Professor Nestor Davidson, director of the Urban Law Center, discusses reform that needs to be made to “home rule” in an op-ed for Law360.
What is home rule, puzzled visitors often ask? Turns out, I like to answer, it’s one of the most important, and overlooked, legal issues of our day. But perhaps not for much longer.
We are at a moment of great urgency for local democracy. Our cities drive the global economy,w ith the nation’s 10 most productive metro areas alone generating a record $7.2 trillion in economic output in 2018 — more than the economies of 38 states combined.[1]
And cities today confront critical policy issues that range from climate change and equity, to technological transformation, to critical public health threats — as we are unfortunately experiencing now. In meeting these challenges, cities face many headwinds, financial and otherwise.