State of America's Cities 2004 Report

Here is a summary of the major findings of the recent State of America's Cities report by the National League of Cities:

-City officials are generally pessimistic about the direction the country
is heading, but are optimistic about their own cities.

-City officials report that city fiscal conditions and overall economic
conditions have worsened and are a problem for a large majority of
cities. City officials rank city fiscal conditions and overall economic
conditions among the top five conditions that have deteriorated most
during the past five years. In contrast, in the 2000 State of America’s

-Cities survey, city officials reported city fiscal conditions and overall
economic conditions as the two most improved conditions in their
communities during the past five years.

-Federal and state partnerships with municipalities are reported to be
weakening, while three quarters of city officials rate their
municipality’s relations with other cities in the region and
metropolitan area as either excellent or good.

-City officials say "community building" conditions in their city have
improved. Most of the conditions cited as the most improved in
municipalities during the past five years are related to this theme of
community, including vitality of downtown and mainstreet and police
and community relations.

-City officials also identify local priorities for federal action, including
the cost and availability of health services, overall economic
conditions, impacts of unfunded mandates and preemption of local
authority, availability of quality affordable housing, unemployment,
and racial and economic inequalities.

-Compared to city officials from suburban and rural cities, officials
from central cities are more likely to be pessimistic about the general
direction of the country, to report an increased need for survival
services, and to report worsening fiscal problems. Central city
officials are also more likely to say that regional and inter-local
collaboration would have a positive impact on city conditions. City
officials from central, suburban and rural cities all express concerns
about unfunded mandates.

-Nine out of ten city officials say that lack of trust and disengagement
between citizens and government in the nation, generally, is a major
or moderate problem.