Ideas for the New Administration: Urban Policy | Manhattan Institute Michael Hendrix Director, State & Local Policy America’s 486 “urbanized areas” were home to more than 70% of the population, according to the 2010 census; another 9.5% of the population resided in 3,087 smaller “urban clusters.”1 The fortunes of both are so intertwined that the fate of downtowns matters to suburbs and small towns. [...] Given the overwhelming importance of cities, large and small, to the country, urban policy is a useful lens through which a new Congress and administration can forge changes and reforms in three key areas: • Public finance • Infrastructure • Housing 1. [...] Removing barriers that restrict the supply and price of housing is ultimately the responsibility of states and localities. [...] Nevertheless, the federal government’s Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) can give jurisdictions a forum to share the ways in which they are reducing regulations and streamlining approvals. [...] Among them: accelerating the pace of recovery from the pandemic, helping to get schools reopened and students back on track, and restoring safety to the many American cities afflicted by unrest and rising violence.
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