A few things to know this week: May 15, 2020
Happy Friday, friends! Every week we collect some of the best things that members of our Verdunity team read, watched, or listened to over the course of the week.
This week’s things to know:
Integrating Water and Land Use Planning in Colorado
This article, based on the experiences in Westminster, Colorado, highlights an important idea. What would a comprehensive plan that manages not just development supply, but also water supply, look like? Typically, these are two separate discussions in two completely separate documents that operate within their own silos. However, the issues are universal and interrelated—similar to that of land use and transportation. The interdisciplinary approach to problem solving highlighted here is exactly the type of approach cities should be moving towards as sharing resources (and being the best steward of future resources) becomes more critical than ever. – AJ
How Will Americans Commute After Lockdowns End? (Citylab)
We're starting to get more data on how people's opinions on mobility have been influenced by the quarantine. This article highlights some of the trends and shows that investing in bike infrastructure could be a winning strategy during and after the pandemic. – Kevin
Many Americans Were on Shaky Financial Ground When Virus Hit (Route 50)
We talk quite a bit about aligning your city's development and service model with what residents are willing and able to pay. Before the virus, cities already had funding gaps and tension between needs and what taxpayers would and could support. Now a new report from the Fed shows that many citizens will be able to pay even less. – Kevin
Do you enjoy these weekly roundups? (Why wouldn’t you?) You can get them sent straight to your email inbox every Friday, if you’re into that.
How cities are reshaping streets to prepare for life after lockdown (Fast Company)
Here’s a nice piece in Fast Company about our mobility options post-lockdown, and it’s very reminiscent of a recent podcast interview we did with John Simmerman of Active Towns. The likely long-term hesitation to step into crowded spaces may make people unsure about board buses and trains. This makes it all the more essential that towns and cities truly prioritize active transportation infrastructure—both for those without other means and for those who may be tempted to drive if they can. And it just so happens that cities built around walking and biking are also much, much healthier places to be. – Ryan
The Future is Public: Towards Democratic Ownership of Public Services (Transnational Institute)
Now here is a book I’m really looking forward to reading. This week, the Transnational Institute put out an extensive and free online book highlighting (re)municipalization—reclaiming public ownership of services and the creation of new public services—case studies from around the world that are helping build healthier and more resilient communities. – Jordan
7 Restaurant Recovery Strategies NYC Should Steal from Other Cities (Eater)
Seven restaurant recovery strategies from around the country, including one I'm particularly fond of—parklets! – Kevin
Here's the standard disclaimer: We always encourage our team members to freely share their thoughts and opinions, both in these newsletters and elsewhere. Given that, opinions expressed by any one member do not necessarily represent the views of the company as a whole.
Coming up next week…
Join us next Friday, May 22, for the first installment of a new webinar series, Emerge Stronger. This one will focus on how city leaders can get more out of the plans and tools they already have invested in, as the COVID-19 crisis is creating even greater resource constraints for local governments.
The Go Cultivate! podcast
No new episodes this week, but here are all the episodes we’ve put out since the lockdowns began (and more are on the way!):
Credit downgrades, budget shortfalls, & federal relief — with Liz Farmer
Reclaiming the streets – with John Simmerman
Small development, trust, & strong local economies – with R. John Anderson
How local governments should respond to the small business crisis – with Basel Musharbash
Leveraging federal emergency management funding: COVID-19 edition – with Laura Clemons
Want to learn more about how fiscal analysis can help you make your city stronger financially?
We created a new sister website showcasing how we use math, maps, and money to help cities communicate your resource gap and explore ways to increase tax revenue and improve service efficiency without necessarily raising taxes.
Hey, friends in local government:
Have thoughts on any of the links above? Think we missed something essential? We’re discussing these topics and more over on our brand-new online community, exclusively for local government employees.* Sign up for the Community Cultivators Network and join the discussion!
* The network is currently only for those wonderful folks out there who work in local government. If you’re not currently working for a city, town, or county, we still love you (and are sure many of you would add value to the community), but we want to keep our commitment to making this a community focused specifically on our friends working in local government. Thanks for understanding!
