UPCOMING EVENT
Thursday, November 19, 2009
9:00 AM to 11:45 AM
Washington, DC
The current economic crisis is not only a national crisis; it is also a metropolitan crisis. And soon the downturn will bring a local government fiscal crisis. On November 19, the Brookings Metropolitan Policy Program and the National League of Cities will co-host a forum on city fiscal conditions, the responses being undertaken by creative mayors, and the implications for national economic recovery. Read More
RESEARCH AND COMMENTARY
October 29, 2009, The Brookings Institution
The nation appears to have entered a fragile state of recovery, with the worst recession since the 1930s at an end. After four straight quarters of contracting economic activity, the Commerce Department reported this morning that the economy grew in the third quarter of 2009, fueled by government spending on cars and homes. Experts from around the halls of Brookings responded to this news. Read More
RESEARCH AND COMMENTARY
Bruce Katz, October 15, 2009, University of Washington
At a gathering at the University of Washington, Bruce Katz described the elements of a low-carbon, innovation-led and export-oriented economy that is coming to view in the midst of the Great Recession. While the Seattle metropolis has many of the assets necessary to take part in this next economy, it needs renewed civic collaboration, governance reform, and a partnership with the "two Washingtons," Olympia, and D.C., to achieve productive, inclusive, and sustainable growth.
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PAST EVENT
Tuesday, October 13, 2009
9:00 AM to 11:00 AM
Washington, DC
On October 13, the Brookings Institution’s Metropolitan Policy Program hosted a panel discussion around how to best prepare and support metropolitan regions in the development of integrated blueprint plans for sustainable growth. Read More
RESEARCH AND COMMENTARY
Bruce Katz, October 12, 2009, The Seattle Times
Bruce Katz outlines the many metropolitan assets that could form the basis for the Seattle region’s economic recovery and evolution. However, Seattle won’t get there without renewed civic collaboration, smart government action and an overarching regional vision. Read More
PAST EVENT
Tuesday, October 06, 2009
9:30 AM to 12:00 PM
Washington, DC
The United Nations has designated the first Monday in October of every year as World Habitat Day. On October 6, the Brookings Metropolitan Policy Program hosted an event and panel discussion focused on creating sustainable global cities. The program highlighted metropolitan models for managing climate change while restoring national economies and advancing opportunities for low-income populations. Read More
RESEARCH AND COMMENTARY
Benjamin Orr, September 23, 2009, The Brookings Institution
Greater Washington Research at Brookings partnered with the Brookings Metropolitan Policy Program to create the first MetroDCMonitor, a quarterly publication tracking indicators of economic recession and recovery in the Washington region and the nation’s 100 largest metropolitan areas. The report finds that the Washington area is weathering the recession comparatively well with a less volatile labor market than other metros and a healthy gross regional product. However, the housing market is weaker, and regional averages mask varying levels of economic distress throughout the area. Read More
RESEARCH AND COMMENTARY
Bruce Katz, September 23, 2009, Humphrey Center, University of Minnesota
At the Regional Policy Conference at the University of Minnesota, Bruce Katz discussed the importance of competitiveness, sustainable growth and metropolitan governance in the current difficult economic and fiscal environment in the state of Minnesota and across the country. These forces compel the U.S. to rethink how we grow and demand a new approach to metropolitan governance that is multi-jurisdictional, multi-dimensional, accountable and transparent. Read More
RESEARCH AND COMMENTARY
Bruce Katz, September 22, 2009, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette
Pittsburgh's "new economy" may be the key reason for the city's star turn as host of the September 2009 G-20 summit. But Bruce Katz argues that the seemingly abstract, big-picture decisions made at the gathering have big implications for Pittsburgh’s “next economy” and for metropolitan areas across the nation. Read More
VIDEO
Alan Berube, September 15, 2009
Alan Berube, research director of Brookings’ Metropolitan Policy program, says the second MetroMonitor shows an uneven recovery, that economic gains in some regions of the country have been offset by an increase of financial instability in others.
RESEARCH AND COMMENTARY
Jennifer S. Vey, September 15, 2009, The Brookings Institution
A supplement to the MetroMonitor, this first edition of the Great Lakes Monitor examines the 21 largest metros in the Great Lakes region on key indicators of economic performance. It illustrates that, although Great Lakes metros have for decades shared in the struggle to retool their economies, the recession has had highly varied impacts across the region. The findings help define where and how policy makers and regional stakeholders need to focus their energies to help ensure that recovery comes—if slowly—to all parts of this complex area. Read More
RESEARCH AND COMMENTARY
September 14, 2009, The Brookings Institution
The second in a series of interactive quarterly reports, the MetroMonitor ranks the nation’s 100 largest metro areas—which generate three quarters of U.S. output—on key indicators of economic performance. This edition of the monitor reveals that, amid signs at the national level that job and income losses are slowing, metropolitan economies continued to perform at highly variable rates through June 2009. While several metro areas may have reached a turning point, there are many others that still have not touched bottom, as well as a few that have almost fully recovered. Read More
RESEARCH AND COMMENTARY
Amy Liu and Nigel Holmes, August 27, 2009, The New York Times
In this New York Times “op-chart” Amy Liu analyzes the current state of the New Orleans region four years after Hurricane Katrina. Though rebuilding has blunted some of the recession’s effects, she notes that the city and region still face substantial housing, employment, and environmental challenges. Read More
RESEARCH AND COMMENTARY
Mark Muro and Sarah Rahman, August 26, 2009, The Brookings Institution
To accelerate the arrival of regional high speed rail, a collaboration of Bay Area leaders proposes to use ARRA funds on the track and station upgrades that are both necessary for high speed rail but also enhance the safety, capacity, and performance of existing train operations. Brookings experts examine the proposals. Read More
RESEARCH AND COMMENTARY
Mark Muro and Sarah Rahman, August 26, 2009, The Brookings Institution
To modernize the communications infrastructure in Southeastern Massachusetts, a regional public-private partnership is pursuing ARRA funds to install hundreds of miles of fiber optic cable and create a shared, multi-purpose regional data center. Read More