The Meaningful Change Is Happening Right In Your Communities: 10 Great Public-Sector Initiatives By Regional Organizations

Jul 29, 2025

American federalism, as we have understood it in our time, is kaput. For nearly a century, our national government set priorities through Congress, then funded and provided, or supported state and local governments to fund and provide, vital public services. Following the Trump administration’s terminations, reductions and claw-backs of the past six-months, state and local officials are now struggling to deliver services their voters (in many cases, their neighbors) rely on. With federal support in retreat and public service responsibilities poised to grow, state and local governments are under pressure to both manage resources ferociously and innovate boldly so they get more bang out of fewer bucks.

The exciting news is many are doing just that. I encountered numerous examples at a recent meeting in Seattle of the National Association of Regional Councils, representing councils of government (COGs) and metropolitan and rural planning organizations (M/RPOs) from across the US. Officials from these regional organizations were busy exchanging ideas and experiences concerning the practical challenges of helping make life better for their constituents. Some of the most promising and creative solutions are described below:

  • An online planning tool by the Lehigh Valley (PA) Planning Commission making easily accessible, usable housing market data publicly available, https://lvpc.org/f/data-tool-provides-housing-analysis-for-every-valley-community;

  • A 25-year, citizen-developed transportation vision for the diverse and growing Northwest Indiana region (southeast of Chicago), accentuating investments in active mobility, transit and freight movement, to guide the allocation of $100 million in annual federal funding, https://www.in.gov/nirpc/transportation/nwi-2050-plus/.

  • Establishment and operation of a state-of-the-art crime lab serving the Yakima (WA) Valley region, https://www.yvcog.us/178/Crime-Lab;

  • Development, maintenance and expansion of a 340-mile paved bike-ped trail network – largest in the nation – by the Miami Valley Regional Planning Commission and its partners, making the southwestern Ohio region “the Midwest’s Outdoor Adventure Capital”, https://www.mvrpc.org/transportation/bikeways-pedestrians/tale-trails;

  • An award-winning initiative of the East Texas Council of Governments promoting and supporting successful municipal and community-based strategies and services for military vets, https://www.etcog.org/veteran-friendly-community;

  • A coalition of 17 cities and towns in Greater Boston, home for 3.4 million avid Red Sox fans, to establish shared principles and regulatory standards to encourage housing growth. In the nine years of this effort convened by the Metropolitan Area Planning Council, 70,000 new units have been built, with another 115,000 projected by 2030, https://housingtaskforce.mapc.org/.

  • LinkUs-Columbus, Central Ohio’s bold initiative to expand bus-rapid transit, biking/walking infrastructure and transit-oriented development that will allow this dynamic region to continue its vibrant growth, https://www.morpc.org/linkus/;

  • A multi-dimensional housing and transportation investment strategy for the six-county Greater Los Angeles region of 19 million people, that has already registered a 10.4% reduction in VMT from pre-pandemic levels, along with a substantial reduction in green-house gas emissions, https://scag.ca.gov/;

  • A fee-for-service program newly launched by Houston-Galveston Area basis to cost-effectively provide the region’s smaller jurisdictions with administrative functions, among them HR, multi-media communications, data gathering and analytics, and procurement, https://www.h-gac.com/Home;

  • A mega-regional collaboration to bring modern passenger rail service across Indiana and Ohio, terminating in Chicago and Pittsburgh, https://www.midwestconnectrail.com/.

The scope and ambition of these programs are emblematic of the rich possibilities for government reinvention and innovation when communities coalesce on a regional scale. I will write more about this soon.

By: Roger J Cohen
Senior Policy Advisor