May 20, 2021

How cities, states, and tribes can boost entrepreneurship via the American Rescue Plan

The State Small Business Credit Initiative is a historic investment which, if implemented smartly, will be a critical part of a broader collection of programs designed to remake the nation’s economic geography and bring long-excluded groups more fully into its entrepreneurial ecosystem, a new brief by Robert Maxim, Eric Cromwell, Dan Schmisseur, Joseph Parilla, and Mark Muro argues.  

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What pre-pandemic job trends suggest about the post-pandemic future of the capital region

If professional workers who drive the demand for premium-location office space remain working from home, it could have profound impacts on downtown business districts. A new report by Jaclene Begley, Leah Brooks, Brian J. McCabe, Jenny Schuetz, and Stan Veuger examines the geography of jobs in the Washington, D.C. region prior to COVID-19, with an eye toward understanding how the pandemic could change employment and commercial real estate throughout the region.

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Pandemic population change across metro America: Accelerated migration, less immigration, fewer births and more deaths

Using recently released census data, William H. Frey provides the first comprehensive assessment of how domestic migration, international migration, and natural increase (which represents the excess of births over deaths) have affected population growth in much of the country, especially in large metropolitan areas and their urban core areas during the year that the pandemic hit.

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American Rescue Plan analysis

Four takeaways on new guidance for state and local fiscal relief under the American Rescue Plan. Eli Byerly-Duke and Alan Berube write that the more local needs reflect the direct and disproportionate impacts of the pandemic—especially on vulnerable populations and places—the greater discretion state, local, and tribal leaders will enjoy.

Indiana’s plan to use COVID-19 relief to uplift its struggling regions. Mark Muro and Robert Maxim examine how a major new initiative in Indiana offers a compelling—and transferable—example of how to leverage ARP funds to make a big move on a tough issue.

Short-term federal funding from ARP can jumpstart long-term water infrastructure improvements. Joseph W. Kane explains how ARP funds could effectively help improve stability for households and communities through renewed water infrastructure.

More from Brookings Metro

Well-designed rent relief programs can lay the groundwork for healthier post-pandemic housing markets. As various housing programs have unfolded over the past year, Jenny Schuetz outlines some important lessons about how their design and implementation influence their effectiveness.

Environmental permitting might block Biden’s clean energy targets. DJ Gribbin writes that the Administration will need to propose legislative language to clarify agency responsibilities and provide strong leadership from the White House (in the form of an executive order) if it hopes to deploy renewable projects at the scale required to meet the 2035 deadline.

We can’t beat the climate crisis without rethinking land use. Adie Tomer, Joseph W. Kane, Jenny Schuetz, and Caroline George discuss that if president Biden wants to reach his GHG reduction goals, he should prioritize development in the kinds of neighborhoods that permanently reduce total driving and consume less energy.

Reversing America’s poor track record on inclusivity in infrastructure jobs. Caroline George and Joseph W. Kane offer some policy ideas that federal policymakers could use to focus on ensuring equitable access to opportunities created through an infrastructure stimulus.

To “build back better,” we must connect young people to jobs and education. Martha Ross, Alicia Sasser Modestino, Sarah Soroui, and Rashad Code make the case for investing in summer youth employment programs as youth development opportunities and critical touchpoints in the lives of young people.