Report States Downtown Continues to Lose Jobs

The Brookings Institution recently released a report which shows that every major metropolitan area has seen downtown job losses increase as jobs move to the suburbs. According to the report, this “job sprawl” could create long-term economic consequences for the nation.

The report, Job Sprawl Revisited: The Changing Geography of Metropolitan Employment, analyzed the trends in job distribution in large metro areas and how they differed across major industries. In total, 98 of the largest metropolitan areas were analyzed. There were four major findings:

1. Only 21 percent of employees in the top 98 metro areas work within three miles of downtown, while over twice that share (45 percent) work more than 10 miles away from the city center.
2. Job location within metropolitan areas varies widely across industries.
3. Employment steadily decentralized between 1998 and 2006: 95 out of 98 metro areas saw a decrease in the share of jobs located within three miles of downtown.
4. In almost every major industry, jobs shifted away from the city center between 1998 and 2006.

According to Brookings, the findings must be taken into account when developing policies in a variety of areas such as housing, transportation, economic development, etc.

Group Prepares Guide to President Obama’s 2010 Tax Provision

The Tax Policy Center has prepared a guide of the tax provisions in President Obama’s 2010 budget. The Tax Policy Center is a joint venture of the Urban Institute www.urban.org and the Brookings Institution. The Center is made up of nationally recognized experts in tax, budget, and social policy who have served at the highest levels of government and provide timely, accessible analysis and facts about tax policy to policymakers, journalists, citizens, and researchers.

Low Income Housing Advocates to Meet in Washington, DC

The National Low Income Housing Coalition will hold its 2009 Annual Housing Policy Conference and Lobby Day April 19-22 in Washington, DC. Shaun Donovan, Secretary of the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD), headlines a list of government and congressional officials invited to attend and speak.

The list of invited speakers include Christopher Dodd (D-CT), Chair of the Senate Committee on Banking, Housing and Urban Affairs; the Coalition’s 2009 Housing Leadership Award recipient Senator Jack Reed (D-RI), Barney Frank, (D-MA) Chair of the House Financial Services Committee; and Maxine Waters (D-CA), Chair of the House Subcommittee on Housing and Community Opportunity. Melody Barnes, the White House’s Director of the Domestic Policy Council is invited to a luncheon plenary session to discuss how this office will be involved in policy discussions.

There will also be a private screening of Trouble the Water, the award-winning and Oscar- nominated documentary about Hurricane Katrina and its aftermath, directed and produced by Tia Lessin and Carl Deal.

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