By Chloe Sieman and Katya Spear, Mayors Innovation Project As municipalities across the country are courted by tech giants promising innovation and investment, a growing body of data suggests the long-term reality may not match …
Good Ideas for Cities
Supporting Youth and Families with Public Summer Childcare and Afterschool Care
By Chloe Sieman, UW-Madison Senior, Major: International Studies and Public Policy Today, 4.2 million children nationwide lack access to child care, exacerbated in regions of low average property value and high rates of poverty, disparately …
Beyond the Classroom: How Cities Can Support Students’ Needs
By Kylah Kehoe, UW-Madison Freshman, Major: Economics and Political Science Across the board, costs continue to rise for college students. As young people living away from home for the first time, college students may be …
Community over Corporations: The importance of spending public dollars locally
By Quincy Midthun, Mayors Innovation Project A recent report from the Institute for Local Self-Reliance (ILSR) found that municipalities have increased their spending with Amazon nearly fourfold since 2016. From standard office supplies like pens …
Strengthening Faith Partnerships: A Tool for City Resilience
By Mary Carr Lee • Mayors Innovation Project Across the country, cities are navigating a complex reality defined by two factors: the increasingly high needs of our most vulnerable residents and the persistent uncertainty of …
Getting things done: Mayoral Leadership and Culture Creation in Local Government
By Katya Spear, Mayors Innovation Project It’s a well worn adage that culture eats policy for lunch. No matter how long you’ve served in office, how you, your council, and staff work together will drive …
Good Ideas for Cities: 4 Key Strategies to Alleviate the Housing Crisis
By Andreas Scocos and Katya Spear, Mayors Innovation Project Throughout the US there is a significant housing shortage – estimated by some housing experts to exceed 4 million units – driving up housing costs as …
Winter 2025 Innovation Showcase
By Quincy Midthun and Katya Spear, Mayors Innovation Project At the Mayors Innovation Project, our commitment to peer learning means offering avenues to share and replicate good ideas. The MIP Innovation Showcase is a lightning …
Advancing Local Wealth and Opportunity: Key Takeaways from the MIP W25 Panel
By Leslie Vasquez Guzman • Mayors Innovation Project Wealth inequality in the United States has reached unprecedented levels, leaving millions of Americans struggling to achieve economic stability, much less access economic mobility. With stagnant wages …
Data, Financing, and Leadership Solutions for Flood Resilient Infrastructure
By Quincy Midthun, Mayors Innovation Project Climate change continues to pose unprecedented challenges for cities, and the 2024 hurricane season reminded us that flood resilient infrastructure is critical—and increasingly complicated to fund, implement, and manage. …