Promoting Equity Investments for an Equitable RecoveryMembers only 
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The Urban Institute set out to study how innovative policies and programs from abroad could inform state and local efforts in the US to advance an inclusive recovery from the COVID-19 pandemic. They produced five briefs, each profiling an approach from abroad that addresses a different policy priority: child care, broadband access, local economic development, parks and public space, and housing stability and affordability.
A Better Way to Spend COVID Relief Funds
Cities are currently grappling with how they should prioritize competing programs, initiatives, and ideas. SLFR funds are a once-in-a-generation opportunity and cities have to contend with balancing relief and recovery. While we can't observe the processes in every city, we pull out four emblematic examples that are at the forefront of emerging models of local recovery.
Disaster Resiliency and Recovery Resources: A Guide for Rural CommunitiesMembers only Login
USDA Rural Development (RD) developed this guide as a resource for rural communities seeking disaster resiliency and recovery assistance. The recent National Climate Assessment (NCA) identifies that more frequent and extreme weather and climate-related events, as well as changes in average climate conditions, are expected to continue to damage infrastructure, ecosystems, and social systems that provide essential benefits to communities.
The American Rescue Plan Can Be a Lifeline for Business Districts
Even before the COVID-19 pandemic, many small businesses in rural downtowns to urban commercial corridors already faced serious challenges, including decades of disinvestment, limited access to capital and broadband, brain drain, and competition from big-box and online retail. The American Rescue Plan Act —and particularly, its $350 billion in state and local funding—offers a lifeline for these struggling Main Streets.
COVID-19 Complicates Housing AffordabilityMembers only Login
This research from Fitch Ratings examines how the COVID-19 pandemic has complicated housing affordability. Issues that led to the persistent housing unaffordability preceded COVID-19. The pandemic caused an economic contraction felt among millions of Americans of many economic strata, and housing insecurity has only worsened for the most vulnerable.
Coronavirus State and Local Fiscal Recovery Funds: Five Things Governments Need to Know
The U.S. Department of the Treasury published its interim final rule to implement the Coronavirus State Fiscal Recovery Fund and the Coronavirus Local Recovery Fund. The American Rescue Plan Act created the $350 billion recovery funds. To support governments in using money distributed from the recovery funds, the interim rule provides critical guidance regarding eligible uses of funds.
How Cities, States, and Tribes Can Boost Entrepreneurship via the American Rescue Plan
The COVID-19 crisis has put thousands of small businesses, from high-growth startups to Main Street employers, out of business. Importantly, the economic impacts of COVID-19 have not been equal. Minority-owned businesses and very small businesses are disproportionately concentrated in the industries most heavily impacted by the COVID-19 crisis such as restaurants, retail stores, and personal services.
American Rescue Plan Act - Local Relief Frequently Asked QuestionsMembers only Login
After the American Rescue Plan Act was signed into law by President Biden on March 11, 2021, it guaranteed direct relief to all 19,000 cities, towns, and villages in the United States. NLC has identified frequently asked questions about the Coronavirus Local Fiscal Recovery Fund grants, and has provided answers based on available information to help cities prepare while Treasury develops official guidance.
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