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 round session where mayors get three minutes to share a policy, program, or practice ?? that they have implemented or are working to implement. The Winter 2025 Showcase offered many great ideas for mayors to take home to their cities, from water affordability to zoning reform to new ways to inform and engage. Read on to learn more about the great ideas shared—and start implementing today → https://bit.ly/4l1GroE Photo credits ??: Jorge Amaya

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 and rising costs, the American Dream is increasingly out of reach for many. To counteract these trends, cities across the country are exploring policies that embed wealth-building opportunities within local economies, ensuring shared prosperity and long-term community resilience. At the Mayors Innovation Project 2025 Winter Meeting, Mayor Kim Norton, Nairuti Shastry, Caprichia Smith Spellman, and Mayor Victoria Woodards convened to discuss strategies to advance local wealth and opportunity as part of our Advancing Local Wealth and Opportunity panel. Read the full feature for more on innovative workforce development and economic mobility efforts being deployed in City of Richmond, Virginia; City of Rochester, MN; and City of Tacoma, WA; along with an overview of the community wealth building framework and national examples thanks to our friends at The Democracy Collaborative: bit.ly/4io2lQW Photo credits ??: Jorge Amaya

Happy Women's History Month! This month we recognize the resilience, contributions, and achievements of women around the world. The Mayors Innovation Project is honored to work with incredible women mayors across the country through our Women Mayors Network. We are grateful for their leadership and all that they do to pave the way for more equitable cities and the next generation of leaders. In celebration of Women's History Month, we are honored to feature two history makers in our network: Mayor Kate Colin, the first woman mayor of San Rafael, CA, and Mayor Donya Sartor, PhD, the first Black woman mayor of City of Jonesboro GA. We asked them what being the first means to them and how they are supporting the rights of women and girls in their communities. Check out their responses here: bit.ly/43papfT

Calling all mayors! Are you ready to make your city’s streets safer, more vibrant, and equitable for all residents? Applications are now open for the third cohort of the Mayors Institute on Pedestrian Safety. This program offers expert guidance, peer learning opportunities, and practical tools to help you implement real change in your community. Don’t miss your chance to take the lead on pedestrian safety—applications close on February 28, 2025. Visit the Mayors Innovation Project website and apply today! https://bit.ly/MIPS2025 #PedestrianSafety #SaferStreets

There's just one week left to apply for our third cohort of the Mayors Institute on Pedestrian Safety (MIPS)! ?? ??♀? ???? MIPS is a partnership between the Mayors Innovation Project, AARP Livable Communities, and Smart Growth America aimed at supporting mayors dedicated to creating safe, vibrant, and equitable communities for people of all ages, incomes, and abilities. Selected mayors will receive tools and support to make immediate safety improvements on their most dangerous streets and learn from examples of longer-term, systemic changes that address the growing issue of traffic violence. Learn more and apply by Friday, February 28th! → bit.ly/MIPS2025

As we celebrate Black History Month, The Mayors Innovation Project would like to take this opportunity to recognize all the mayors in our network who are making history as "firsts" in their communities. We are grateful and honored to work with you. Thank you for building this network with us!

There's just two more weeks to apply to our 2025 Mayors Institute on Pedestrian Safety (MIPS) cohort! MIPS is a partnership between AARP Livable Communities and Smart Growth America that provides mayors with opportunities to learn from national experts and peers about how to create safer streets for their communities. ?? ?? Apply today: https://bit.ly/MIPS2025 In our latest Member City Spotlight ??, 2024 MIPS cohort alum, Mayor Dominick Pangallo of Salem, MA shares how the City's Traffic Calming Priority Tool has helped the City improve decision making, build trust with communities, and bring safety projects to the neighborhoods that need them most. Read it here: https://lnkd.in/dijYS6CP and don't forget to apply for the Mayors Institute on Pedestrian Safety by Friday, February 28th!

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. On top of more frequent and more severe weather, the Trump administration has voiced plans to cut federal funding for disaster recovery, making flood resilience ever more important for US cities. At our 2025 Winter Meeting, we held a panel on the data, financing, and leadership tools that mayors need to plan for and implement projects to help their cities withstand and recover quickly from floods. Read the full feature for expert insights and actionable tips from panelists Shalini Vajjhala (PRE Collective), Mayor Ravinder Bhalla (City of Hoboken, NJ), and Andrea Limauro (Washington, D.C.) ?? bit.ly/4hN0F3i

Join MIP and Inclusive Prosperity Capital at 12pm CT Monday, Feb. 10th to learn more about the Municipal Investment Fund, an opportunity from ICLEI and the Coalition for Green Capital! This opportunity aims to support public-private partnerships to accelerate clean energy projects. On our webinar, we’ll cover the basic elements of the application, allowable projects, and potential partners to enhance your application. We’ll also answer your questions and encourage a discussion of promising project types. Register today ?? https://bit.ly/4101G2m!

As President Trump’s deportation plans begin to take shape, refugee and immigrant communities across the country face fear and uncertainty. Of the 30+ executive orders signed in the first week, ten are aimed at clamping down on immigration and ramping up fast-track deportation efforts.?At the 2025 Mayor’s Innovation Project (MIP) winter meeting in Washington D.C., MIP talked with mayors from across the country as well as to national experts from Welcoming America and The Immigration Hub. We discussed the benefits of cities creating welcoming and inclusive communities and what the likely impact of the new administration’s impending policies means for refugees and immigrant communities. This work is a moving target and moving fast. Our latest article shares five timely recommendations for what cities and local leaders can do right now to dispel fear and promote a culture of welcoming. Read it on our website → https://lnkd.in/duN5D8jG