Jobs and Skills Reports

Our Publications

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  Good Ideas for Cities: Creative Tactics Cities Are Using to Address the Child Care Shortage.

  Child care in America has long had issues as costs are steep for providers and parents. In most US states, child care costs exceed the cost of college tuition. This article shares how cities and local governments are implementing innovative ways to make child care more affordable and accessible.

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  Maximizing Impact: Innovative Ways for City Leaders to Use Remaining ARPA Funding.

  The American Rescue Plan Act, signed into law by President Biden in spring 2021, was designed to provide direct funding to cities, towns, and villages to help them respond to and recover from the impacts of the COVID 19 pandemic. Since that time, cities have responded to this unprecedented direct funding with a slew of innovative programs designed to invest in long term resilience and to support sectors and communities particularly impacted by the pandemic. This article highlights some of the most innovative uses of ARPA funding, including the expansion of affordable housing, investments in digital equity, and workforce training.

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  Best Practices for Pop-up Shops.

  This brief is part of a series of publications MIP has released that was originally researched and compiled as a technical assistance memo to a participating member city. This memo was written in 2023 in response to a specific research question submitted by that member city. To make this publicly available, we’ve removed references to the original request and any location-specific recommendations.

  For context, the original research question that prompted this memo was: The City is interested in pop-up shop programs across the country; we are most interested in any that are focused on filling vacant storefronts and transitioning pop-ups to longer term leases.

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  Best Practices for Targeted Hiring in Preempted Cities.

  This brief is part of a series of publications MIP has released that was originally researched and compiled as a technical assistance memo to a participating member city. This memo was written in 2022 in response to a specific research question submitted by that member city. To make this publicly available, we’ve removed references to the original request and any location-specific recommendations.

  For context, the original research question that prompted this memo was: The City is interested in ways to prioritize local, historically marginalized individuals and businesses in hiring and contracting. The City seeks examples of municipalities that have implemented either local residency requirements for city-funded construction projects or first source hiring programs. In each case, the City is interested in best practices that they have implemented, legal implications of such programs, and the results, outcomes, and impacts of the programs.

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  A Pittsburgh That Works for Working People.

  The vision presented in this report is one in which Pittsburgh is known as the city that rebuilt its economy into one of broadly shared prosperity and strong labor standards; with a housing market that meets the needs of long-term residents while also welcoming newcomers; that offers equitable, accessible and safe transportation choices that connect all residents to employment and other critical destinations; and that prioritizes strong community-police relations with historically marginalized communities of color and new immigrants to ensure Pittsburgh is a most livable city for all residents.

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