CLOSUP publications

Autonomous vehicles (AVs) are the transportation of the future, promising mobility like the world has never seen. The development of this technology is still underway, and a finished product is years-to-decades away. Michigan should fight to be the...

The United States Government and the various state governments all have laws establishing rules around government ethics and transparency. These are put in place to avoid conflicts of interest or corruption among public officials and to ensure that...

Michigan has access to some of the largest bodies of freshwater in the world, and is surrounded by more than one-fifth of the world’s surface fresh water (US EPA, 2015). However, the quality of its constituents’ drinking water contradicts this sort...

Over the recent years, many studies have attempted to shed light on the negative impacts and gaps of exclusionary discipline practices within Michigan schools. Research shows that students who face suspension and expulsion are as much as 10 times...

This report presents the views of Michigan’s local government officials regarding poverty and economic hardship among residents in their jurisdiction, as well as assessments of unmet needs for particular services and resources. In addition, the...

Growing up people often spend time dreaming of their perfect home, in hopes that one day if they work hard enough and put enough money aside, that their dream will become a reality. A perfect home where one can raise their children and grow old in,...

When exploring the K-12 curriculum structure, it is important to note what the most effective methods are when it comes to making sure that students are getting all of the training that they need in order to be ready for college when the time comes....

Only one in two Michigan 3rd graders were proficient in reading at the end of 2015, according to the M-STEP, and this number is only decreasing (EdTrust Midwest, 2017). The MSTEP is the Michigan Student Test of Education Assessment, an annual...

During, and in the wake of, Michigan’s Lost Decade and the Great Recession, Michigan’s urban centers struggled to retain and attract young people. This dilemma became known as the “brain drain” and led to a number of issues, including an unwelcome...

The processes driving neighborhood change have been of persistent interest to social scientists for decades. While researchers have developed many theories of how neighborhoods change over time – from ecological models of invasion-succession to...

The Spring 2018 County-wide Fiscal Health Fact Sheets are from the Michigan Public Policy Survey (MPPS), an ongoing survey of the top elected and appointed officials in every unit of general purpose local government across the state. The MPPS is...

This report presents the opinions of Michigan’s local government leaders regarding the state of public discourse in their communities, including how constructive or divisive it is among citizens, between citizens and elected officials, and among the...

As the most suitable sites for wind energy development, rural areas are integral to the growth of the renewable energy sector in the U.S. A crucial aspect of siting decisions lies in the opinions of the local community, for which environmental...

This report examines American attitudes on how to respond to climate change. We look at preferences for focusing on adaptation or mitigation efforts, and at Americans’ beliefs on whether efforts to prevent further climate change can actually be...

This report presents Michigan local government leaders’ assessments of their jurisdictions’ fiscal conditions and the actions they plan to take in the coming year given their financial situations. The findings are based on responses from ten...

The National Surveys on Energy and Environment (NSEE) is an on-going biannual national opinion survey on energy and climate policy from University of Michigan and Muhlenberg...

This report considers how American attitudes about renewable energy policies—and solar and wind energy, more specifically—have changed over the last decade. We use time-series data to consider shifts in support for state-level renewable energy...

This report presents information from Michigan's local government officials regarding the status of medical marijuana facilities in their jurisdictions as of spring 2018, as well as officials’ opinions on the impacts of medical marijuana on local...

This paper and its analyses were commissioned in order to support a paper written by Barry G. Rabe for the Academy of Arts and Sciences Project on Durability and Adaptability in Energy Policy entitled “Leveraged Federalism and the Clean Air Act: The...

Over the course of the last 10 years the National Surveys on Energy and the Environment (NSEE) has fielded 19 surveys in which Americans have been asked if they believe there is solid evidence of global warming. In the latest version of this ongoing...

This report presents the opinions of Michigan’s local government leaders regarding the direction in which the state is headed, as well as their evaluations of the job performance of Governor Rick Snyder and the Michigan Legislature. These findings...

This report examines American attitudes about policies that could reduce emissions from the transportation sector. We use time-series data to consider shifts in support for policies that require auto makers to sell more fuel-efficient vehicles, and...

This report presents the opinions of Michigan’s local government leaders on local housing issues, including current housing capacity and condition in their community, local government policies that may hinder or help new renovation and construction,...

Transitioning our energy supply to renewable sources has become an objective for policymakers, worldwide, and wind energy has emerged as a leading alternative energy source. In the US, much of the wind energy growth has occurred in rural communities...

Due to a lack of concerted federal action to promote renewable energy, understanding and evaluating the rigors of state-level energy policies such as renewable portfolio standards is of great importance. The literature on state renewable policies...