https://www.americancityandcounty.com/wp-content/themes/acc_child/assets/images/logo/footer-logo.png
  • Home
  • Co-op Solutions
  • Hybrid Work
  • Commentaries
  • News
  • In-Depth
  • Multimedia
    • Back
    • Podcast
    • Latest videos
    • Product Guides
  • Resources & Events
    • Back
    • Resources
    • Webinars
    • White Papers
    • IWCE 2022
    • How to Contribute
    • Municipal Cost Index – Archive
    • Equipment Watch Page
    • American City & County Awards
  • About Us
    • Back
    • About Us
    • Contact Us
    • Advertise
    • Cookie Policy
    • Privacy Statement
    • Terms of Service
American City and County
  • NEWSLETTER
  • Home
  • Co-op Solutions
  • Hybrid Work
  • Commentaries
  • News
  • In-Depth
  • Multimedia
    • Back
    • Podcasts
    • Latest videos
    • Product Guides
  • Resources/Events
    • Back
    • Webinars
    • White Papers/eBooks
    • IWCE Expo
    • Calendar of Events
    • How to Contribute
    • American City & County Awards
    • Municipal Cost Index
    • Equipment Watch Page
  • About Us
    • Back
    • About Us
    • Contact Us
    • Advertise
    • Cookie Policy
    • Privacy Stament
    • Terms of Service
  • newsletter
  • Administration
  • Economy & Finance
  • Procurement
  • Public Safety
  • Public Works & Utilities
  • Smart Cities & Technology
  • Magazine
acc.com

Smart Cities & Technology


Michael Bloomberg, founder of Bloomberg Philanthropies. Image via Metropolitan Transportation Authority / Patrick Cashin

Article

Bloomberg Philanthropies awards $9 million towards innovative city projects

Bloomberg Philanthropies awards $9 million towards innovative city projects

  • Written by Jason Axelrod
  • 31st October 2018

Nine U.S. cities have received $1 million from Bloomberg Philanthropies’ Mayors Challenge to be used towards innovation projects across a variety of sectors.

Over 300 cities with 30,000 or more residents applied to the challenge by October 2017, according to Bloomberg Philanthropies. The first 300 cities that RSVP’ed to the challenge received an idea accelerator workshop,  which lasted between July through September 2017.

“Bloomberg’s iterative approach helped us engage with the public in a way that dramatically improved our idea. With Bloomberg’s support, we’ve developed a model with greater community support and better financial viability. We look forward to making the ‘virtual power plant’ a reality,” Georgetown, Texas, Mayor Dale Ross said in a news release. Georgetown was one of the nine final winners of the Mayors Challenge.

Ultimately, 35 champion cities received $100,000 to help bring their ideas to fruition. These 35 cities then came together for an intense workshop with experts from Bloomberg’s global network in March 2018. There, cities helped each other refine their ideas. These cities subsequently tested their ideas and submitted a more in-depth application to Bloomberg in August 2018.

“We were thrilled with the results of our pilot program and are so grateful to Bloomberg Philanthropies for awarding us another $1 million grant so we can focus on testing additional methods to further reduce the number of cars in downtown Durham by another 5 percent, or about 800 vehicles, to help change the Bull City’s mobility habits to more efficiently use existing transportation infrastructure,” Durham Mayor Steve Schewel said, per North Carolina TV station WRAL.

The winning cities and their winning projects include:

  • Denver: improving air quality by installing air pollution sensors around schools
  • Durham, N.C.: Incentivizing alternative transportation methods besides driving downtown
  • Fort Collins, Colo.: simplifying underwriting and giving landlords low-cost financing and pre-screened contractors to make housing for low-income renters safer and more energy efficient
  • Georgetown, Texas: leasing rooftop space from residents to install solar panels and battery storage to become the first energy-independent city in the US
  • Huntington, W. Va.: putting mental health professionals in emergency response departments to give first responders the best care to opioid users
  • Los Angeles: Building units of housing one residents’ property and renting them to homeless locals for a pre-determined period of time
  • New Rochelle, N.Y.: using virtual reality to present building and public space plans to citizens
  • Philadelphia: Creating new facilities to address trauma and provide resources to under-18 offenders within the justice system
  • South Bend, Ind.: partnering with ride-share companies and employers to offset transportation costs for low-income and part-time workers without reliable transport

“Our community will benefit enormously, not only from interactive tools that will help shape the most ambitious growth in our history, but also from the spirit of service and commitment to excellence that has been the hallmark of our interactions with Bloomberg Philanthropies,” said Noam Branson, mayor of winning city new Rochelle, N.Y., according to Patch.

“That’s the promise of the Mayors Challenge — that, if we give communities a boost, they will be able to implement bold ideas and tackle big problems,” said Bloomberg Philanthropies founder and former New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg, according to West Virginia Metro News.

Tags: News Smart Cities & Technology News Smart Cities & Technology Article

Most Recent


  • identity
    How decentralized identity technology can make access to government services more equitable
    Governments debate how much they should spend on public services, as witnessed by the recent debt-ceiling standoff, and by the annual budget process that plays out in every city and county. But everyone can probably agree that access to public services should be simple and equitable. Too often, though, services are difficult to consume. As […]
  • Mental health
    Survey from U.S. Conference of Mayors details mental health crisis faced by cities
    Exacerbated by the pandemic, mental health has become a key mayoral issue over the last several years. A new survey published recently by the U.S. Conference of Mayors (USMC) describes these challenges in detail.  “Mayors are sounding the alarm on the mental health crisis in the U.S.,” said Hillary Schieve, mayor of Reno, Nev., incoming […]
  • Green energy
    USDA announces $11B in green energy grants for rural utilities
    The ongoing shift to green energy doesn’t just reduce pollution and cost, it also provides job opportunities—an especially welcome boon for rural and post-industrial communities that have been left behind by digitization. But the upfront cost of installing solar arrays and wind turbines is prohibitive for cities and counties that don’t have a large taxbase. […]
  • cybersecurity
    State and Local Cybersecurity Grant Program: Where local governments must allocate funds to support the future of cybersecurity
    This past February, the Department of Homeland Security’s State and Local Cybersecurity Grant Program began to distribute funds to states with approved cybersecurity plans. For budget and resource strapped state, local and territorial governments (STLGs), these grants enable crucial cybersecurity investments to protect our nation from unprecedented cybersecurity risks and help bridge the gap between […]

Leave a comment Cancel reply

-or-

Log in with your American City and County account

Alternatively, post a comment by completing the form below:

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Related Content

  • North Texas alliance partners with Marketplace.city on smart government solutions
  • Harris County deploys next-generation security in 150 public buildings
  • Prioritizing rapid restore leads to stronger ransomware attack recovery
  • Today’s infrastructure needs greater than roads and bridges - It’s time to face our digital connectiveness

White papers


5 reasons why Plan Examiners need Objective Trapeze

30th May 2023

7 Permitting & Licensing Fails Slowing Community Growth

24th May 2023

The Secret Ingredient to Local Government Employee Retention

23rd May 2023
view all

Webinars


How to Centralize and Build a Grants Management Process at your Organization

24th May 2023

Making Permitting Easier: What We’ve Learned Helping America’s Largest Cities Improve Their Permitting Process

16th May 2023

Digital Property Tax Collection: Tales from the Trenches of Modernization

16th May 2023
view all

PODCAST


Young Leaders Episode 4 – Cyril Jefferson – City Councilman, High Point, North Carolina

13th October 2020

Young Leaders Episode 3 – Shannon Hardin – City Council President, Columbus, Ohio

27th July 2020

Young Leaders Episode 2 – Christian Williams – Development Services Planner, Goodyear, Ariz.

1st July 2020
view all

GALLERIES


10 best suburbs for city-like living

1st June 2023

Gallery: Annual index ranks America’s top performing cities; most are in the West

30th May 2023

Gallery: Top 10 American cities for seasonal and summer jobs

25th May 2023
view all

Twitter


AmerCityCounty

How decentralized identity technology can make access to government services more equitable dlvr.it/SqRHBF

9th June 2023
AmerCityCounty

Survey from U.S. Conference of Mayors details mental health crisis faced by cities dlvr.it/SqQffD

9th June 2023
AmerCityCounty

Federal government launches $11B in green energy grants for rural utilities dlvr.it/SqNFBH

8th June 2023
AmerCityCounty

State and Local Cybersecurity Grant Program: Where local governments must allocate funds to support the future of c… twitter.com/i/web/status/1…

8th June 2023
AmerCityCounty

Boston’s commuter rail system is outdated and needs an overhaul, according to advocacy report dlvr.it/SqKHmC

7th June 2023
AmerCityCounty

San Antonio-based study highlights effectiveness of urban farms dlvr.it/SqGDbh

6th June 2023
AmerCityCounty

Keeping reusable stuff out of landfills: Organization redistributes office furniture and more to nonprofits, other… twitter.com/i/web/status/1…

6th June 2023
AmerCityCounty

Report: Police response to homelessness is inherently punitive dlvr.it/SqCFwh

5th June 2023

Newsletters

Sign up for American City & County’s newsletters to receive regular news and information updates about local governments.

Resale Insights Dashboard

The Resale Insights Dashboard provides model-level data for the entire used equipment market to help you save time and money.

Municipal Cost Index

Updated monthly since 1978, our exclusive Municipal Cost Index shows the effects of inflation on the cost of providing municipal services

Media Kit and Advertising

Want to reach our digital audience? Learn more here.

DISCOVER MORE FROM INFORMA TECH

  • IWCE’s Urgent Communications
  • IWCE Expo

WORKING WITH US

  • About Us
  • Contact Us

FOLLOW American City and County ON SOCIAL

  • Privacy
  • CCPA: “Do Not Sell My Data”
  • Cookie Policy
  • Terms
Copyright © 2023 Informa PLC. Informa PLC is registered in England and Wales with company number 8860726 whose registered and Head office is 5 Howick Place, London, SW1P 1WG.