Rapid urbanization and expansion of cities in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region has created new opportunities — along with environmental risks, lack of financial and natural resources, and social disparity. In a new issue brief, visiting research scholar Osamah Alsayegh explores how developing smart sustainable cities can bring social and economic benefits to the growing urban population.
Can urban design impact our brain health? This issue brief explores how cities can be redesigned to improve our mental well-being and promote healthy aging.
Despite the many potential challenges — including difficulties conserving water, using clean energy and dealing with the López Obrador administration — Tesla will most likely move forward with the construction of a “gigafactory" in Mexico. In this issue brief, fellow David Gantz explains why the benefits outweigh the risks.
Driven by the USMCA trade agreement and seeking to reduce supply chain disruptions, Chinese companies are setting up shop in Mexico, closer to major U.S. markets. In this issue brief, fellow David Gantz explains the pressures behind this investment and the likely impacts on the North American economy.
With the 2023 debt-ceiling negotiations under way, a new issue brief from John Diamond, director of the Center for Public Finance, and Autumn Engebretson looks at the effectiveness of the Budget Control Act 2011, enacted in response to the 2011 debt-ceiling crisis. Did it in fact control the budget? And could similar legislation work now?
John W. Diamond, Autumn EngebretsonFebruary 16, 2023
A pledge to boost regional competitiveness is a welcome outcome of last month's North American Leaders’ Summit. But the region’s policymakers should remember the lessons of the past as they work to do so, writes fellow David A. Gantz.
This issue brief highlights the potential collaboration between Arab countries and China in dealing with the global energy transition, and examines the energy transition from the perspectives of the world's largest economy (China) and richest hydrocarbon region (the Middle East).
The UK recently announced that it will pursue commercial arrangements with up to 20 individual U.S. states, beginning with Texas. In this brief, fellow David Gantz explores what these arrangements could achieve and the potential legal and constitutional constraints that may limit their reach.