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The Downsides of Property Tax Caps

J. Brian Charles

July 26, 2018 |

Governing |

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800-1500 Words

Response Location: United States

Property tax caps have been found to exacerbate economic inequality. They restrict funding for basic services and push municipalities to increase sales taxes and fees instead.

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Chicago Hiked the Cost of Vehicle City Sticker Violations to Boost Revenue. But It's Driven More Low-Income, Black Motorists Into Debt.

Melissa Sanchez Elliott Ramos

July 26, 2018 |

ProPublica |

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1500-3000 Words

Response Location: United States, Chicago, Illinois

When Chicago raised the fee for not having a vehicle sticker, the move seemed like a way to raise revenue without punishing compliant drivers. But now, thanks in part to racial disparities in policing, thousands of mostly black people are going bankrupt due to ticket debt.

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The Urbanist Case for Trailer Parks

Nolan Gray

July 26, 2018 |

Bloomberg CityLab |

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800-1500 Words

Response Location: United States

Manufactured housing—including trailer homes and tiny houses—is a low-cost, small-footprint way to increase affordable housing. However, strict zoning requirements and even outright bans limit its impact.

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Checking the blind spot

Blair Stenvick

July 25, 2018 |

InvestigateWest |

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800-1500 Words

Response Location: United States, Portland, Oregon

In Oregon, there is a law in place that helps guide public school officials in how to react to a child with a possible concussion, but that law doesn't address what to do if a child suffers a concussion during private competitions. To address this loophole, concussion experts as well as a skier that had been impacted by this blind spot, led a legal fight that eventually allowed the expansion of this law to also cover "organized youth sports that take place outside public schools."

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L.A. Offers a Tax Break for Urban Farming—But No One's Taking It

Ludwig Hurtado

July 24, 2018 |

Bloomberg CityLab |

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800-1500 Words

Response Location: United States, Los Angeles, California

In 2014, the California legislature passed legislation to create the Urban Agriculture Incentive Zones (UAIZ), offering tax breaks to landowners to turn their vacant lots into community farms. However, the legislation has failed to create any kind of community impact: only 4 lots have received the tax break in the 4 years that the program has existed. Landowners have been disincentivized by five-year lending terms and insufficient implementation.

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'It's the New Form of Affordable Housing': More People Are Living in Their Cars

Mattie Quinn

July 24, 2018 |

Governing |

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800-1500 Words

Response Location: United States, Seattle, Washington

With vehicular homelessness on the rise along the West Coast, safe parking programs provide much-needed privacy and a sense of community. San Diego and Santa Barbara are models.

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Why didn't this program aimed at boosting teacher effectiveness help students?

Madeline Will

July 20, 2018 |

PBS NewsHour |

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1500-3000 Words

Response Location: United States

The Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation's teacher-evaluation reform initiative failed to generate the expected improvements in student performance, according to a recent study published by RAND. Critics point to the program's singular focus on teacher improvement as a reason for its shortcomings. Frederick Hess of the American Enterprise Institute summarizes, "It was an expensive experiment, but it was a reasonable hypothesis. ... For good or bad, we've learned a lot."

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Hong Kong's Pedestrian Mecca Gets the Axe

Mary Hui

July 20, 2018 |

Bloomberg CityLab |

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800-1500 Words

Response Location: China, Hong Kong

Excessive noise, particularly from street performers, can sound the demise of pedestrian zones. After 18 years, Sai Yeung Choi Street South will reopen to cars. Another solution could have been better noise regulation, says a district councilor disappointed with the decision. That option seemed to work in a simulation project on the street.

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Singapore's abandoned bikes show how not to regulate the sharing economy

Leon Voon

July 18, 2018 |

Apolitical |

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800-1500 Words

Response Location: Singapore, Singapore

The tale of bike-sharing in Singapore sheds light on how governments can predict and manage technology changes in the future. Three bike-sharing startups quickly dominated the market, raised money, feared impending regulation, and then left Singapore. Had the government utilized better forecasting, by paying more attention to reports and the external environment, maybe the problem of countless deserted bikes could have been avoided. For now, the government can note its regulatory mistakes and prepare better for future technology.

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It Takes Consultation to Help a Village

Rachel Cernansky

July 17, 2018 |

The New York Times |

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1500-3000 Words

Response Location: Liberia, Harlandville

To succeed at international development, consult the locals. It seems obvious, but too many failed development projects show community buy-in is not the biggest priority. Two groups are leading the way to change this. Village X and Spark MicroGrants rely on locals’ opinions to direct projects that are actually needed and desired, creating better long-term outcomes for the communities in which they operate.

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