How We Can — and Should — Link Recovery Spending to Long-Term Transformation
States and local governments should ensure that the new federal funds are invested in lasting economic development. There are lessons to draw upon from around the world.
April 29, 2021 •
ShutterstockOver the next few months, states and local governments will begin to receive a once-in-a-generation windfall of federal funding from the American Recovery Plan and successive recovery programs. Much of this new money from Washington will rightly go toward meeting immediate needs and emergency recovery measures. But the influx of federal funds also offers a rare opportunity for cities and states to plan beyond near-term recovery from the COVID-19 crisis and make investments in lasting, transformative economic development.