Document Type
Article
Publication Date
2002
Abstract
In this essay I would like to address briefly four issues of importance to local governments raised by the September 11 attack and its aftermath. These issues are the role of local governments in addressing questions of public safety and preparedness; the relations among local governments within a region in responding to terrorism; the role of the federal government in the local response to terrorism; and the implications of September 11 for the structures and functions of local government. These issues are interconnected. Certainly, an effective local response to the public safety challenge posed by terrorism will require more coordinated interlocal relations and stronger federal support for local government. So, too, the greater burdens on urban governments in the post-September 11 world will put an even greater premium on local democracy, accountability, and attention to local government's public responsibilities. These are issues which have been at the heart of local government law and central to debates over local government for years. After September 11, however, these issues have become even more important than before, and the consequences of mistakes or inaction in addressing these questions are potentially devastating.
Disciplines
Law | State and Local Government Law | Terrorism Studies
Recommended Citation
Richard Briffault,
Facing the Urban Future After September 11, 2001,
34
Urb. Law.
563
(2002).
Available at:
https://scholarship.law.columbia.edu/faculty_scholarship/4215
Comments
©2002 by the American Bar Association. Reprinted with permission. All rights reserved. This information or any portion thereof may not be copied or disseminated in any form or by any means or stored in an electronic database or retrieval system without the express written consent of the American Bar Association.