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Public finance theories argue local governments should primarily use broad-based and stable property taxes. However, the housing bust after the Great Recession challenges this argument, and historical trends show cities have heavily relied on charges since the late 1970s. Using 2012 Census of Governments data for 2,396 cities, this article explores which cities rely more on charges and the links between property tax dependence and city stress. Regression results show property tax dependence is linked to capacity, while charges dependence is linked to stress. Charges can be a useful revenue tool for cities under stress, but they may be regressive and their use may be limited to urban places with services that can be charged for and cities with growth pressures and less stringent tax and expenditure limitations. Absent equalization efforts from higher-level governments, barriers to using charges, which cities have little control over, may increase inequality among cities.

AbstractResearch on COVID‐19 responses has largely focused on national governments. Meanwhile, the crisis management literature has noted that such "transboundary crises" require collaborative responses. What role can local governments play? How do citizen perceptions matter? We look for answers in South Korea that has been considered a model case for managing COVID‐19. We use data from policy briefs, news reports, and local government websites to show that local governments successfully implemented national initiatives while modifying them to fit local needs and also actively planned and executed local initiatives to address needs that the central government did not address. Based on 2020 national survey data (N = 16,258), we find that COVID‐19 cases and deaths are linked to citizen perceptions of vulnerability to COVID‐19 and its effect on wellbeing, but not to evaluations of other residents' responses (e.g. following mask mandates, social distancing) or local government responses.

AbstractLocal governments in the USA are facing increased levels of fiscal stress after the Great Recession. We conducted a national survey in 2012 to assess differences in sources of stress and service delivery responses (privatization, inter‐municipal co‐operation, and public delivery) across places. Our discriminant analysis on 1,889 US cities and counties contributes to the literature on state rescaling. We differentiate three types of stress: fiscal, housing market decline and demographic. Fiscal stress and demographic stress are linked and highest in metro core and rural places, while housing market decline is associated with population density and revenue diversification. Diverse revenue sources can ameliorate some of the fiscal challenges brought on by housing market decline. Regarding service delivery, we find privatization and co‐operation are higher in suburbs. State aid dependence is highest in rural and metro core areas with greater need, but decrease in state aid is highest in the South and West, where fiscal stress is also highest. Decentralization has exacerbated spatial inequality in the wake of the Great Recession challenging the efficiency claims of fiscal federalism. More redistributive state policies are needed.

Since the Great Recession, some have argued that local governments have become 'austerity machines' that cut and privatize services and undermine unions. We conducted a national survey of US municipalities in 2012 to examine how service provision level and delivery methods are related to local stress and capacity, controlling for community need and place characteristics. We find that local governments are balancing the pressures of stress with community needs. They use alternative revenue sources and service delivery methods (privatization and cooperation) to maintain services. Unionization is not a barrier to innovation. Further, we find that ethnically diverse suburbs are providing more services than other suburbs, thus acting more like metro core cities. We find that the Great Recession has not dramatically shifted local government behaviour to a 'new normal' of fiscal austerity. Instead, we find municipalities practising 'pragmatic municipalism' to maintain their public role.

This Brief provides perspectives on bringing together elements of learning and community approaches for promoting overall wellbeing. Drawing on experiences of authors from across Asia, Europe, and North America, cases are presented to illustrate both policy and application of adult learning, child wellbeing, community integration and learning, as well as intergenerational cooperation. Starting with foundational concepts of community wellbeing and community learning, the briefs provides an exploration of constructs and ideas for exploring application. The remaining chapters detail cases of community wellbeing, providing insights on approaches, as well as self-generated processes. Policy approaches, whether driven by local governance or from within individual organizations or sectors of communities, are discussed in addition to outcomes generated by the approaches

This Brief provides perspectives on bringing together elements of learning and community approaches for promoting overall wellbeing. Drawing on experiences of authors from across Asia, Europe, and North America, cases are presented to illustrate both policy and application of adult learning, child wellbeing, community integration and learning, as well as intergenerational cooperation. Starting with foundational concepts of community wellbeing and community learning, the briefs provides an exploration of constructs and ideas for exploring application. The remaining chapters detail cases of community wellbeing, providing insights on approaches, as well as self-generated processes. Policy approaches, whether driven by local governance or from within individual organizations or sectors of communities, are discussed in addition to outcomes generated by the approaches.

This briefs provides foundations of both community wellbeing and community development, and the relationships between the two areas, including both similarities and differences. Community well-being encompasses a large array of concepts and disciplines. Community development, as an established discipline, is one framework that can help further understanding of community well-being, and is an allied concept. The interaction between the two areas is worthy of exploration, as both a new way to think about community development as well as a way to understand what community well-being entails. Beginning with a discussion of the foundations, the first and second chapters provide grounding for conceptions and potential theory applications as well as constructs for moving community wellbeing forward. The remaining chapters provide applications of community well-being in the context of community development, with examples from North America and Asia. Community development focused community wellbeing policies and programs illustrate processes and outcomes.

Fiscal stress among local governments in the US has become a key concern since the 2008 Recession. Fiscal stress is fueled by structural pressures from demography, economy, and state policy. How do these pressures shape perceptions of fiscal stress? We conducted a national survey in 2017 of 2,064 US local governments. Our regression models measure the factors that differentiate perceptions of fiscal stress among local government leaders. We find governments with professional managers perceive higher stress. These perceptual measures reflect not only higher objective financial measures, such as debt per capita, but also structural factors like aging infrastructure, unemployment, education levels, and state policy. Professional managers take a broader view of fiscal stress – not just short-term financial concerns, but longer-term structural shifts in demography, economy, and state policy. Greater autonomy allows US local governments to have a more balanced view on fiscal stress and, by practicing pragmatic municipalism, to hold back the tides of austerity.

AbstractThis article updates cutback management theory and challenges austerity urbanism theory by showing that local governments practice pragmatic municipalism—protecting services with a balanced response to fiscal stress. Using a 2017 national survey of 2,341 U.S. municipalities and counties, the authors identify four responses—no specific action, cuts, revenue supplements, and deferrals. Structural equation models show that cuts are higher in places with older infrastructure and more unemployment but not in places with more poverty. Supplemental responses are higher in places with professional management and higher education. Deferrals are higher in places with more debt but lower in places with older infrastructure. Localities with less fiscal stress take no specific action. Most governments combine cuts, supplements, and deferrals; this balanced response is associated with more fiscal stress, more citizen engagement, and higher levels of unionization. These results show that local governments practice pragmatic municipalism, not austerity urbanism, when responding to fiscal stress.