Fiscal policy Archives - Smart Growth America

What We Learned from the Stimulus

Stimulus spending data shows that funds spent on public transportation were a more effective job creator than stimulus funds spent on highways. This analysis shows that in the first ten months of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA), investments in public transportation created twice as many jobs per dollar as investments in highways.

Through the end of 2009, American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA) investments in public transportation produced almost twice as many jobs per dollar as investments made in roads: Every billion dollars spent on public transportation produced 19,299 job-months. Every billion dollars spent on projects funded under highway infrastructure programs produced 10,493 job-months. As Congress and the Administration discuss a possible jobs bill, the implication is clear: shifting available funds toward public transportation will increase the resulting employment.

The Fiscal Implications: Roads in New Jersey

The Fiscal Implications of Development Patterns: Roads in New Jersey analyzes population and employment density to understand just how much money could be saved if the distribution of New Jersey’s population and jobs could be made even incrementally more dense and compact.

Advocacy Technical assistance Fiscal modeling Fiscal policy Municipal costs New Jersey Public budgets Roads tax revenue

The Fiscal Implications: Indianapolis, IN

In this version of our Fiscal Implications research, Smart Growth America examined four different scenarios for the City of Indianapolis—two urban and two sub-urban. We found that both of the sub-urban scenarios would generate negative fiscal impacts for the City and school district.

Advocacy Technical assistance Fiscal modeling Fiscal policy Indiana Indianapolis IN Municipal costs Public budgets tax revenue

The Fiscal Implications: Macon, GA

Macon-Bibb County, GA asked Smart Growth America to analyze the net fiscal impact of future growth focused on downtown infill versus continued greenfield development in suburban locations.

Advocacy Technical assistance Fiscal modeling Fiscal policy Georgia Macon GA Municipal costs Public budgets tax revenue

The Fiscal Implications: West Des Moines, IA

The City of West Des Moines, IA hired Smart Growth America to analyze potential development options in the city over the next 20 years. We examined four different strategies for West Des Moines’ growth.

Technical assistance Fiscal Implications Fiscal policy Iowa West Des Moines IA

The Fiscal Implications: Madison, WI

The City of Madison hired Smart Growth America to analyze potential development options in the city’s Pioneer District, a 1,400 acre area that is largely vacant right now.

Advocacy Technical assistance Fiscal modeling Fiscal policy Madison WI Municipal costs Public budgets tax revenue Wisconsin

The Fiscal Implications of Development Patterns: Overview

Every town, city, and county makes decisions about how to grow and what kind of development to build. These decisions shape entire neighborhoods and form the foundation of communities as we know them. These decisions can also have enormous implications for a municipality’s finances. Over the past 40 years research has shown that low-density, unconnected, … Continued

Advocacy Technical assistance Analysis Fiscal modeling Fiscal policy Land development Municipal costs Public budgets Public costs tax revenue

Repair Priorities 2014: Transportation strategies to improve road conditions and state fiscal outlooks

Download Repair Priorities including the report’s full findings and recommendations for decision makers at the state and federal levels.

DOT Innovation Transportation Fiscal policy Infrastructure Infrastructure costs Public costs Public spending Road repair State spending The Innovative DOT

Building Better Budgets

Building Better Budgets: A National Examination of the Fiscal Benefits of Smart Growth Development surveys 17 studies that compare different development scenarios, including a brand-new study of Nashville-Davidson County, TN, commissioned specifically for this report.

Economic development Fiscal policy Infrastructure costs Nashville TN Public budgets Public spending tax revenue Tennessee

Recent Lessons from the Stimulus: Transportation Funding and Job Creation

Smart Growth America analyzes states’ investments in infrastructure to determine whether they made the best use of their spending based on job creation numbers. “Recent Lessons from the Stimulus: Transportation Funding and Job Creation” evaluates how successful states have been in creating jobs with their flexible $26.6 billion of transportation funds from the American Reinvestment … Continued

Economic development Transportation American Reinvestment and Recovery Act Federal investment Federal programs Federal spending Fiscal policy Governors State investments Stimulus Transportation