| Abstract: | Military base closings have accelerated since the end of theCold War, and an independent decisionmaking process is in placefor deciding which bases to close. With more closures has comeincreased debate about the appropriate federal role in assistingcommunities faced with base closures. There has been a gradualincrease in the salience of the issue and in the range of federalassistance provided to the affected communities. This has ledto questions regarding the determination of the bounds of affectedcommunities, and the measures to be used in determining successin the base-closure process. The federal government defers tostate decisions regarding community definition, broadening itsown definition of success to include entire communities, andnot just acreage within the fence posts of the closed facilities.Issues of homelessness and environmental cleanup now play alarger role in reuse decision than in the past |
