Case Studies of Development in the Minneapolis-St. Paul Metropolitan Region

Abstract

This report brings together several aspects of land development dynamics that have been examined in previous reports of the Twin Cities Regional Dynamics section of the Transportation and Regional Growth Study, in a series of place-based case studies of Minor Civil Divisions (MCDs) and school districts within the Minneapolis- St. Paul metropolitan region.

The report focuses on the local property tax as the locus of interaction between municipal revenue generation and service provision, and the K-12 education finance system in the State of Minnesota.

The report finds that local units of government are vulnerable to larger spatial trends over which they have little control, and thus an absence of region-wide or statewide policies to equalize support for PreK-12 education funding and delivery of services will encourage competition for development dollars and uneven development across the region.