Fiscal Stress in the Small Postindustrial City: Causes, Consequences, and Implications for Community Development

After using historic data to help explain the structural nature of their challenges, this report describes seven important indicators commonly used to assess fiscal health and applies them to recent financial data for the 10 cities. Following this analysis, special attention is given to the implications for public support of community development investments. The report closes with an overview of common municipal responses to budgetary strain and concluding remarks that introduce strategies, proposed by others, to improve the fiscal health of the postindustrial city.