By Quincy Midthun & Katya Spear, Mayors Innovation Project Violence and harassment against local public officials in the United States is on the rise. In 2024, the Bridging Divides Initiative saw a 14% increase in …
Meetings
Resilience as Strategy: A Fiscal Playbook for Funding a Bold Future
By Katya Spear, Mayors Innovation Project In an era defined by a “collision of crises”—aging infrastructure, climate volatility, and the disappearance of federal safety nets—city leaders are facing a stark financial reality. The old playbook …
Winter 2026 Innovation Showcase
By Quincy Midthun and Katya Spear, Mayors Innovation Project The Mayors Innovation Project Innovation Showcase is a lightning round session where mayors get just three minutes to share an innovative policy, program, or practice that …
Building an Age-Friendly City: Why Aging in Place is becoming a Municipal Imperative
By Mary Carr Lee Census data shows that between 2010 and 2020, the population of people 65 and older in the US grew more than five times faster than the total US population. By 2030, …
From Crisis to Community Asset: How Mayors are Addressing the Childcare Shortage
By Quincy Midthun Childcare is the invisible backbone of a thriving city. When high-quality care is affordable and accessible, parents can go to work, businesses can grow, and children can thrive. But for so many …
The Shift: Mayors and Experts Say Ending Homelessness Requires Data, Collaboration, and Political Will
By Mary Carr Lee, Mayors Innovation Project At the Mayors Innovation Project summer meeting, mayors and experts from cities across the country dug into the issue of homelessness, highlighting the urgent need for a shift …
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 …
Protecting Rights, Strengthening Cities: Upholding Local Democracy
Since January, cities across the nation have been working to interpret a new, uncertain, and often overwhelming federal policy landscape. At the Summer 2025 Meeting, city leaders came together to discuss how they’re protecting the …
Alternative response models improve safety for all by sending the right response at the right time
By Katya Spear, Managing Director, Mayors Innovation Project The panel The Right Response at the Right Time at the MIP Summer Meeting in Albuquerque, NM, brought together mayors, department heads, and national policy experts to …
Hotter Days, Smarter Ways: Innovative Strategies for Heat Resilience
By Quincy Midthun • Mayors Innovation Project Across the country, cities are heating up. Extreme heat not only creates extreme discomfort, it strains the grid and endangers the health and safety of residents, particularly in …