cities

New data tool shows distribution of businesses, employment in high-tech sector

The U.S. Census Bureau in February released a new experimental data product designed to better measure the business dynamics of innovative firms (BDS-IF). The new Business Dynamics Statistics of U.S. High Tech Industries provides measures of business dynamics for what the Census classifies as high-tech and non-high-tech industries, defined by science, technology, engineering and math (STEM) occupation intensity. A Census analysis on the data reveals that high-tech industries are concentrated in five coastal metro areas.

New study shows downtown areas lagging behind pre-pandemic levels of activity

Recent findings from a study titled The Death of Downtown? Pandemic Recovery Trajectories across 62 North American Cities, conducted by a group of six researchers at the University of California’s Berkeley campus's Institute of Governmental Studies found that U.S. and Canadian downtowns are recovering from COVID-19 related setbacks at much slower rates than the “rest of the city,” and many downtown areas are still seeing less visits than pre-pandemic levels.

Cities failing non-college workers

Non-college workers who long found refuge and economic mobility in thriving cities have seen those opportunities diminish and in turn have moved out of the areas. Although cities remain vibrant for workers with advanced degrees, “the urban skills and earnings escalator for non-college workers has lost its ability to lift workers up the income ladder,” finds David Autor in his recent research brief. The Faltering Escalator of Urban Opportunity highlights this troubling trend plaguing cities since 1980 and posits some policy prescriptions to try to combat the negative trends. Additionally, Autor cautions that the present COVID-19 crisis could exacerbate the challenges afflicting non-college workers in U.S. cities.

Proposal would create 10 new innovation hubs across US

Brookings and the Information Technology and Innovation Foundation (ITIF) are proposing a new concentration of federal investment into 10 metros with a goal of creating new innovation hubs. The Case for Growth Centers is likely an early entry of what will be many suggestions between now and next November for “massive federal” policies, but may be one of the most directly relevant to regional innovation economies. More details on their proposal and its potential impacts follow.

Providence a city to watch in clean energy

A new scorecard from the nonprofit American Council for an Energy-Efficient Economy (ACEEE) reveals that while U.S. cities are ramping up their clean energy efforts, most cities with climate goals are either not on track to achieve them or are not yet tracking progress. The 2019 City Clean Energy Scorecard ranks 75 cities on more than 50 metrics and this year for the first time, includes policy efforts to advance renewable energy in addition to energy efficiency. Boston retains its first-place ranking, followed by San Francisco, Seattle and Minneapolis. Three cities, including Providence, Rhode Island, this year’s location for SSTI’s Annual Conference, were also named as Cities to Watch. Providence was deemed a city to watch in part because of its adoption of several major clean energy policies and programs, as well as its commitment to engage low-income communities and communities of color in its environmental process.

What are mayors talking about? NLC explores top trending topics

The National League of Cities (NLC) recently released its sixth State of the Cities report, an analysis of the year’s state of the city speeches. It identifies and examines the top 10 issues that mayors are discussing and provides analyses on regional and subtopic trends.

Cities reaching limits of fiscal expansion

Although more city finance officers are optimistic about the fiscal capacity of their cities than last year, that optimism is tempered by the fact that tax revenue growth is experiencing a year-over-year slowdown, with growth in service costs and other expenditure outpacing it. That, taken together with other results of the 2018 City Fiscal Conditions survey, suggests that cities are reaching the limits of fiscal expansion, according to the National League of Cities (NLC).

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