| 11. Research on Land Use Policy:
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The non-profit Metropolitan Area Research Corporation's objective is "to study growing social and economic disparity and inefficient growth patterns (sprawl) in metropolitan areas, and to assist individuals and groups in fashioning local remedies." MARC's web site offers an array of fascinating information about the nation's 25 largest metro areas (from Myron Orfield's book American Metropolitics), and also access to reports and maps from a number of the excellent state-level and regional studies MARC has done.
One of America's premier research hubs, the Brookings Institution, examines a variety of urban policy issues of interest to planners through its Center on Urban and Metropolitan Policy. You'll find top quality papers and research reports, often examining issues from a national perspective. Among the special features currently on the Center's web site: transportation reform; key indicators from the 2000 census; and reports on welfare and work.
The Lincoln Institute of Land Policy conducts research on a range of land use and taxation issues in the U.S. and globally. Given the origins of the Lincoln Institute, it has a particularly strong interest in research relating to Henry George's land value taxation ideas. The Lincoln Institute's web site allows you to easily locate reports and articles. However, unlike the other research centers noted above -- and most of the Web sites we list -- much of this material is available only for a fee. [We certainly can relate to this, since our own PlannersWeb site also charges a fee for many articles published in the Planning Commissioners Journal]. Having said this, there's still a wealth of research information you can obtain on the Lincoln Institute's site.
The Northeast Midwest Institute provides access to research reports and policy studies dealing with issues such as: smart growth, water policy, brownfields, and farmland. For example, their report Smart Growth at the Frontier: Strategies and Resources for Rural Communities (available to download) provides well-written overviews of a variety of programs related to small town revitalization and linking resource protection with development. While the Institute does have a specific geographic focus (as its name indicates), a good portion of their research is of broader relevance.
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