Fast Growth in Metropolitan Phoenix is the first product of a comprehensive effort to describe and analyze the region’s growth. The Brookings Institution Center on Urban and Metropolitan Policy in Washington, D.C. presented the opportunity for this project to Morrison Institute for Public Policy. The story of growth in metropolitan Phoenix is a complicated, often surprising, tale. There is much to be proud of in the region. Yet there is also much to worry about, and much that needs to be done. Hits and Misses will have been successful if it becomes a catalyst for getting started.
Numerous studies have concluded that university science and technology research can lead to economic growth, particularly in the fast growing and high paying knowledge economy industries. Across the country and around the world, many state and national governments have heeded these studies and made substantial investments in their university research capacity. The common hope is to capitalize on the wealth and job creation that can be generated by a science and technology-based economy. Arizona is among the biggest recent investors. Passage of Arizona’s Proposition 301 in November 2000 earmarked an estimated $1 billion over 20 years to support increasing science and technology research capacity at the state’s three public universities. Other research funding programs have also been initiated in the state. Now, after the first four years of Proposition 301 funding -- FY 2002 through FY 2005 -- the question arises: How are Arizona’s Proposition 301 research investments performing?
This working paper lays out the principal challenges facing U.S.-Mexico land ports of entry, which function both to facilitate commerce between the two nations but also provides security. Co-author is Erik Lee, associate director of the North American Center for Transborder Studies (NACTS) at Arizona State University.
Education experts and legislators from both political parties agree that Arizona suffers from an antiquated, patched-together state education data system that is seldom able to provide the reliable, real-time information that parents and educators need to determine which programs are working for which students, and which are not. This brief sets up the conversation for a Jan. 10 panel discussion on the topic.
This report examines the current state of housing in Arizona for people with disabilities. While it is one of the best states in the country in promoting community living options, there is more work to be done. Further examination reveals that most being served by the Arizona’s Division of Developmental Disabilities (DDD) are living with their families, with the second largest group living in group homes, in the absence of other options. Those with limited incomes who opt to live on their own find that they are plagued with tremendous barriers that range from discrimination, to long waiting lists for HUD programs, to a shortage of accessible, affordable housing.
