The economic growth and development of urban areas are closely linked to their revenue sufficiency and fiscal prospects. This research seminar offers a forum for new academic work on the interaction of these two fields. It provides an opportunity for specialists in each area to become better acquainted with recent developments and to explore their potential implications for synergy.

Cities that finance public projects through municipal bonds owe their investors and the public an accurate and complete picture of their financial health. The Municipal Securities Rulemaking Board (MSRB) is the regulator charged with ensuring the fairness and efficiency of the municipal market. Join MSRB Executive Director Lynnette Kelly for an overview of the bond issuance process, the role of financial professionals and the importance of disclosure. Kelly will also introduce the wealth of educational resources in the MRSB’s online Education Center. This event is the third in a yearlong series that is part of the Lincoln Institute’s campaign to promote municipal fiscal health.

The National Conference of State Tax Judges meets annually to review recent state tax decisions, consider methods of dealing with complex tax and valuation disputes, and share experiences in case management. This meeting provides an opportunity for judges to hear and question academic experts in law, valuation, finance, and economics, and to exchange views on current legal issues facing tax courts in different states. This year’s program includes sessions on managing self-represented litigants, taxation of Indians and Indian country, and qualitative, quantitative, and sales adjustments in appraisals.

The annual conference of the International Association of Assessing Officers (IAAO) offers state and local assessing officials the opportunity to hear varied perspectives on property tax policy from eminent economists, academics, and practitioners who have a special interest in property taxation. Each year, the Lincoln Institute sponsors a seminar for conference participants on current issues in property tax policy. This year’s sessions will focus on “Tax Increment Financing: Policy and Administrative Challenges.”

This program allows municipal officials from New England to consider critical issues for the fiscal health of their cities and towns. Economic and fiscal experts present information on fiscal sustainability and financing options, among other topics. This small interactive invitation-only seminar is co-sponsored with the Federal Reserve Bank of Boston.

This course is especially designed to provide an understanding about current urban issues in Latin American cities and their roots in land and urban policies to a journalism audience. Mass media and journalism professionals have great potential to inform the public regarding cities and their problems as well as influence urban and land policy. The course will cover the fundamentals of land markets (land use and price determination), the nature and limits of property rights in Latin American legislation, and alternative land-based tools for financing urban (re)development. Special attention will be given to new urban planning instruments currently being applied in the region, including value capture, inclusionary zoning, and regularization of informal settlements.

Each year, the Program on the People’s Republic of China offers a week-long capacity-building “Training the Trainers” course to young faculty members, researchers, and practitioners from universities, government agencies, and institutions across China. The subject of the course varies each year, often targeting to the specific need for knowledge relevant to the current policy reform. The course is taught by internationally-reputed scholars in relevant fields. This year the course topics are Municipal Fiscal Health and Urban Planning.

This professional development course examines large-scale projects designed to promote the redevelopment or regeneration of deteriorated or abandoned urban areas; the extension of the urban perimeter; the strengthening of growth centers; and/or the creation or rehabilitation of central city areas, including historic centers. The course focuses on policies and a broad set of land-based tools and management instruments to finance and fairly redistribute costs and benefits, and/or promote social urban integration. The course presents methodologies to evaluate the impact of these large-scale projects and critically analyzes a wide variety of case studies.

The video classes are multimedia treatments of diverse topics related to urban land policy. Developed to support both moderated and self-paced courses of the Program on Latin America and the Caribbean’s distance education, they are also well suited to generate discussion in neighborhood associations, professional associations, public entities and other groups interested in these topics. Videos are presented primarily in Spanish.