City Practices

This report on resilient cities focuses on the responses carried out by local actors in Michigan in communities adversely impacted by job and real property losses during the last decade. The examples, reflections and experiences were gathered during a Leadership Forum, which brought together federal, state and local decision makers. The three major themes that are woven into this report are inclusive community engagement, capable local leadership and cross-cutting partnerships. The lessons from the experiences in Michigan will serve as models for other communities struggling with similar challenges.

Mexico’s consular network is the largest and most extensive of any foreign government in the U.S. For the last twenty years, and especially since 2003, with the creation by a presidential decree of the Institute for Mexicans Abroad (IME), the Mexican Consulates have fostered and developed programs and initiatives to assist, educate and help Mexican citizens living in the U.S. This report highlights a selection of successful practices developed by the Mexican Consulates with their local partners, including local governments, school districts, public libraries, faith-based organizations, police departments and the private sector.

As part of NLC’s extensive work on democratic governance and civic engagement, we have assembled a collection of promising practices in cities across the country. These examples represent the variety of programs and partnerships that can be used to encourage citizens to become more engaged in their communities and provide them with the opportunities to do so.

NLC, in partnership with the MacArthur Foundation’s Building Resilient Regions Network (BRR), commissioned a scan of six cities—Camden, Dayton, Milwaukee, Oakland, Phoenix and Tampa—to determine the actions these communities took to address the ongoing housing foreclosure crisis and specifically to explore methods for becoming a more resilient community. Interviews were conducted with elected officials, nonprofit housing organizations, civic leaders, bankers, developers, housing activists and advocates and other observers of housing and policy work. This publication contains a synthesis of the important findings that emerged from the interviews and a detailed description of each of the six cities’ response to the foreclosure crisis.

Sustainability is a fundamental component of building a strong community, not only in terms of the physical environment, but also for economic prosperity. In recent years many cities across the country have begun providing leadership and advancing economic strategies by incorporating environmental stewardship and sustainability principles throughout programs to promote economic development. This City Practice Brief, made possible through The Home Depot Foundation, NLC’s Sustainability Partner, highlights the strategies and experiences of four cities, Denver, Colo., Boston, Mass., Chattanooga, Tenn., and Grand Rapids, Mich., using sustainability to spur economic growth.  

A healthy urban tree canopy has been associated with environmental and economic benefits such as reduced heating and cooling costs, low-cost stormwater management and aesthetic value and comfort. This case study highlights how an urban forestry initiative in New Haven, Conn. has brought together multiple city departments, a community based non-profit and an area university to also generate social value by creating workforce development opportunities for youth and the formerly incarcerated.

Public Safety Programs for the Immigrant Community addresses cities’ role in immigrant public safety and is designed to give cities a starting place to plan and improve their public safety outreach programs toward their local immigrant communities. The report, from NLC’s Municipal Action for Immigrant Integration Program highlights seventeen public safety programs and good practices from a diverse group of U.S cities and includes recommendations for developing immigrant public safety programs in other communities.

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