(124 pages)
“The research on which this guidebook is based was funded primarily through a grant to SRI
International from the National Science Foundation, with supplemental assistance provided by the Charles F. Kettering Foundation. The survey and field data used in the research were provided to SRI by member jurisdictions of the Urban Consortium for Technology Initiatives
(sponsored by Public Technology Incorporated) and were collected from the 37 major cities and urban counties that make up the Urban Consortium. Urban Consortium Project Review
Committee members and PTI staff also reviewed the research and provided significant assistance in shaping the study.
The Urban Consortium is a national organization of the nation's 28largest cities and 9 urban counties which have joined together to increase the relevance of national research and development programs to urban needs. Public Technology Inc. (PTI) serves as Secretariat.
PTI is a national non-profit organization doing research and development for local governments.
It was established in 1971 by the major public interest groups representing state and local governments. PTI's Board of Directors includes the Executive Directors of the National League of cities a:nd the International City Management Association and officials from five local government subscribers of PTI. “ (From the forward to the report)
Robert Fichter, Chairman of the
“The purpose of this guidebook is to provide city and county officials with information about an array of policy tools employing local governance powers that can be used to address neighborhood problems.
It is the product of an 18-month study undertaken by SRI International in collaboration with local government officials of the Urban Consortium for Technology Initiatives. This study examined how local governments use their powers to govern (i.e., regulate, tax, administer, and collaborate) to address neighborhood problems, rather than (or in addition to) their power to spend.
The study found that local governments are increasingly:
• Using their regulatory powers to adapt zoning ordinances and codes to address special problems, such as the preservation of low-income housing, in ways which reflect the market realities of neighborhoods.
• Using their tax powers not just to raise revenue but to aid special groups such as the poor elderly and to encourage private investors to participate in neighborhood revitalization.
~ Using their administrative powers to target local government spending into economically depressed areas where it will have the greatest effect and to make sure that municipal resources such as school facilities are made available to encourage neighborhood self-help efforts.
• Using collaboration to involve private corporations, neighborhood organizations, and residents in neighborhood revitalization efforts.
The policy tools described herein are "new" only in that they entail using traditional governance powers in new ways to meet particular local needs. Because they do not depend primarily on the direct provision of services or major capital investment, the tools are known collectively as "nonservice" tools.