GWIPP Research: International & Comparative Policy
Title: National Grants System and Cities During the Great Recessions: Drawing Lessons from a Cross-National Analysis
Funding: German Marshall Fund of the United States
Researcher(s): Hal Wolman
Start Date: June 2012
Status: Current
Category: International and Comparative Policy, State and Local Fiscal Policy
Summary: The project examines the ways in which national grant systems have met the needs of city governments in the United States and developed Western nations during the Great Recession. It tracks changes in national and intermediate level grants to local governments over the course of the recession in OECD countries and focuses particularly on national grant systems and their effects on local governments in the US, Italy, Spain, Germany, the UK, and Canada. The comparison will provide useful and important lessons to national governments about the effects of grant systems on city governments.
Title: The State of the Science on Urbanization and Air Quality
Funding: GW Institute for Sustainability Research, Education, and Policy
Researcher(s): Andrea Sarzynski
Start Date: July 2010
Status: Complete
Category: Environmental and Energy Policy; International and Comparative Policy
Summary: This project aims to synthesize recent research regarding urbanization, air quality, and ecosystem health. The goal of this project is to map urban ecosystem stress and response strategies with respect to global urban air pollution. The project will briefly summarize the state of the science on urbanization and air quality, with a focus on the most important factors responsible for recent change in urban air quality. The literature review will next identify urban areas already stressed by air pollution (such as from ozone or fine particulate matter), compile predictions regarding future population change and its air quality impact, and compile information regarding locally-adopted sustainability strategies to deal with coming air pollution stress. The paper will highlight response strategies that appear most promising with respect to maintaining or improving urban air quality in the face of rapid urbanization. The paper will conclude with a summary of current research gaps and an agenda for future GW research oriented towards local sustainability efforts.
Title: Foreign Capital Cities and Their Relationship to the National Government: What Washington, DC Can Learn
Funding: Trellis Foundation
Start Date: January 2006
Status: Completed
Category: Washington Area Studies, International and Comparative Policy
Summary: The District of Columbia, as the capital of the United States, is in a unique set of circumstances with respect to other American cities, but it is not unique in the world. All countries have capital cities and they face many of the same problems as Washington, DC. The object of this study is to determine what can be learned from these cities and their relationship to their national governments that is relevant to the circumstances of Washington, DC, and will better inform the debate about the issues related to Washington's role as a capital city.