U of C-Berkeley, nonresident Senior Fellow at Brookings)

Cities are charged with the health, safety and welfare of the people. How have cities and other local governments met their obligations to meet those needs and, in particular, how have they provided a social safety net? How have they attempted to enhance the quality of life in metropolitan areas? How is the Great Recession affecting government choices?

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Legacy Costs of Earlier Financial Decisions

Richard Nathan (former director of The Nelson A. Rockefeller Institute of Gov't at the State University of New York, Prof. at Princeton University's Woodrow Wilson School and Assistant Director of the US Office of Management and Budget)

Unfunded pension liabilities, the increasing problem of an infrastructure deficit, and other unfunded post-employment benefits challenge local governments and regions and possibly compromise their ability to sustain economic growth and to provide an expected quality of life. How have these 'legacy costs' re-framed questions of governance, service delivery and funding options?

Click here to read the full white paper.