Governing

09/14/2026

There’s more than one path a city can follow as it pursues prosperity and global renown. It can seek success through careful planning and regulation, as many European cities, the Asian powerhouse of Singapore and (one might argue) Philadelphia have done. Or it can stay away from planning and trust its future to the free market, as Houston and perhaps Los Angeles have done in this country. Either strategy can work; either one can fail. But the best strategy for a city is a combination of both, or so the prominent urban critic Paul Goldberger argues in his forthcoming book The Imperfect City.(https://bit.ly/4yAVQlM).

A Pulitzer Prize–winning architectural critic explores how modern cities thrive when urban planning leaves room for happy accidents and innovations. “A city is not a symphony, composed as...

09/11/2026

AI and other emerging technologies are moving faster than government can regulate them. One of Governing’s 2026 Public Officials of the Year, Utah Sen. Kirk Cullimore is crafting policies designed to protect consumers without stifling innovation.

09/11/2026

Medicare’s rising costs are putting growing pressure on federal spending and taxpayers. A different approach to how the program pays for care could reshape the debate over controlling costs without cutting benefits, writes Governing’s Girard Miller.
https://bit.ly/4rplFDj

Such an option, paired with an income-based cap on premiums, could make health insurance more affordable for everyone while saving states and localities mega-billions. Best of all: no new taxes.

09/08/2026

Atlanta is booming, but Mayor Andre Dickens wants its success to reach every neighborhood. One of Governing’s 2026 Public Officials of the Year, he’s working to turn growth into opportunity for all Atlantans.
https://bit.ly/4xfsZm9

09/04/2026

As President Trump continues his efforts to overhaul mail voting ahead of the midterms, states are bracing for potential impacts. Here are the states that would face the biggest potential effects.
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These states face the most potential disruption if the Trump administration is able to implement new mail voting rules by the midterm elections.

09/04/2026

Violent crime is falling sharply across the country, giving political leaders plenty to celebrate, but also plenty to argue over. Including an important political question: Who gets to take the credit?
https://bit.ly/4ylHPsa

Big-city mayors are experiencing whiplash as violent crime drops to historic lows following a sharp spike in the early pandemic years. They’re taking credit cautiously.

09/04/2026

The mountains of packaging that arrive at our doorsteps create a massive problem of excess waste. A growing number of states are rethinking who should pick up the tab, writes Erin Victor, researcher at the University of Maine.
https://bit.ly/4ylAF7l

There’s a movement to push the costs onto the companies that produce it, in hopes of boosting recycling and providing incentives to change the packaging they use. Some states have moved in that direction, but it’s a fragmented landscape.

09/02/2026

What can today’s most effective public leaders teach us about making government work better? Governing’s latest print issue spotlights our 2026 Public Officials of the Year, sharing lessons and insights from the leaders, experts and policymakers shaping the future of state and local government.
https://bit.ly/4zRQHqY

09/02/2026

Kansas Gov. Laura Kelly, one of Governing’s 2026 Public Officials of the Year, has spent two terms finding common ground in a deeply Republican state. Her record shows how pragmatic leadership can deliver results even amid intense political division.
https://bit.ly/3UNP4uo

09/02/2026

Diversity alone won’t get the votes for funding public education. It takes communities that are more integrated and connected, where residents have a sense of shared stake, write Farzam Boroomand, an assistant professor at University of South Carolina, and Aseem Kaul, a professor at University of Minnesota. https://bit.ly/3UrNJJK

Diversity alone won’t get the votes for funding public education. It takes communities that are more integrated and connected, where residents have a sense of shared stake.