With a jobless rate that's 50 percent below the state average, it's easy to think Ann Arbor is immune to the impacts of long-term unemployment. The Michigan Unemployment Insurance Project commissioned a study on the effects of the state's policies and discovered that we're undermining both our economic recovery and the well-being of our most vulnerable kids.

Suburban sprawl has led to a new generation of children being driven to school instead of walking or biking. But with Michigan's Safe Routes to Schools program funding sidewalks and other infrastructure, walking and biking are the new educational path.