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March Winners (2014)

  Best in Governance Edward Snowden, Barack Obama, and the NSA Reforms A year ago, Edward Snowden was little known outside the shadowy world of national security. But since the one-time contractor for Booz Allen Hamilton leaked shocking and costly revelations about the government, Patriot Act sanctioned, involvement in spying on its citizens and world leaders. His name has inspired contentious debate, with some claiming his unauthorized disclosures has harmed national security and others crediting him with starting an important Read more…

By USC Bedrosian Center, ago

The Art of Governance

by Jeremy Loudenback Museums have traditionally been designed as lofty displays of city treasures, part of a high-minded celebration of civic pageantry. But more recently, museums are no longer content to remain gilded repositories of art on a shining hill, removed from city affairs. Cultural institutions have assumed a new role in city life, enjoying a larger hand in the planning of city infrastructure and organization, encouraging a greater sense of civic identity, and even working Read more…

By USC Bedrosian Center, ago

Tennessee’s Promise: From Research to Policy

by Benjamin Robinson Earlier this month, Tennessee Governor Bill Haslam delivered his State of the State address announcing a bold new initiative called the Tennessee Promise. The Tennessee Promise will funnel untapped funds in the state’s lottery coffers to make two years of public community college and technical education free to all residents. This proposal met with bipartisan support from lawmakers in Tennessee’s State Legislature but this idea is not a new one. In the past, Read more…

By USC Bedrosian Center, ago

Social Impact Bonds

by Jeremy Loudenback At the next Goldman Sachs shareholder meeting, the usual discussions about shareholder value and adjusted leverage ratio will be joined by a seemingly unlikely topic: recidivism strategies. The unlikely confluence of corrections strategies and investment banking concerns one of the first examples of social-impact bonds in this country, part of a growing nexus between for-profit investment, philanthropy, and government. Also known as pay for success or pay for performance financing, social-impact bonds promise Read more…

By USC Bedrosian Center, ago

The ABCs of Self-reinforcing Processes in Network Resiliency

Adapting, Bouncing Back, and Coping February 24, 2014 12:00pm to 1:30pm “The A, B, C’s of Self-reinforcing Processes in Network Resiliency: Adapting, Bouncing Back, and Coping” Abstract What is the relationship between an inter-organizational network’s internal dynamics and its capacity to adapt, bounce back, or survive in response to diminished financial resources? Understanding how to manage network resiliency to endogenous change or exogenous shocks remains a relatively under-studied problem in studies of networks involving governmental, Read more…

By USC Bedrosian Center, ago

CTCAC Neighborhood Characteristics

  by Bri Gauger In the summer of 2013, eighteen students conducted research for the California Tax Credit Allocation Committee (CTCAC) as part of a Masters of Planning studio course led by Dr. Jan Breidenbach. Located in the Treasurer’s Office, CTCAC is the state entity responsible for administering the federal Low-Income Housing Tax Credit (LIHTC) program, which serves as the largest source of financing for low-income housing production in the country. The LIHTC establishes two tiers of tax credits for affordable Read more…

By USC Bedrosian Center, ago

Governing the Sustainable Future of Los Angeles

by Caroline Stevens What could Southern California’s urban metropolis look like 20 years? Picture algae encased skyscrapers that absorb carbon dioxide and organically recycle water from within their walls. Imagine community hospitals that never use a single kilowatt-hour of energy from the utility grid. Envision an international airport that recycles 417 million gallons of water on-site each year, while keeping 1.5 billion gallons of jet fuel out of adjacent beaches and bays. Conceptualize offices and homes Read more…

By USC Bedrosian Center, ago

Lunch with a Leader : John Szabo

Conversations about governance, policy, and leadership February 13, 2014 12:00pm to 1:30pm Lunch with a Leader provides students with the opportunity to hear ideas from local, state, and national leaders as well as share their ideas and gain inspiration for effective governance in an enjoyable, informal setting. John Szabo might be best known for turning around the troubled Atlanta-Fulton Public Library System, he served as Director there from 2005 through June of 2012. He joined Read more…

By USC Bedrosian Center, ago

Jackie Lacey on the Witness Stand

by Jeremy Loudenback After winning election in a contentious race to replace Steve Cooley as district attorney of Los Angeles County, Jackie Lacey hasn’t had the opportunity to rest on her laurels or celebrate the significance of being the first woman and African American to serve as head of the Los Angeles County District Attorney’s Office. Instead she’s had to contend with one of the most momentous chapters in recent law enforcement history, adjusting to challenging Read more…

By USC Bedrosian Center, ago

A Fresh Start for Mayoral Governance in San Diego

by Caroline Stevens On August 23, 2013 San Diego’s 35th Mayor, Bob Filner, resigned after 2 months of heated controversy and numerous allegations of sexual harassment. Six months and $4.7 million dollars later (the estimated cost of the special election), San Diegan’s will finally have a chance to elect their new mayor and to deliver a much-needed face lift to their mayoral image. San Diego is currently dealing with several fundamental governance challenges including: frequent incidents Read more…

By USC Bedrosian Center, ago

The War on Poverty

Students Talk Back: A Politics and Public Policy Forum Our friends at the Unruh Institute are focusing on poverty issues in this week’s Students Talk Back series: The War on Poverty: 50 Years and Fighting Wednesday, February 12, 2014 Featuring: Reed Galen, Owner, Jedburghs, LLC Angelica Solis, Director of Community Development, Youth Policy Institute Christian Patterson, Member, USC College Democrats Giuseppe Robalino, Director of Political Affairs and Strategy, USC College Republicans Co-Moderated by: Kerstyn Olson, Interim Read more…

By USC Bedrosian Center, ago

A New Chapter in Governance

by Jeremy Loudenback The public library may seem like a strange setting for discussions about governance. But these days, public libraries occupy an active and surprisingly commonplace role in the public policy arena, especially in urban areas. From helping citizens navigate the new healthcare marketplaces to dealing with homelessness, libraries are no longer the fusty preserves of stern librarians and dusty archives. At the Los Angeles Public Library, new City Librarian John Szabo oversees 73 locations and Read more…

By USC Bedrosian Center, ago

January winners (2014)

Best in Governance California Governor Brown Earlier this month, Gov. Brown’s State of the State speech served as another exclamation point on his superb track record in bringing California back from an abyss of budgetary woes and legislative gridlock during his second go-round as governor of the Golden State. Since his heady days as governor in the late 70s and early 80s, the onetime Jesuit seminarian has mellowed into the responsibilities of his job and adapted Read more…

By USC Bedrosian Center, ago

February winners (2014)

Best in Governance Speaker of the House John Boehner In February, the sweetest sound heard in Washington D.C. was a sigh of relief after Congress came to an unusually speedy agreement on the federal borrowing limit and averted a possible default. The surprising avoidance of expected partisan bickering was accomplished thanks to the leadership of House Speaker John Boehner, our choice for February’s Best in Governance award. After several months of intense brinksmanship between Congressional Read more…

By USC Bedrosian Center, ago

New Marijuana Laws Face Implementation Challenges

by Jeremy Loudenback On January 1 of this year, the country’s most eagerly anticipated law took effect in Colorado. Starting on New Year’s Day, aficionados flocked to new stores where, for the first time in the nation’s history, marijuana was legally available for purchase to state residents. (Washington voters also approved marijuana legislation in 2012, though implementation won’t start until for another couple months.) While the new law has been a boon to headline writers, the Read more…

By USC Bedrosian Center, ago

Estonia Gets a Free Ride

by Jeremy Loudenback Cities are often described as laboratories, places where government officials, urban planners, and businesses can tinker with policies and ideas about urban living. Most often the terms of change are incremental, with new policies tried out on a limited basis. However, in January 2013, the city of Tallinn (and capital of Estonia) declared that all public transit would be free for city residents. After approving the law by referendum in 2012, all 430,000 Read more…

By USC Bedrosian Center, ago

Fundamental books for city-making

by Aubrey L. Hicks A recent convergence of articles about reading and public policy have got us thinking, and we hope they’ll get you thinking too.  In an Op-Ed in The New York Times  Charles Blow said of reading that: “[R]eading texts is not the same as reading a text. There is no intellectual equivalent to allowing oneself the time and space to get lost in another person’s mind, because in so doing we find ourselves.” Read more…

By USC Bedrosian Center, ago

Lunch with a Leader: Jackie Lacey

by Jeremy Loudenback The Bedrosian Center kicks off its 2014 Lunch with a Leader series with a visit from one of the nation’s most important criminal justice leaders. Elected as Los Angeles County District Attorney in December 2012, Jackie Lacey assumed control of the largest local prosecutorial department in the nation, an office that prosecutes nearly 60,000 felony cases a year in the country’s most populous county. (Event is Tuesday, January 28th) Lacey’s tenure at the Read more…

By USC Bedrosian Center, ago

What Will Tomorrow Bring

by Jeremy Loudenback Flash forward to Los Angeles six years into the future. The city is clogged by a rising tide of traffic; the public school system is in shambles, with the majority of students failing to graduate high school; Los Angeles can no longer afford to pay for most vital services; and most city residents live in poverty, desperate to work but lacking opportunities to participate in the global economy. A city in dangerous decline, Read more…

By USC Bedrosian Center, ago

The Fruits of One-Party Rule

by Jeremy Loudenback It’s no secret that the polarization of the American political system has grown increasingly more pronounced in recent memory. And it’s not just limited to anecdotal evidence: 36 states are now dominated by a single political party, the highest number in 60 years. Republicans control 23 states (meaning possession of both state legislature and the governor’s office), while the Democrats hold 13. While Washington D.C. has long been ground zero for problems associated Read more…

By USC Bedrosian Center, ago

Looking at the Fiscal Health of State and Local Governments in 2014

by Jeremy Loudenback After a year in which stories about cities facing bankruptcy from Detroit to San Bernadino were widely reported, it’s no secret that the fiscal health of many local governments is still on shaky ground. According to Janney Montgomery Scott analyst Tom Kozlik, the financial outlook for U.S. local governments in 2014 is “cautious,” with declining revenues still running behind projected expenditures. While Janney notes that the majority of local governments are on solid Read more…

By USC Bedrosian Center, ago

New Directions for Federal Housing Policy through Bipartisan Governance?

by Caroline Stevens In early November, USC had the privilege of hosting The Bipartisan Policy Center’s Policy Forum, Housing America’s Future: New Directions for National Policy. Our Bedrosian Center Director, Raphael Bostic, had the pleasure of kicking off the day’s events and introducing his fellow housing expert, Henry Cisneros, which got us thinking that perhaps this wasn’t just another opportunity to talk about housing and urban policy, but a new format in which we could think Read more…

By USC Bedrosian Center, ago

To-Read for Every Student Planning a Career in the Public Service

by Martin Krieger C. Ansell, Pragmatist Democracy: Evolutionary Learning as Public Philosophy A. Bertelli and L. Lynn, Madison’s Managers R. Caro, The Passage of Power, The Years of Lyndon Johnson, vol IV I. Hacking, Representing and Intervening S. Tang’s new book on institutional design, Ten Principles for a Rule-Ordered Society Conflict and power-asymmetries were once the commonplaces of discussions of public service and its relationship to the governed. The concern that a more “cooperative” relationship with those Read more…

By USC Bedrosian Center, ago

The Return of Eminent Domain

by Jeremy Loudenback In the heady months after the U.S. economy collapsed thanks to a mortgage industry run amok, municipalities found themselves dealing with the noxious fallout: a slew of foreclosures and related problems. In the aftermath, many local leaders invoked eminent domain as a powerful and swift strategy to stem the tide of foreclosures that have hollowed out communities, leading to a smaller tax base and increased crime and neglect. While the idea gained some Read more…

By USC Bedrosian Center, ago

Bedrosian Center