Livability Rankings

Photo by Flickr user James

Livability has become a proxy for the sum of a wide variety of  factors that result in a high quality of life that cities must offer to be competitive in the 21st century. As one of many rankings notes, livability means  a great city in which to live, work, play, visit, and explore. Another ranking notes that if a city is livable for its children and its elders, it is livable for all. While livability  means different things to different people, most rankings and indicators focus on a mix of some or all  of the following elements:  the built and natural environments, arts and culture, health, equitable and affordable housing, connectivity including infrastructure, diverse transportation choices and walkability, economic opportunity and competitiveness, social equity, and core public services such as safe and clean streets, good schools, and fast commutes.  Concepts such as happiness, vibrancy, resilience, and sustainability are often considered essential elements of livability. Our 2010 Livability Challenge in Indianapolis focused on making beauty, in the form of art, good design, and nature available to all of a city’s citizens.

Our most recent blog post highlights some of the rankings and lists that have been created for examining the livability of these cities. Read to find out more!

Why Downtowns Matter

Photo by Steven Depolo

Our President and CEO, Lee Fisher, recently spoke at the launch of Indianapolis Downtown’s Velocity Plan. He offered his thoughts to the Indianapolis Star on the city’s yearlong strategic planning process intended to creative a new vision for Downtown Indianapolis—and the direction the city is headed. Click to read why Lee thinks Indianapolis is not only on the right track, but can serve as a model for a vibrant, livable city.

A Chicago Park Learns from New York's High Line 

Photo via Next City

This Next City Article discusses New York's popular elevated linear park, and how many cities are now taking their lead and transforming rusty train track corridors into something a bit more valuable. The train tracks offer the additional bonus of providing a continuous, typically flat, greenspace that can be seen from taller buildings alongside it. City leaders are preparing themselves for this highly encouraged space to take new forms.

The world's best cities for quality of life

Mercer Consulting published the 2012 survey results of their Quality of Living Survey, which ranks cities from around the world on the "Quality of Living." Six European countries typically fight for the top nominations annually-- this time Vienna coming in first. There are 39 categories in the Quality of Living standard that range from mail services to traffic congestion. The United States' highest ranked cities are Honolulu at 28th, San Francisco at 29th, and Boston at 35th.

More Reading on Livability in America: 

• The Best Complete Streets Policies of 2012: Smart Growth America seeks to highlight the success stories of American cities pertaining to the improvement of road safety-- discussing unique approaches to planning, such as comprehensive language for street laws.

• A Missionary’s Quest to Remake Motor City: The New Yok Times writes about the ambitious plan of Dan Gilbert, Founder and Chairman of Quicken Loans-- who seeks to reinvent two blocks of central downtown Detroit. Complete with mixed-use residential development and light rail, the recently purchased 1 million square-foot site hopes to realize an amazing vision for downtown Detroit. 

• The Problem With Calling Cities 'Post-Industrial':  The Atlantic Cities writes on the topic of the term "post-industrial," and its incongruity in describing cities specifically. Former Milwaukee Mayor John Norquist reverberates the message that industry is alive and well in America, and offers up a potential new term for post-industrial cities that would be more accurate for everyone.

Lee Kuan Yew World City Prize

The Lee Kuan New World City Prize encourages good leadership throughout the world-- highlighting master-plan strategies, successful program implementation, and overall urban transformation. The contest and prize is accessible for all countries, and last year's honorable mentions include the Bus Rapid Transit System (BRTS) in Ahmedabad and a safety strategy for South Africa called Violence Prevention through Urban Upgrading (VPUU). The application process asks for two recommendations, a short essay, and a report with multi-platformed options. The 2012 award went to New York City for their hard work over the last ten years sustaining a sense of community after 9-11, with the strategy PlaNYC.

Announcing the 2013 CEOs for Cities National Meeting in Grand Rapids, Michigan!

Our 2013 National Meeting will be held September 29-October 1 in Grand Rapids, Michigan. Our annual conference will focus on exploring the intersections of art, design, talent, and place with the private, public, nonprofit, and philanthropic sectors to achieve city success. 

We’re particularly excited that our meeting will be held during ArtPrize, the internationally acclaimed art competition that Time Magazine recently listed in its “Five Festive Events You Won’t Want to Miss in 2013.” The only one listed in the United States was ArtPrize in Grand Rapids!

Here is an excerpt:

The world’s most lucrative art competition isn’t in New York City or Hong Kong but in Grand Rapids ……. Founded in 2009 by Rick DeVos — heir to the Amway fortune — the annual ArtPrize (Sept. 18 to Oct. 6) will distribute some $560,000 to its 2013 winners, chosen by both a professional jury and the votes of the more than 400,000 visitors who will arrive to view the work. The prize money is the largest of its kind in the world, but ArtPrize’s real difference isn’t cash. It’s the event’s “unusual and daring ability to completely democratize the process of artistic judgment,” says 2011 judge Noit Banai. “Whether one agrees or disagrees with the grand public’s choice, the process empowers ordinary people to be the sole judge of value.”

Here is how to register for the CEOs for Cities 2013 National Meeting:

Registration page:  www.ceosforcities.org/register 

Event page: www.ceosforcities.org/grandrapids

Hotel Accommodations:  CEOs for Cities has secured a discounted room rate of $164/night at the JW Marriott in Grand Rapids.  You can make your reservation now by calling 1-877-901-6632 and mentioning CEOs for Cities, or booking your room online through this link: Hotel Link.

This connection to Grand Rapids’ ArtPrize is just one piece of an incredible array of speakers and sessions you’ll be sure to want to see.  More info to come soon…

Three Great Speakers in Grand Rapids

Tony Hsieh, CEO of Zappos, Philadelphia Mayor Michael Nutter, and Bruce Katz of the Brookings Institution and author of a new book on the importance of cities and metro regions, are three of the many great speakers who will share their insights and ideas at the National meeting. We will be announcing more speakers in the coming weeks.  Read below to find out  more about these compelling thought leaders and get a taste of what you'll be hearing about!

Tony Hsieh

You may know Tony Hsieh as the great internet entrepreneur and venture capitalist who is now CEO of Zappos.com and the author of the bestselling book Delivering Happiness: A Path to Profits, Passion, and Purpose. Tony has proved himself to be a great businessman—but he has also made waves by strategically investing in the city of Las Vegas. Plans to infuse the fabric of Las Vegas with a robust transportation sharing system will include not only the traditional bikes and buses, but also a fleet of brand new Teslas. Read the links below to find out more about his exciting and innovative Downtown Project and community experience.

Tony Hsieh’s Plan To Reinvent Vegas Transportation With Electric Cars

Tony Hsieh's new $350 million startup

Zappos CEO envisions a new community downtown

Image via Inc.

Philadelphia Mayor Michael Nutter

Recently re-elected to his second term as Mayor of his hometown, Michael A. Nutter has set an aggressive agenda for America’s fifth largest city – devising the City’s innovative school reform strategy, vowing to strengthen community policing through Philly Rising, a unique partnership between vulnerable neighborhoods and the City, and continuing to implement the nationally recognized GreenWorks Philadelphia initiative that is helping to make the City of Philadelphia become the greenest city in America. His extraordinary leadership has been recognized nationally, and he serves as the President of the U.S. Conference of Mayors. He also recently joined the Board of CEOs for Cities.

Click the links below to find out more about some of the initiatives Mayor Nutter is driving and great work being done in Philadelphia: 

Green Infrastructure as Parks: How Need, Design, and Technology Can Make Cities Better

How Philadelphia is leading in energy innovation

The Brotherly Parkway

Bruce Katz

Bruce J. Katz is a vice president at the Brookings Institution and founding director of the Brookings Metropolitan Policy Program. He is also co-author of a new book, The Metropolitan Revolution (Brookings Press, 2013), a distillation of his work on the emerging metropolitan-led "next economy" and its practitioners around the country working to produce more and better jobs driven by innovation, exports and sustainability. Click the links below to read a few samples of Bruce's groundbreaking work. 

Innovations To Watch

Mastering the Metro

U.S. Manufacturing's Next Phase

Image via Washington State Housing Finance Commission

Lightning Round at the CEOs for Cities Grand Rapids National Meeting

The CEOs for Cities 2013 National Meeting in Grand Rapids will once again feature the very successful “Lightning Round” session based off of Pecha Kucha style presentations. Lightning Round presentations will focus on “The Art of the Collaborative City,” with a focus on the intersection of art, design, talent, and place; and the intersection of the public, private, nonprofit, and philanthropic sectors for city success. The presentations must be short (~7 minutes) and compelling.

Please note: Lightning Round speakers must be from a current CEOs for Cities City Cluster or a new City Cluster that will be formed by June 30, 2013.

If you are interested in speaking during the Lighting Round session, please submit your proposal to Jeannette Thompson (jthompson@ceosforcities.org) by Friday, May 24. 1-2 paragraphs is sufficient, and, if possible, we would appreciate video links to one or more presentations that you have done.

The Art of Collaboration in Downtown Grand Rapids

Image via FastCompany

Our work environments have gone through hefty evolution over the last few decades, but GRid70 is putting Grand Rapids on the map for being “the world’s largest experiment in company-to-company coworking”—as FastCompany explores in their piece Coworking Spaces from Grind to GRid70 Help Employees Work Beyond the Cube. The article discusses why top corporations are increasingly sharing spaces, and what makes them successful. And it’s one more reason why we’re holding our National Meeting in Grand Rapids!

City Disrupters

Lee Fisher's (our President and CEO) latest blog post explores how-- and just as importantly--where change happens in today's world. It highlights some of the "City Disrupters," a term that Lee has coined in the past year, that drive energy and action in our cities, demonstrating that while our federal legislative leadership may be faltering to guide us to success, there are individuals making it happen right on the ground in our cities. 

Urban Influencers: Six Women Making Things Happen in Cities

Images via Citiwire

Speaking of City Disrupters, this article in Citiwire features six amazing women who are making things happen throughout our country's cities-- in areas from civic engagement to sustainable practices, transportation to urban design and architecture. Read and be inspired! 

Downtowns: What's Behind America's Most Surprising Real Estate Boom

Image via Forbes

Where are the country's cutting-edge downtowns popping up? This article published in Forbes gives us 15 examples, and features some quotes from President and CEO, Lee Fisher-- explaining the driving forces of growth and revitalization in America's downtown nieghborhoods. 

CEOs for Cities Summer Intern Program

CEOs for Cities is currently seeking City Success and City Design Summer Interns for our Cleveland and Chicago Offices. If you are passionate about changing the world and have experience with research, design, marketing, writing, and/or editing, we would love to have you on our team. For more information on our internship opportunities, click here. 

Interested? Apply here. We look forward to a great summer! 

The NextGen Speaker Contest

Are you working on an innovative project at your agency? Got a great idea to revolutionize government?

This is your chance to share your 5-minute story in front of 650+ government leaders and share the stage with Obama appointees, current Mayors, and CEOs as one of 5 lightening speakers at the Next Generation of Government Training Summit.

The NextGen Speaker Contest submission process is easy - just email nextgen@govloop.com with subject line "NextGen Contest" with:

• Name and agency

• Title of Talk

• 150-200 word essay on why you should be chosen

They will be accepting submissions through April 15th and finalists will be announced shortly after.

Submit Your Idea Now

Job Opportunity - Innovation Analyst

The San Fransisco Mayor's Office of Civic Innovation is looking for a Rockstar Innovation Analyst to support TechSF, a pioneering workforce training initiative to train & place 2,500 San Francisco residents in high technology jobs.

Position Description:

The Innovation Analyst will evaluate, develop, and implement sustainable innovation strategy and programs in general, and workforce development programs specifically. This position is funded through a Department of Labor Grant. You will sit within the Mayor’s Office of Civic Innovation (MOCI) and report directly to the City's Chief Innovation Officer, Jay Nath, while acting as a liaison between MOCI and the Office of Economic Development & Workforce Development (OEWD) where you will evaluate, develop and implement programs that apply innovation methods (such as OpenGov, agile and user-centered design) to workforce development challenges.

Essential functions:

• Create and provide support for MOCI and OEWD programs

• Apply innovation practices to economic and workforce development challenges

• Develop and manage external and internal partnerships to enhance MOCI’s core capabilities

• Lead large-scale projects that involve multiple stakeholders including City agencies and external partners (private sector and non-profits)

• Deploy large-scale technical systems

• Manage and track project deadlines and schedules

• Assist with the development of strategic documents including business plans, grant proposals and partnership proposals

• Manage stakeholder communication and expectations

Ideal candidate:

The ideal candidate will possess a unique blend of business and technical savvy, a big-picture vision and the drive to make that vision a reality. S/he will be a self-starter with a desire to excel at creating outcomes in a short period of time.

To apply, please visit innovatesf.com.

The Civic Data Challenge

The Civic Data Challenge will be officially launching at the Data Visualization Summit in San Francisco on Thursday, April 11 at 2PM Pacific/ 5pm Eastern. The Civic Data Challenge turns the raw data of ‘civic health’ into useful applications and visualizations that have direct impact on public decision-making. This year, the Challenge begins with the Ideation phase. We're calling upon partners and participants to submit an idea for an app or visualization that can be informed by civic data and used to improve a community's civic health. For more information, please visit www.CivicDataChallenge.org for more information.

Interactive Mapping: Tools for Building Community

The growth and popularity of Geographic Information Systems (GIS) has led to growth in map availability because of its continued ease of use. Our recent blog post explores some of the tools currently available, and how interactive mapping can increase the efficiency and efficacy of community engagement.

The Value of Visuals

Photo via Better! Cities and Towns

Visual representations have provided leaders with the information they need to make informed decisions. Historically city planners have followed these visual layouts into life in many scenarios. This post in Better! Cities and Towns explores how planners and political leaders both benefit from the ability to demonstrate their ideas to constituents, ideally to gain support and clarity.

“Millennials” Play a Central Role in our Nation’s Civic Health, but Who are They?

Photo via Millennial Civic Health Index Report

The recently released Millennial Civic Health Index provides an analysis of the role the Millennial Generation, aged 18-29, will play in their communities. The report claims there is a very strong link to the generations’ civic engagement and social causes. It is also emphasized that this last election cycle will not be the last time we hear from this “key demographic.”

Visualization for Civic Engagement

The following articles address the use of visual technologies for engaging citizens in the planning and design of cities. Enjoy! 

• Using Civic Tech to Increase the Engagement of Low-Income Communities: This article published by Living Cities debates technology’s ability to integrate low-income citizens into local government processes. The role of civic apps will be one of many tech tools to strengthen civic engagement.

• A Two-Wheeled Approach to Civic Engagement: This article from Citiwire promotes the idea of “rolling town halls” to attract more people to city meetings and ergo the democratic process. As the younger generation favors alternatives to transportation, this “rolling town hall” will ensure a diverse compilation of voices advocating city life.

• SimCity vs. The Suburban Sprawl: Norman Chan explores the concept of suburban sprawl as it relates to the city planning simulation game, SimCity. Many of the previous game features were carried over from previous editions, though new tweaks attempt to balance zoning, street layout, and population factors.

GOOD Ideas for Cities Toolkit

GOOD and CEOs for Cities worked in partnership with a generous grant from ArtPlace to publish a toolkit that will allow anyone who wants to make a difference in their community to launch a GOOD Ideas for Cities initiative locally. Click here or above to download and start making a difference in your city!

2014 Code for America Fellowship

The deadline is approaching for local governments to apply for the 2014 Code for America fellowship, a year long program focused on civic collaboration and innovation. The Fellowship partners talented teams of developers, designers, and entrepreneurs with change agents from local governments to address a range of civic challenges through technology. Benefits to participation include:

• Products & interfaces that are simple, beautiful and easy to use
• Past applications such as BlightStatus, a transparency tool for abandoned housing in New Orleans; Textizen, an SMS-based citizen engagement tool; and 311 Service Tracker, a realtime issue-request monitoring platform.
• Catalyst for innovation & civic engagement
• Through fellowship engagements, cities have developed departments of innovation and created new positions/roles focused on leveraging technology for innovation
• National leadership in the emerging civic technology ecosystem
• Cities gain access to a national repository of tools created by the fellows in the past from dozens of cities and connect with other forward thinking cities for collaboration and resource sharing

City representatives can apply online now. The application deadline is March 31st, 2013:

http://codeforamerica.org/cities/

Know of another city doing great things? Let us know--we'll be sure to reach out to them: cityrecruitment@codeforamerica.org.

Dealing with Dichotomies: Toward Understanding

Photo via Lanpernas Dospuntotzero

Oppositional categories have been in existence throughout all of history: dark vs. light, good vs. evil, male vs. female. In today's world we find many others that cause tension and conflict in ways that drastically affect our cities- from the great political divide to the hotly contested question of density. Our most recent blog post examines the root of all dichotomy, self vs. other, and how breaking down barriers can lead to healthier, more functional cities.

Balancing the New Old American City

Photo via Flickr User Soupstance

As economic and policy shifts increase the base of renters in the U.S., neighborhoods must find ways to engage a more transient population and strengthen the stability. This post on our blog examines some of the ways to strike this balance and foster investment in the future of neighborhoods.

Creating Hipsturbia

Image via the New York Times

This New York Times article had many people buzzing about the shift of Brooklyn-ites into NYC suburbs- but the article is interesting in that it shows the boundaries of suburb and creative city being complicated and fuzzy. In fact, it demonstrates both the suburbanization of the creative class and the "hipsterfication" of the suburbs, ultimately calling attention to the imperfect nature of both.

On the Edge

When we break down walls we simultaneously rethink our perceptions. These articles all speak to pushing limits and striking balance when approaching planning.

• For walkable cities, it's about finding the right kind of density: This article in Better! Cities and Towns explores the idea of substituting the word "walkable" for "dense" in order to get at the essence of what makes the built environment better. 

• Evolution in Senior Housing: This piece from the American Architectural Foundation explores how the design of senior housing has changed over the years, and how breaking down the barriers between daily living and healthcare can shift the medical model and strengthen communities.

• Sheltering the World: Social Housing Models: The visual difference between public and market-rate housing has historically been quite stark, but design is enabling differences to be resolved and stigma to be diminished, according to this piece on Architectural Record.

City Hall Fellows

We encourage all graduating college seniors and recent college graduates (Class of 2010 or later) to check out this unique, paid, year-long opportunity to learn and serve in San Francisco. The City Hall Fellows is a non-partisan nonprofit training the next generation of leaders for America's cities. The 12-month, paid, post-college Fellowship integrates hands-on experience working within the highest levels of local government with intensive training in how cities work. It is open to graduates of all majors. A detailed overview of the Fellowship, as well as application materials and instructions, can be found at www.cityhallfellows.org. The application deadline for the next cohort is March 14, 2013, and the Fellowship year will run August through July.

The Built Environment in 2013

Photo via UrbanGrammar

Our policies and preferences throughout the planning world certainly make their mark in terms of quality of life, but also shape our communities in very real, physical ways. This post on Urban Times explores some of the ways that recent planning trends have started to translate into urban design.

Transit-Oriented Development in Cleveland's Urban Core

Photo via Institute for the Institute for Transportation and Development Policy (ITDP)

Transportation has always been an important element in the design and feel of our communities. We see many cities shifting from auto-dominated design to communities that promote alternative forms of transportation and lifestyle-- and Cleveland has demonstrated its commitment to using Transit Oriented Development as one vehicle for revitalization and economic development, as this post on our blog explores.

Density vs. Livability in the World's Biggest Cities

Photo via The Atlantic Cities

The role of high-rise buildings in the future of our built environment is an interesting one to explore, as this article in the Atlantic Cities did. Richard Florida investigates the question of whether high-rises are a great way to meet density needs (spurring human interaction), or if they are isolating environments that block the view. With constant emphasis on mixed-use neighborhoods, it seems that we have a need for balancing the demands of density with the pursuit of greener, cleaner neighborhoods that encourage interaction.

Talking Design

Here are a few of the articles we've been reading this week on the topic of art and design. We hope you enjoy!

• When Design Isn’t Design: An Interview with John Onken: This interview in Next City explores the concept of form vs. function, and how one artist feels that design should span beyond the general concept of "problem-solving." 

• How Does a City Known for Art and Design Turn Itself Into a Tech Hub?: Our Cluster City Miami has been going through a creative renaissance, covered in this piece in The Atlantic Cities examining the connection between design, technology, and revitalization. 

• Why We Love Beautiful Things: This piece in the New York Times examines why it is we are all drawn to good design-- from an interesting neurological perspective.  

Economic Development and Workforce Development Alignment Strategies: Working as a Community

March 1, 2013, 2:30pm ET

Register Here. 

Description: This webinar will highlight how economic development and workforce development efforts are not only complimentary, but must be linked in order for communities and their economies to grow. The Council for Adult and Experiential Learning (CAEL) will provide examples of work conducted with our economic analysis partner, Avalanche Consulting, across the country to assess regional skills development assets and align learning opportunities with growing and high-potential industry sectors. While each community’s economy and economic development aspirations are unique, CAEL will share how communities can make the most of their schools, training programs and partnerships to increase job opportunities for its citizens while addressing businesses workforce needs. The session will showcase the JAXUSA Partnership -  Jacksonville and Northeast Florida's regional economic development initiative. JAXUSA is a private, nonprofit division of the JAX Chamber. Webinar Speakers:  JAXUSA Partnership, Avalanche Consulting

Save the Date! CEOs for Cities 2013 National Meeting: Grand Rapids

It's that time again-- CEOs for Cities is preparing for our next National Meeting. This year, the event will be held in Grand Rapids, MI during its famed ArtPrize event, which draws thousands from all over the world, every year. Mark your calendars for September 29-October 1. More details will be coming soon! 

Matchmaking for Good: Crowdsourcing and Revitalization

Photo via Jason Paris

Cupid isn't the only one working to bring people together. Indeed, there are several platforms and services all over the world trying to do just that. Storefront links startups to retail space owners with short term leases. Our own Change By Us connects citizens with city leaders and with each other to tackle valuable projects. Lauren Sinreich is a cofounder of ArtHERE-- a service that connects artists with space owners looking for a creative edge in the name of revitalization. She shares on our blog the importance of matchmaking in today's world for creating connections and strengthening our sense of place. 

City Valentines

If cities gave out Valentines, what would they say? We took a quick stab at it-- so you can share or give them to the thought leaders and city advocates in your life! What would your City Valentine say? Tweet us with the hashtag #CityValentine or post on our Facebook timeline and we'll pick one to create and post on our blog tomorrow! 

Indianapolis's Non-Profits Move In Together

Photo via Atlantic Cities

What happens when nonprofits find each other and couple up? According to this piece in the Atlantic Cities, the west wing of the Indianapolis City Market was revitalized. Now dubbed the Platform, a building previously considered for demolition now houses a winter farmers market and space for public officials and nonprofit leaders to network and collaborate. 

Cities Showing Love

Though we all enjoy expressing our feelings on Valentine's Day, cities express their love daily through the actions of the amazing individuals within them. When we work together and collaborate as a team, the sparks really can fly! Here are some examples of the great work being done in some of our Cluster Cities. 

• Miami, FL: Our Miami looks at key drivers of people choosing to live in Miami. Give Miami Day is an event raising money for area nonprofits, and has experienced amazing success--  raising $1,239,362!

• Detroit, MI: The Detroit Revitalization Fellows Program works to advance the renewal of Detroit-- and build upon ongoing achievements. It is currently looking for committed young men and women to drive its mission and continue its success. 

• Milwaukee, WI: This city was recently featured in the 10 Coolest Cities in the Midwest for having the largest music festival in the country. The city is also fortunate to have an urban river land trust working to use natural water resources to revitalize the city, establishing infrastructure for public access, walkways, recreation, and educational opportunities along its three rivers. 

The Ten Coolest Cities in the Midwest

Image via MSN

America’s heartland has made incredible strides in overcoming economic, social, and environmental challenges in decades past. This piece published on MSN outlines what they feel are the ten coolest cities in the Midwest. CEOs for Cities is proud to see two of our home bases (Cleveland and Chicago) represented!

IBM Smarter Cities Challenge

Image via IBM

In November of 2012, IBM convened over 150 city leaders, thought leaders, and experts to the Smarter Cities Challenge to cover a wide range of key topics relevant to urban communities throughout the world-- including transportation, economic development, sustainability, and citizen participation. Lee Fisher, our President and CEO, participated in the summit, but for those of us that were unable to attend, IBM has posted highlights and complete recordings of the speeches and panels at the event. We urge you to watch the videos, and be inspired to make our cities a better place. 

Vacant Lots: Then and Now

Photo by Elizabeth Feely via Urban Omnibus

While vacant lots remain a very serious problem all over the country, it is inspiring to visually articulate some of the progress that has occurred over the course of the last few decades. This piece in Urban Omnibus follows a project started in 1987 by the Architectural League and the New York City Department of Housing Presearvation and Development (HPD). This landmark design study that identified vacant lots throughout the city and invited architects to propose designs for the sites to demonstrate the potential for infill housing development. The article explains the process beautifully, and also provides a set of before/after shots that give a visual punch to the concept and the impact this development has made. 

In Planning: Who Should Win? 

There have been many articles published recently on the tension between talent-driven urbanism and equity planning. It has been interesting to read the thoughts of so many great authors, but we feel strongly that the "winner" of planning efforts should always be the same: everyone! Complete communities have a diverse set of individuals, with differing interests, lifestyles, and family compositions-- and good planning should simply create more vibrant, livable neighborhoods for current and future residents. That's something we can all agree on, but we've included a few pieces that have spurred a little discussion and a whole lot of thought. What do you think about the points that have been made? 

• Cities for All: No Skipping Generations: This article published in Citiwire examines the importance of looking at a larger picture when deciding ultimately who cities are "for." 

• Opportunity is Local (Or: You Can’t Buy a New Economy): This piece from the Project for Public Placemaking delves deeper into the tension between common perceptions of placemaking and talent attraction. 

• More Losers Than Winners in America's New Economic Geography: Richard Florida takes a look at the financial impact of talent clustering in today's cities in this piece from the Atlantic Cities. 

Webinar-- Economic Development and Workforce Development Alignment Strategies: Working as a Community

Hosted by the Council for Adult and Experiential Learning (CAEL)
March 1, 2013, 2:30pm ET

Register for the webinar

Description: This webinar will highlight how economic development and workforce development efforts are not only complimentary, but must be linked in order for communities and their economies to grow. CAEL will provide examples of work conducted with our economic analysis partner, Avalanche Consulting, across the country to assess regional skills development assets and align learning opportunities with growing and high-potential industry sectors. While each community’s economy and economic development aspirations are unique, CAEL will share how communities can make the most of their schools, training programs and partnerships to increase job opportunities for its citizens while addressing businesses workforce needs. The session will showcase the JAXUSA Partnership -  Jacksonville and Northeast Florida's regional economic development initiative. JAXUSA is a private, nonprofit division of the JAX Chamber. 

Webinar Speakers:  JAXUSA Partnership, Avalanche Consulting

How Design Thinking Could Help Solve the Skills Gap

Image via GOOD

Addressing the skills gap prevalent throughout our country is a complex issue-- and this article on GOOD explores the idea of approaching it from the perspective of the designer, using three general tools: analogous thinking, looking to extremes, and keeping the human experience in mind in order to understand what really matters to stakeholders. 

Colleges realign programs to meet employers' needs

Photo via SMB College

This article published in Community College Times explores the efforts of two-year colleges throughout the country working to align their educational programs more closely with employer demand in the local economy, highlighting a report put out by the American Association of Community Colleges’ 21st-Century Commission on the Future of Community Colleges. The article outlines three programs in particular leading the charge to increase job placement success among graduates. 

Education to employment: Designing a System that Works

Image via McKinsey

Though the value of a college education is abolutely vital for success in today's economy, joblessness among college graduates remains a serious problem. This report from McKinsey investigates causes and solutions to a widening skills gap, using research with 8,000 stakeholders, including two examples of successful organizations addressing the transition from education to employment. 

ReThinking Manufacturing in the New Economy

The manufacturing industry has faced some dramatic changes in the last few decades, affecting both the national and global economy. The following articles explore some of the issues being faced regarding this quickly evolving industry, and how we might begin addressing them. 

• Confronting the U.S. Advanced Manufacturing Skills Gap: This article published in The American examines the severity of the American skills gap as it applies to advanced manufacturing, and provides a forecast of the challenges ahead. 
• Chinese Graduates Say No Thanks to Factory Jobs: America isn't the only country facing a shortage of manufacturing workers, as this piece in the New York Times illustrates. The changing educational landscape in China has created  a cultural change in employment preferences that have left the country with a widening gap. 
• Washington must focus on growth: In this article on CNN, Bruce Katz and Mark Muro of the Brookings Institutiongive offer their thoughts on addressing the "jobs deficit" currently found in the United States, focusing on the need for Washington to increase investment in advanced industry sectors of the economy. 

Upcoming Webinar: Municipal Leadership for Local Postsecondary Completion Initiatives

Hosted by the National League of Cities
February 1, 2013, 2:30pm ET

Register for the Webinar

Assessing starting points and gauging progress regarding postsecondary completion goals entails sharing data. School districts, community colleges, and four-year institutions, and city planning departments charged with digesting census data all bring key data to the table. Sources such as the National Student Clearinghouse, to which districts and colleges may belong, also play important roles. Representatives of Dayton, Ohio and one other Communities Learning in Partnership (CLIP) site will describe how they’ve successfully shared data and reflect on data sharing lessons learned.

Brain Gain in San Antonio

Photo via Stuart Seeger

Throughout the country, cities aim to attract one demographic with many names: young professionals, Millennials, recent graduates, twenty-somethings.  In this article in the Texas CEO Magazine, economic geographer Jim Russell discusses how and why San Antonio is succeeding in bringing 25-year-olds and older with at least a four-year degree into its urban core.  Russell says that there are five cities paving the way to a focused talent economy: four in Texas (including San Antonio), and Pittsburgh.  Prior to 2008, San Antonio barely made the list of top metros attracting college-educated talent; however, after 2008 the city showed up as number four.  This jump in talent attraction may stem from San Antonio's shift from a manufacturing economy to an innovation economy, similar to that of Silicon Valley.  Additionally, successful twenty-somethings who moved to Chicago or New York after graduating from college are looking for something else--a place to call home.  But rather than moving to the suburbs, they look for neighborhoods in their home city that resemble Brooklyn or D.C., and they find them downtown.  In addition to this article, you can watch Russell participate in a panel discussion on the San Antonio brain gain.

Building a Framework for the Future Detroit

Image via Detroit Works Project

On Wednesday, January 16, the Detroit Works Long-Term Planning team unveiled their framework for the future of the city, titled "Detroit Future City."  The 347-page report focuses predominately on Detroit's assets rather than its liabilities, and includes factors sometimes seen as negative aspects, such as vacant land, as potential assets that could help improve the city.  The report compiles data and perspectives gathered through over 30,000 conversations and 70,000 survey responses.  And while the final product exists in text form, it has also been made into a beautiful website which can be easily accessed and understood.  Although the information has been released, an article released by the Detroit Free Press suggests that the hardest part, gathering support for the proposals, is still to come.  However, Heaster Wheeler, assistant CEO of Wayne County said "we're not going away…until we win."

Top 10 State and Metropolitan Innovations to Watch

Image via Brookings Institute

A list of innovative solutions to look out for in 2013 has been compiled by the Brookings-Rockefeller Project on State and Metropolitan Innovation, giving us a glimpse into the potential seen throughout the country. The collection, embedded in an interactive infographic posted on the Brookings Institute website, lays out the accomplishments and thought leaders tackling issues revolving around economic development, exports, innovation, carbon emissions, opportunity, and governance. 

Big, Smart Touch Screens Zing Data To, From Neighborhoods

Image via Citiwire

An article published in Citiwire explains how New York City is getting wired- or rather outfitted with a set of high-def touch screen display kiosks offering residents and visitors valuable information and a two-way communication mechanism with city emergency services. The project is being pushed forward as a partnership between entrepreneurial firm City24/7 and global technology systems developer Cisco. Though the project is springboarding in New York, the kiosks will soon find their way to a wider host of cities both in U.S. and globally-- including London, Los Angeles, Boston, Philadelphia, Seattle, and San Fransisco. 

Strategies for City Success Webinar: Municipal Leadership for Local Postsecondary Completion Initiatives

Hosted by the National League of Cities
February 1, 2013, 2:30pm ET

Assessing starting points and gauging progress regarding postsecondary completion goals entails sharing data. School districts, community colleges, and four-year institutions, and city planning departments charged with digesting census data all bring key data to the table. Sources such as the National Student Clearinghouse, to which districts and colleges may belong, also play important roles. Representatives of Dayton, Ohio and one other Communities Learning in Partnership site will describe how they’ve successfully shared data and reflect on data sharing lessons learned.

Register for the Webinar

Learning and Planning for the Future: The Talent Dividend

If you've been following #talentdividend on Twitter, you know that every day more and more people become convinced of the economic value of higher education. So as more people wake up to the potential of the Talent Dividend, what's next for the project and the competition in 2013? What have we learned so far about what works? And what are the most exciting experiments happening around the country? Mark your calendars and join us for a live chat on the Civic Commons with Talent Dividend National Director Noel Harmon on January 29th from 2-3pm EST, moderated by Dan Moulthrop of The Civic Commons. Visit the Talent Dividend Network for more information. Login instructions will be posted soon! 

New Year Resolutions: The City Edition 

Photo via Sean MacEntee

If your city had a voice, what would it choose as its New Years Resolution?  As we make our way steadily into 2013, we encourage you to explore new ideas for making your city succeed.  We've compiled a few, but would love to hear others on our Facebook or Twitter pages.

• Share more ideas: Pecha Kucha nights have popped up in hundreds of cities around the world.  At these events, local speakers give six-minute-fourty-second presentations about a topic of their choice.  It could be about their work as a National Geographic photographer to their process of creating thousands of paper cranes.  What a better way to know about the talent in your city than to hear about it from the source?  Find out if your city has any upcoming events here. 

• Think outside the bench: Bringing life to public spaces may take more than a bench or a tree.  In 2008, Rebar Group in San Francisco came up with Bushwaffle: modular, inflatable street furniture for creative and comfortable use.  Whether or not these inflatables are a fit for your city, the stories behind them will inspire creative thinking.

• Follow the people: In many cities, getting people to use public transit is an uphill battle.  But what if public transportation offered the same convenience of using your car, but with less traffic and no stopping.  Magic!  This article in The Atlantic Cities talks about the potential of Personal Rapid Transit (PRT).  Heathrow Airport in the U.K. has installed a PRT system, and while it would be unreasonable to install a similar system in a large city, it has great potential in small or medium-sized communities around the world.

Call for Abstracts: Delft Conference on Using ICT, Social Media and Mobile Technologies to Foster Self-Organisation in Urban and Neighbourhood Governance

Lee Fisher, the President and CEO of CEOs for Cities, will be speaking about Change By Us this May at a conference in the Netherlands.  In addition to showcasing the work of three other keynotes, the conference organizers are looking for paper abstracts from people working to use technology to better connect people within an urban environment.  Find more information about the conference here, and if you would like to submit an abstract, click here.  The deadline for submission is January 29, 2013.

Strategies for City Success Webinar: Municipal Leadership for Local Postsecondary Completion Initiatives

Hosted by the National League of Cities
February 1, 2013, 2:30pm ET

Assessing starting points and gauging progress regarding postsecondary completion goals entails sharing data. School districts, community colleges, and four-year institutions, and city planning departments charged with digesting census data all bring key data to the table. Sources such as the National Student Clearinghouse, to which districts and colleges may belong, also play important roles. Representatives of Dayton, Ohio and one other CLIP site will describe how they’ve successfully shared data and reflect on data sharing lessons learned.

Register for the Webinar

Learning and Planning for the Future: The Talent Dividend

If you've been following #talentdividend on Twitter, you know that every day more and more people become convinced of the economic value of higher education. So as more people wake up to the potential of the Talent Dividend, what's next for the project and the competition in 2013? What have we learned so far about what works? And what are the most exciting experiments happening around the country? Mark your calendars and join us for a live chat on the Civic Commons with Talent Dividend National Director Noel Harmon on January 29th from 2-3pm EST, moderated by Dan Moulthrop of The Civic Commons. Visit the Talent Dividend Network for more information. Login instructions will be posted soon! 

Winner Announced! 

Congrats to Twitter User @TweetinTams for winning last week's competition, seeking out great #CityIdeas from around the globe: 

As promised, a copy of our City Vitals 2.0 Report will be given to the winner. The rest of the entries will be included in a collection of great ideas, which will be coming soon! We'd like to thank everyone who sent an idea, and hope you all look out for additional contests and opportunities to win prizes in the near future! 

Visualizing the Global City

Image via Per Square Mile

The world is changing. Our populations are growing, people are moving around, and we're experiencing many different conversations about the ways in which they should change. Our most recent blog post provides three different examples for visualizing data and the ways our planet is evolving. 

Nine City-Building Projects to Watch for in 2013

Image via Urban Times

This article featured on Urban Times covers nine projects across the globe scheduled for development in the coming year, including both new development in up-and-coming countries as well as the redevelopment of some already well-established and prominent ones. 

Imagining the World’s most Iconic Buildings all in one skyline

Image via The Atlantic Cities

Artist Mark Lascelles Thornton has dreamed up a city skyline that happens to incorporate some of the most well-known and iconic skylines from around the world- both new and old. Buildings come from eight major world cities: New York, Chicago, London, Shanghai, and Taipei. Take a look at the Atlantic Cities' coverage on the piece, and see if you can place them all! 

Great Ideas From Around the World

There are so many great initiatives, projects, and approaches to be found in cities all throughout our planet. We found a few to share with you, and would love for you to share some with us as well! Follow our Twitter page and tweet us your favorite example with the hashtag #CityIdeas or like us and share your idea on our Facebook Page by Sunday, January 13 at 5:00pm-- and we'll pick one entry at random to win a free printed copy of our City Vitals Report. We'll also publish everyone's ideas on our blog after the contest closes. 

Here are some examples to get you inspired: 

• Spain: Atlantic Cities covers six ideas that they feel every city should steal from Barcelona -- including thinking like a citizen rather than a planner! 

• Romania: A metro station in Bucharest papers its walls in... books. Well, digital books. Riders can scan QR Codes on the “library wall” and download reading for their travels. 

• Japan: This article featured on NPR discusses some differences between Eastern and Western approaches to teaching in the classroom-- which could be an indication of how different cultures understand what it means to be “smart.”

• Sweden: As covered by Springwise, this European country tackled winter depression using a clever method and already established transportation infrastructure-- showing an innovative way to address a health issue for their citizens. 

The last week has been in many ways defined by a terrible tragedy. As we remember and lend our condolences to the families and friends of those affected by the heartbreaking shootings in Newton, Connecticut, let us also remember that there has never been a more important time than this holiday season to appreciate and strengthen our family, friends, and community.

From the CEOs for Cities team, we wish you a warm, safe, and happy holiday season—from the bottom of our hearts.

Modelling the City Incubator

Photo via Dennis Yang

If there was an incubator for cities, what would it look like and what would it do to help cities grow? That is the question our most recent blog post explored—using the idea of the city as a startup as a framework for examining performance and ultimately making meaningful change. 

What It Really Takes to Foster an Entrepreneurial Ecosystem

Photo via Atlantic Cities

We’ve embraced the concept of the startup city warmly here at CEOs for Cities, and employed this theme for our 2012 Spring National Meeting in Cincinnati. Just a couple months ago, Brad Feld released a new book titled Startup Communities: Building an Entrepreneurial Ecosystem in Your City. He discusses his book, as well as some general advice for fostering an environment for entrepreneurship in this interview with the Atlantic Cities.

Discovering the Startup City

Photo via Stuart Seeger

Kansas City is quickly establishing itself as an optimal location for innovation, technology, and entrepreneurism. Lesa Mitchell of the Kaufmann Foundation explains why in this article featured in Forbes, giving specific examples of where change can be found within the city. 

Great Reads from Around the Web

We wanted to share with you some other fascinating stories we've found throughout the week. We hope you find them as enjoyable as we did!

• The State of Civic Tech: The civically-oriented hacker community Code for America discusses a report conducted by Living Cities and OpenPlans exploring the current opportunities, successes, and challenges for civic engagement platforms. 
• The To Do List For Rebuilding the U.S. Economy: This piece featured in National Journal is a collection of short essays detailing the steps needed for  turning our economy around-- covering topics such as innovation, jobs, finishing college, and infrastructure. 
• A City Is A Startup: The Rise Of The Mayor-Entrepreneur: This TechCrunch article, published early this year, details the proper ingredients needed to make the startup city a successful one. 

Career Opportunity: Director of Membership and Resource Development

Want to change the world? We want you to be part of our team. We are currently hiring a Director of Membership and Resource Development. For details, please click here. All inquiries should be sent to Noël Harmon. Please pass along this opportunity to friends or colleagues that would be interested. Thanks!

Getting into the Numbers: Empowering the City with Data

Photo via François Rejeté

Our most recent blog post discusses the importance of metrics and benchmarking in city growth—highlighting how tools and models such as our City Vitals and City Dividends can serve as a resource for making meaningful and lasting change in our communities.

A Google Analytics For Local Governments

Image via FastCompany

What if you could log on a website and find out where your city was excelling? This is the idea a new startup called Revelstone pursued when developing a new software program: Compass. This piece on FastCo.Exist explains the functionality of the tool, highlighting the growing importance of data and metrics in city management.

Benchmarking how buildings use energy promises improved performance, reduced emissions and costs

Photo via the Kresge Foundation

This piece published by the Kresge Foundation highlights a partnering initiative working to drive greater demand for sustainable building by tracking and benchmarking the performance of New York City’s building stock to better understand how they use energy.

Great Reads from Around the Web

We wanted to share with you some other fascinating stories we've found throughout the week. We hope you find them as enjoyable as we did!

• Overcoming Barriers to Using Data: Insights from Data Driven Detroit: This article published on Living Cities reflects on some of the challenges and approaches to increasing the usability and impact of collaborative data tools implemented by Data Driven Detroit (D3). 
• Online Tool Helps New Hampshire Municipalities Examine the Cost of Sprawl: A new online tool allowing us to measure the impact of sprawl is discussed on Engaging Cities, standing as one example of a platform developed for use by planners in today's technological world. 
• Improving the College Scorecard: A report published by the Center for American Progress looks at how we can improve a common benchmarking tool used in higher education: the College Scorecard. 

Want to Change the World? Start With Your City.

Our President and CEO, Lee Fisher recently held a talk at TEDxDePaulU-- with a focus on the City 2.0. He explains why cities are the primary drivers of growth, and how change rests at the intersection of great people and great ideas. Click here or on the image above to watch the video, and let us know if you'd like to see Lee speak at your next event! 

Career Opportunity: Director of Membership and Resource Development

Want to change the world? We want you to be part of our team. We are currently hiring a Director of Membership and Resource Development. For details, please click here. All inquiries should be sent to Noël Harmon. Please pass along this opportunity to friends or colleagues that would be interested. Thanks!

Wrestling with the Restless

Photo via Bob Vonderau

The Brookings Institute and our report, The Young and the Restless in a Knowledge Economy both acknowledge that the new generation is becoming increasingly mobile. Our most recent blog discusses the challenges of this mobile  generation-- but also the opportunity that we see in using the challenge of attraction and retention to make positive change in our cities with increased competition. 

Zen and the Art of Messy Urbanism

Photo via Sustainable Cities Collective

Large, concerted efforts to meet combined goals of sustainability and livability are falling short when their top-down organization preempts organic, grass-roots innovation. This article featured on Sustainable Cities Collective discusses how entrepreneurs are left out when this conflict occurs. In order to avoid these pitfalls and fully embrace organic innovation and entrepreneurship, many cities are embracing "being nicely messy"-- showing the value in blurring the boundaries between institution and everyday action.

The Next Workplace Revolution

Photo via the Atlantic Cities

Telecommunication, Skype, and other new technologies were supposed to dramatically reduce rush hour congestion and the need for traditional office space. This article in the Atlantic Cities explores why this didn't happen, and how trends have shifted toward employees instead utilizing third places, such as coffeehouses or even hotel rooms, as the new mobile office. This new model of ubiquitous connectivity has found greater productivity in on-the-go urban environments than in traditional bricks-and-mortar suburban office parks, which may face issues of oversupply.

Great Reads from Around the Web

We wanted to share with you some other fascinating stories we've found throughout the week. We hope you find them as enjoyable as we did! 

• Philadelphia story — Compact, mixed-income areas weather housing crash: This article featured on Better! Cities and Towns examines a recent trend showing that housing closer to downtown performed generally better than its suburban counterpart during the most recent housing crisis. 
• Creative Placemaking: From Here Until Now: A piece by PlaceShakers discusses the role of creative placemaking, and one author's experience in her own city. 
• What Design Brings to the Table: A recent New York Times article explores how design influences the creation of public space, breaking away from the mere construction of buildings to approach revitalization in a people-oriented manner. 

Career Opportunity: Director of Membership and Resource Development

Want to change the world? We want you to be part of our team. We are currently hiring a Director of Membership and Resource Development. For details, please click here. All inquiries should be sent to Noël Harmon. Please pass along this opportunity to friends or colleagues that would be interested. Thanks!

Reminder: Strategies for City Success Webinar December 7th!

Our National Talent Dividend is partnering with the National League of Cities in hosting its first installment of this webinar series at 2:30pm ET on December 7th. It will focus on using data to drive change for postsecondary success. 

Register for the webinar, and be sure to check out the details on the rest of the webinars coming in the next six months! 

Description:  Building upon the release of attainment and enrollment reports to Talent Dividend cities, representatives of Riverside, California and another city in the Communities Learning in Partnership (CLIP) initiative of the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation will discuss how they have assembled and built analytical capacity, used data points such as attainment and enrollment to establish baselines, and set citywide goals.  Riverside recently joined Louisville, Kentucky among cities establishing public postsecondary success goals in the form of a “report card." Check out our key reference.

On Giving Thanks: Discussing Our Relationship with Cities

Photo via Dinner Series

As Thanksgiving approaches, we've taken some time to reflect on what we're thankful for-- and why it is important to be thankful for our cities. Our blog post discusses these topics, as well as a lesser-covered topic in urban planning: Love. Have a great holiday! 

Can cities help you forget your troubles? C’mon, get happy!

Photo via Better! Cities

Bogota, Colombia's Mayor Enrique Peñalosa is loved by urbanists for his innovative TransMilenio bus rapid transit system that has improved this traffic-snarled Latin American capital city with one of the world's highest-functioning transit systems. However, the BRT system is but one pillar of Bogota's "urban happiness" movement which has also developed extensive bicycle and pedestrian networks and created public spaces that enrich urban life. Better Cities goes into more detail of the phenomenal results, and highlights similar initiatives in Vancouver, Canada. Read more about the concept of a Happiness Index here at Better! Cities. 

URBAN AGENDA: Moving from Advocacy to Participation

Photo via Next American City

Newly-elected St. Louis Alderman Scott Ogilvie says that while 20 and 30 year olds have a high interest level in civic and urban issues, their online involvement far outdoes their in-person participation at City Hall.  Ogilvie is working on encouraging young people to participate more than advocate.  This Next American City column offers a recipe for turning the cottage industry of civic criticism into a strong base of innovative leaders at City Hall.

Announcement: Gen Y: Millenials' Implications on Work and Life 

Last month as part of Chicago Ideas Week, Steelcase’s Sudhakar Lahade discussed the implications of Gen Y—new and emerging behaviors that impact work, work-life and workplace issues—and leveraging this information to best support your team or organization at Workspring in Chicago, IL. Because of the event's overwhelming success and volume of requests, a second event will be hosted at Workspring on November 29, 2012. Click here to find more information on the session, and register here at Eventbrite.com. 

Career Opportunity: Director of Membership and Resource Development

Want to change the world? We want you to be part of our team. We are currently hiring a Director of Membership and Resource Development. For details, please click here. All inquiries should be sent to Noël Harmon. Please pass along this opportunity to friends or colleagues that would be interested. Thanks! 

Want to change the world? We want you to be part of our team. We are currently hiring a Director of Membership and Resource Development. For details, please click here. All inquiries should be sent to Noël Harmon. Please pass along this opportunity to friends or colleagues that would be interested. Thanks! 

How Colleges are Reviving Downtown

Photo by Nicholas I. Emenhiser

Universities are found all throughout the country, but those in urban downtowns provide us with additional benefits-- as our blog post points out. Read on to find out how some cities are leveraging their student population to breathe new life into the core and consequently increase economic potential. 

Think of First-Generation Students as Pioneers, Not Problems

Photo by James Yang for The Chronicle

This article, published in the Chronicle of Higher Education, challenges us to understand first-generation students as a set of individuals with distinct needs.  The author writes that "luck" needs to be removed from the success equation for this group of students. It is necessary to tackle the problem of entrants dropping out prior to graduation as a circumstance of their background. 

Designing Colleges For More Than Just Connectivity

Photo by Chris Leonard

This piece published by Fast Company explores a classroom beyond simply being wired-- taking us instead back to the seemingly ancient world of pen, paper, and organic interactivity. It focuses on the potential of technology to complement and evolve the traditional classroom and inspire space for greater learning potential. 

What We're Reading

We've read some articles with great ideas for improving both our universities and our cities-- we'd like to share them with you!

• Universities Benefit Cities in Many Ways: This piece on CDApress.com looks at some of the other benefits of having a university in the city. 

• How Do We Get Students Ready For the Jobs of the Future?: The second post in a series on the balance between student learning and job skills, this piece published by GOOD examines some of the ways we can better prepare our students. 

• 100 Urban Trends: Though this amazing list put together by the BMW Guggenheim Lab includes many great ideas, we feel that their trends reflecting cities as idea generators, empowerment technologies, and learning by doing show an incredibly positive transition toward a more vibrant education and metropolitan environment. 

Strategies for City Success: A Webinar Series

We hope you'll join us and our partners of the National Talent Dividend in a round of six great webinars on data use, engaging municipal leadership, economic and workforce development, and supporting adult learners. Please click here or on the image above to find details on dates and sessions!

American Dream Index

Xavier University has created The American Dream Composite Index, a statistically validated index that measures people's achievement of the American Dream.  The index is currently available on the national and state levels, and they're considering making it available for cities.  They'd love to get your opinion! Please take a minute to complete this short survey. Thank you so much!

This article on Project for Public Spaces discusses the idea of Place Capital, and how it can be leveraged to bridge political divides and connect community with economics in meaningful and pragmatic ways. 

Detroit's Plan to Create a Talented Community

The Director of our National Talent Dividend, Noël Harmon, coauthored an article on the Huffington Post this past week highlighting some of the incredible efforts underway in Detroit to attract and retain talent in the city-- and we wanted to highlight the 15x15 Initiative and a couple other great programs once more. Originated by the Hudson-Webber Foundation, 15x15 aims to attract 15,000 young, talented households to Greater Downtown Detroit by 2015. This initiative involves a wide variety of components-- involving focus on physical revitalization, economic development, arts, safety, and the Live Midtown program. Live Midtown and Live Detroit (a program of the Jewish Federation of Metropolitan Detroit administered by CommunityNEXT) are both innovative residential programs representing collaborations with a wide host of partners which provide incentives for purchasing or renting homes in the greater Downtown Detroit neighborhood. The Hudston-Webber foundation has also partnered with Downtown Detroit Partnership to create D:hive as part of the 15x15 Initiative-- a unique, 3-year initiative assisting existing and new Detroiters to Live, Work and Engage in Detroit. We applaud the success of these wonderful organizations, and urge you all to check out their incredible work by clicking the logos above!

Carlo Ratti on Networks and Place

For those of you who missed our Fall National Meeting in Boston (or just loved the presentation), we've posted the talk given by Carlo Ratti, director of the MIT SENSEability Lab, on city networks and how they affect the ways in which we experience space in our communities. View it by clicking here or on the image above! 

What We're Reading

We wanted to share some of the articles we're reading that highlight creativity and the economy: 

• Communities Aren't Just Places, They're Social Networks: Richard Florida of The Atlantic Cities conducts an interview with Zachary Neal, Sociologist and author of The Connected City, about his new book and the importance of social networks in physical place. 
• McKinsey Study Suggests Radical Shifts Among World Cities: Neal Peirce at Citiwire examines a new study conducted by McKinsey Global Institute detailing some of the pivotal trends seen throughout some of the world's most rapidly urbanizing areas - and discusses what effect that may have on the global economy. 
• Do Millennials Want to Call Your City ‘Home’?: Governing Magazine asks this question, highlighting the importance of attracting and retaining young talent. 

Announcement: Summit on the New American City

If you think America's cities matter to the U.S. economy, then you should join the Summit on The New American City on Dec 3rd and 4th in Kansas City. Organized in partnership with Kansas City, Missouri, Mayor Sly James, the event will address how to build - and re-build - America's cities as engine of the American economy. Lee Fisher, President and CEO of CEOs for Cities, will be a featured speaker at the Summit.

The conference agenda has just been released. View it here.

You can see that the country's top business, political and community leaders are coming to Kansas City to get on with the business of American city building. The Summit will establish a national city building agenda right after the election. Join us to make it happen.

Register today at: cityage.org, or email CityAge at info@cityage.org.

Artprize, a nationally recognized event held in Grand Rapids, MI, draws over 300,000 visitors and turns the downtown into a bustling center of creativity. This article featured on Better! Cities & Towns details the event in a bit more detail, and links to their September issue, which more specifically examines how art energizes space.  CEOs for Cities' 2013 National Meeting will be in Grand Rapids during ArtPrize--from September 29-October 1, 2013.  We hope you save the date, as it is going to be a great event!

Ten Creative Ideas for Energizing Our Streets

A blog post we published this week details 10 different ways we can make our streets better places to walk, interact, and play! Feel free to give it a read and leave any of your comments and thoughts-- we'd love to hear about any great ideas you've run into! 

Public Art in New York

This past week, Hurricane Sandy brough devestation to millions of Americans across the eastern part of the country.  As cities begin to face the damages, we thought we would share how public art has made its place in New York City by brightening and adding vibrancy to many areas.  This New York Times article talks about various public art displays and their background and purpose.  Much of the article discusses the High Line, a public park built on what was once a 1.45-mile-long elevated rail structure.  Unfortunately the High Line is still closed due to damages from the storm, but we hope for a quick recovery for all cities and people affected by Sandy. 

Inspiration Throughout the Web

We would like to share a few other great articles exploring some inspiring ideas for our built environment:

• Five Ideas for Public Space: Yen Trinh: A young designer from Brisbane, Australia shares with the BMW Guggenheim Lab how she would transform public space. (Spoiler: she tells us to throw out one of our most traditional conventions...)
• The Question All Creative Placemakers Should Ask: Next American City explores some pressing factors planners and organizers should consider when approaching creative placemaking-- particularly tackling the topic of equity.
• How might we inspire and enable communities to take more initiative in making their local environments better?: OpenIDEO asks this important question, and the internet answers as 173 ideas (and counting!) are shared. Join the conversation and help the challenge along by sharing your inspirations. 

Announcement: Rudy Bruner Award For Urban Excellence 2013 Call for Entries

The Rudy Bruner Award for Urban Excellence celebrates urban places that are distinguished by quality design and their social and economic contributions to our nation’s cities. Winners offer creative place making solutions that transcend the boundaries between architecture, urban design and planning and showcase innovative thinking about American cities. One Gold Medal of $50,000 and four Silver Medals of $10,000 will be awarded. Projects must be a real place, not just a plan or a program, and be located in the 48 contiguous United States. Award winners may use prize money in any way that benefits the project.

To apply:
Visit www.brunerfoundation.org/rba to learn more about the award (including a digital archive and case studies of past winners) and to download the application. For more information, questions or to request a copy of the application or Call for Entries poster, email us at application@brunerfoundation.org. The deadline for the 2013 Award is December 10, 2012.

Thanks so much to everyone who helped make the CEOs for Cities Fall National Meeting in Boston, MA a huge success!  The meeting brought together civic CEOs and change makers from over 60 cities to hear inspiring presentations, share innovative ideas and collaborate with other city leaders.  Now that everyone is back in their home city, we hope that the ideas generated in Boston are being shared and implemented in cities around the United States.  To give you a glimpse of the National Meeting content, we have put together a list of eight powerful quotations from our National Meeting speakers:

• “To rely on and wait for Washington is no longer a viable option…the new laboratory of democracy is the cities.” – David Gergen, Senior Policy Analysis, CNN
• “There’s never been a better time for innovation to happen than now.” – Mitch Weiss, Chief of Staff to Boston Mayor Menino
• “The community will give back what you give to it.” – John Harthorne, Mass Challenge
• “Cities need to align ourselves around measurable goals that we’re all seeking to achieve together.” – Charlotte Kahn, Boston Indicators Project "City of Ideas"
• “Aspiration is important…The only way our cities are successful is if our people believe tomorrow will be better than yesterday.”– Stephen Goldsmith, Harvard Professor, former Mayor of Indianapolis
• ”How do we ride the trends of change instead of fight them?” – Ben Hecht, Living Cities
• “Cities are actually trade zones and the currency of cities is talent.” – Jamie Merisotis, The Lumina Foundation
• “Marvelous things happen when smart people are connected by space…it sets off a chain of collaborative creativity.” – Ed Glaeser, Harvard Professor

2013 Fall National Meeting: See you in Grand Rapids!

Photo via John Eisenschenk

We are excited to annouce that the 2013 Fall National Meeting of CEOs for Cities will occur September 29-October 1, 2013 in Grand Rapids, Michigan!  While the event promises to be full of incredible speakers, attendees and networking opportunities, an added perk is that it will be taking place during ArtPrize, an international contest that spans over three weeks and takes place in the heart of the city.  This year, over 300,000 people participated in the event, and when we say participate, we mean it.  ArtPrize uses innovative judging technology that makes YOU the judge.  Attendees can use their phones to give a "thumbs up" or a "thumbs down" to each work.  This past September, Better Cities and Towns wrote an article highlighting how ArtPrize positively benefits both the participants and the city of Grand Rapids. 

Make sure you save September 29-October 1, 2013 on your calendars.  We look forward to seeing you there!

Tracking the Bikes

Oftentimes city change-makers and innovators are required to use information collected through surveys and old data.  However, researchers in Portland, OR took a different approach to studying the bikers.  They strapped GPS devices onto over 150 bikes and tracked where their riders go.  While surveys give planners general information about bikers' needs and preferences, the data collected here brought the researches to some interesting conclusions.  They compared the routes actually taken by bikes to alternative routes and tried to figure out why they chose the one they did.  This article in The Atlantic Cities shares more about the research.

Mayors in Competition

Across the country, 305 cities are competing in The Mayors Challenge to solve a problem in their own comminity.  As if solving challenges isn't enough, Bloomberg Philanthropies, the host of the competition, is offering a $5 million grand prize.  The city governments are the main points of contact for the competition, but there is a lot of room for collaboration outside of the public sector.  Check out the list of cities that are participating and look at some of their great examples.  You are sure to be inspired!

We are excited to announce that Massachusetts Governor Deval Patrick will join the rousing list of confirmed speakers.   Governor Patrick has positioned Massachusetts as a global leader in biotech, bio pharmaceuticals and IT, and as a national leader in clean energy through targeted initiatives that play to the Commonwealth’s unique strengths.  David Gergen, senior policy analyst for CNN and Harvard Kennedy School professor of public service, will kick-off the 2012 Fall National Meeting at the Opening Reception and Tour of Fenway Park on Monday October 15th. Click here to see the action-packed agenda.  Directions and contact information for the event are posted on our website at www.ceosforcities.org/Boston. 

Not able to join us in Boston? Make sure you follow #CityofIdeas2012 on Twitter to catch the highlights throughout the conference. Presentations and notes will be posted to www.ceosforcities.org/Boston shortly after the meeting.  We hope you will be able to join us at one of our future regional or national meetings.

Ed Glaeser: Why Cities Matter

Ed Glaeser has been making the case for cities for quite some time now. As a professor of economics at Harvard University and distinguished author of Triumph of the City, he has caught the attention of many decision-makers and citizens all throughout the country. We’re excited to have him as the keynote speaker of our Fall National Meeting next week, and hope you’ll be there to hear his bright ideas. For those who can’t make it, be sure to find out why he thinks cities are so important, and check out his book.

Ed Glaser on the Daily Show

Small Steps, Big Ideas

Jamie Merisotis, President and CEO of the Lumina Foundation, will be one of the “3 Big Thinkers” discussing the topic of “Small Steps, Big Ideas” at our upcoming national meeting.  In a recent Huffington Post article titled "They Are Us: Why the Nation's Future Is Riding on Latino Students' Success," Merisotis seeks to explain how “Hispanics represent this nation's very future?” For a complete list of the Huffington Post articles Merisotis has published, check out his entry page.

SENSEable City Lab

Carlo Ratti will be the first keynote speaker at our upcoming Fall National Meeting. Check out his Ted Talk presentation on the interactive visualizations of city life he has created with his team at MIT’s SENSEable City Lab.

Ted Talk: Carlo Ratti: Architecture that senses and responds

Our Fall National Meeting is coming up quick, but it's not too late to register and be a part of this incredible event!  This year's theme is City of Ideas, and the meeting will be taking place October 15-17 in Boston, MA. Register today and look forward to some of the Meeting highlights, including:

• A Boston Harbor Cruise reception
• Multiple keynote addresses from speakers such as Ed Glaeser and Carlo Ratti
• Networking opportunities with leaders from around the country

Check out our agenda to see even more highlights and check out the incredible speakers we have lined up. We look forward to seeing you in Boston! 

Knight Foundation invests $1.3 million in technology that empowers communities

This week the Knight Foundation released their Tech for Engagment initiative, which is a collection of investments in technology that work to help residents improve the world around them-- including the next iteration of CEOs for Cities' own Change By Us, developed in a partnership with Local Projects. This is an exciting time for not only our organization, but for the millions of residents across the nation that will have the opportunity to use creative online platforms to connect with their own communities! Read on to find out more about Change By Us and the other recipients of this initiative!

Tapping Into America's Barn-Raising Spirit: Introducing JobRaising

The Huffington Post has teamed up with the Skoll Foundation, CrowdRise, and McKinsey & Company to assist nonprofits focused on job-creation.  Ariana Huffington writes that these important organizations have been forgotten in the dialogue surrounding employment in the United States. The Skoll Foundation’s gift of $250,000 will be used to build a larger funding pool to help the most innovative non-profits create more employment opportunities.

The Ingredients of 'Complete Communities'

The Atlantic Cities covered Reconnecting Americas' new report released this week which gauges our country's progress toward smart growth and equitable, walkable communities. The report evaluates metros on four different measures (living, working, moving, thriving) and also identifies “opportunity areas.”  Laredo, TX and Altoona, PA appear in the list’s Top 10 metros best positioned to progress as "complete communities."

U.S. Poverty Continues its Post-Recession Grip

Last month, the U.S Census Bureau released a report on their 2011 set of data concerning income, poverty, and health insurance.  The report provides important insight on the speed of economic recovery following the recession, as well as the recession's effect on some of our nation's most vulnerable populations. The Brookings Institution created a nice summary that includes their thoughts on the findings, which you can read here. 

6th Annual International Conference on the Theory and Practice of Electronic Governance

The Center for Technology in Government at the University at Albany is hosting the  6th Annual International Conference on the Theory and Practice of Electronic Governance (ICEGOV 2012), which is being brought to North America for the first time. The conference will take place in Albany, NY, from October 22-25, 2012 and is expected to attract over 350 attendees from the government, academic and private sectors from nearly 60 countries. This year's conference will focus on the topic of Open Innovation and will showcase speakers from the City of Philadelphia, New York State, the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy, NASA, US Department of Transportation, Open Forum Foundation, the World Bank, Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development and many other organizations. 

The ICEGOV 2012 program includes seven tutorials designed to offer a practical learning experience for participants as well as a chance to gain insight on specific key issues and deployed solutions.  Described below are a few of the tutorials.  For more information about the Conference program and how to register, please visit http://www.icegov.org. If you have any questions, please contact the Conference Organization Chair, Jana Hrdinova.

The CEOs for Cities Fall National Meeting, City of Ideas, will be taking place October 15-17 in Boston, MA.  Register today and look forward to some of the Meeting highlights, including the

• Opening Reception and tour at Fenway Park
• Marketplace of Ideas showcasing city success stories from around the country
• Walking tours of Boston neighborhoods and case studies

Check out our agenda to see even more highlights.  Ben Hecht, the President and CEO of Living Cities is one of the many speakers at our Fall National Meeting.  He recently wrote an article about technological advances that can and should be integrated into the social sector of development work.  We are excited to see what ideas each of our speakers and participants share with the group.

Chicago Connects Higher Ed and Industry

CEOs for Cities spoke with key players in two important programs in Chicago that are working to address the gap between available jobs and skilled workers to fill them: the College to Careers (C2C) program spearheaded by Chicago City Colleges, and the more recent Minority Male STEM initiative, a partnership between Chicago City Colleges and the University of Illinois at Chicago (UIC). Our blog post explores why these programs are poised for success, and what their model can offer to the workforce of tomorrow. 

Skills Gap is Hampering Labor Market

A recent article in The Hill explores how reevaluating the skillset of our workforce is necessary in both creating employment opportunities and strengthening the economy. This idea—based on a National Federation of Independent Business study that concluded that of the 49% of businesses that attempted to hire in the last year, 37% reported few or no qualified applicants—is the reasoning behind a White House proposal dedicating $8 billion to workforce training for two million Americans.

Skills Development in Post-Recession Years

While closing the skills gap is important for increasing employment across America, is it a worthwhile investment when our economy has been hit hard and jobs are even more scarce? Our blog post asks this very question, and it turns out that economic strains are making the need for skilled workers even greater.

Exploring the Disconnect Visually

With the wide number of amazing infographics all over the internet, it's no wonder that we've stumbled upon a few that tell the story of our country's skills gap, and the increasing value of STEM in higher education. We've included a few for you to explore and share. Click on the images below to view.  

Announcement: Rudy Bruner Award For Urban Excellence 2013 Call for Entries

The Rudy Bruner Award for Urban Excellence celebrates urban places that are distinguished by quality design and their social and economic contributions to our nation’s cities. Winners offer creative place making solutions that transcend the boundaries between architecture, urban design and planning and showcase innovative thinking about American cities. One Gold Medal of $50,000 and four Silver Medals of $10,000 will be awarded. Projects must be a real place, not just a plan or a program, and be located in the 48 contiguous United States. Award winners may use prize money in any way that benefits the project.

To apply:
Visit www.brunerfoundation.org/rba to learn more about the award (including a digital archive and case studies of past winners) and to download the application. For more information, questions or to request a copy of the application or Call for Entries poster, email us at application@brunerfoundation.org. The deadline for the 2013 Award is December 10, 2012.

Photo via Jeremy Keith

Fenway Park, the home of the Boston Red Sox, will also be home to the CEOs for Cities National Meeting Opening Reception.  In 1999, C.H. Johnson Consulting was quoted saying that "Fenway Park is one of the most historic, beloved, and revered ballparks in the nation. In fact, [tourism statistics] indicate that Fenway Park attracts more visitors to Boston than any other single attraction." During the baseball season, Fenway will attract over 37,000 passionate fans to each game, and on October 15, it will bring together over 100 leaders and innovators from across the nation to begin the CEOs for Cities National Meeting, City of Ideas.

If you aren’t yet registered, make sure you sign up today!  Check out the inspiring agenda, and book your hotel room as soon as possible, as rooms are filling up quickly. 

We look forward to having you there!

Digitizing the Public Sphere

Photo via Arian Zwegers

Technology has made quite an impression on public space and civic engagement, as our blog post this week explores. Recent innovations has allowed us as citizens to interact with our leadership in a whole different way, and the potential for leveraging that interaction and feedback is quickly emerging through a set of apps and tools that can be used by planners, elected officials, and agency officials. Read on to find out how this is a huge advantage, as well as some examples of some of those tools you could be using! 

Boston's Pioneering Way of Innovating 

An interview with Mitch Weiss--Boston's chief of staff working under Mayor Tom Menino--gives some insight on the innovative uses of technology and partnership that drive efficiency in civic engagement throughout the city. The mayor is working with a new initiative called the Mayor's Office of new Urban Mechanics (MONUM), aiming to provide a new perspective on the operations of his urban government. Mr. Weiss discusses the use of a variety of technology tools, including a self-reporting app for his citizens, as well as another that allows city workers to track their daily workflow. The interview is given by Stephen Goldsmith, one of the many speakers to be featured at our Fall National Meeting in Boston next month. 

Technology in (and out of) the Classroom

Photo via SJU Undergraduate Admissions

The learning environment is quickly changing as new gadgets and platforms make their way into the classroom-- or in some cases serve to either replace or supplement traditional teaching methods. Our blog post details some of the progress being made in the world of MOOCs, or Massive Open Online Courses, and their potential for closing the skills gap for middle and low-income Americans. 

The Innovative City

Here is a small collection of some of the other articles we’ve found around the web pertaining to tools and ways technology is shaping our cities. Enjoy!

• Online Tool Helps New Hampshire Municipalities Examine the Cost of Sprawl via EngagingCities: A new online tool uses an array of demographic, infrastructure, and financial data to calculate the cost of additional development in a municipality, giving a calculated snapshot of the economic effects of sprawl.

• Dreaming Bigger in the Civic Technology Movement via Living Cities: This article explores some of the initiatives driving the invovlement of technology in civic engagement, as well as how local governments go about procuring and customizing these kinds of innovations.

• Tech and the City via Next American City: A campus for home-growing technologists has made its way into New York City, and this article asks the question: "Can a city really engineer an innovation economy?"-- An important question to ask when we explore the potential of technology to drive growth and prosperity.

We are excited to share with you the agenda for our 2012 Fall National Meeting, which will be held in Boston, MA from October 15-17. Click the image above or click here to download the PDF, and be sure to visit our website for additional information about the meeting. 

Why Cities Should Plan for a Healthier Environment

We have all heard it before: Live Green.  We are urged to recycle, to turn the lights out when we’re not in a room, and to drink from a reusable water bottle. These are all great ways to lessen the impact each individual makes on the environment, but there are larger-scale measures that cities can take to create a healthier environment and to improve the quality of life.

The former mayor of Indianapolis and current Harvard professor Steve Goldsmith will be speaking at the CEOs for Cities Fall National Meeting on October 15-17. Until then, we can find his valuable insight on innovative ideas in public sector innovation on a blog he pioneers through Governing magazine—aptly titled Better, Faster, Cheaper. He writes extensively on making government more efficient, but has also covered other topics such as the bottom-line benefits of greening a city.

Read Full Article

Green Initiatives in Boston

Our 2012 National meeting is coming up next month, and we wanted to showcase the city where it will be hosted! Our blog post features some of the great things we've uncovered about green initiatives in Boston. We urge you to take a look at them, and comment on our blog with your thoughts- are these initiatives workable in your community? 

How Cities are Leveraging Sustainable Innovations

While Boston certainly has many exciting green initiatives going on, other cities throughout the nation and across the globe are developing revolutionary ideas concerning how cities can decrease their negative impact on the environment. This piece featured on our blog explores some of those ideas-- including some that are far from traditional, such as an energy-producing nightclub!

Sustainable Ideas Throughout the Web

While perusing the web this week we've stumbled upon a variety of articles for those interested in green initiatives and ideas in cities. Here are a few we thought you might like: 

• Greasing the Wheels: An Ebay for Cooking Oil Could Help Tap Underused Fuel via GOOD: It turns out that used oil isn't necessarily no good anymore. A new website is attempting to connect people who have used oil to those who can use it for a greener option that we all benefit from! 
• Data Show a City’s Car Sharing May Be Working, but Doubts Persist via The New York Times: After a couple of years, Hoboken, NJ takes a look at the performance of its risky car-sharing venture. 
• Transit and Transit-Oriented Development: The Sweet Spot for Jobs via The Huffington Post: Greg LaRoy explores the connection between infrastructure and economic development, highlighting the importance of transit and Transit-Oriented Development. 

Ten years ago, the word ZipCar may have made you think of a toy car.  Today, almost everyone knows of ZipCar as the program that brings accessible car sharing to those without a personal vehicle.  Scott Griffith, the CEO and Chairman of ZipCar will be one of our speakers at our Fall National Meeting on October 15-17.  Under Griffith’s leadership, ZipCar has become a global car sharing service.  In 2010, Griffith was the winner of the “Social Entrepreneur” category in Corporate Responsbilitiy Magazine’s “Responsbile CEO of the Year Awards.” 

We hope you will help us welcome Griffith as well as many other inspiring speakers at our Fall National Meeting.  

Please note that the deadline for hotel reservations is September 13 (one week from today).

Education at the Republican and Democratic National Conventions

Aware of the integral role education continues to play in the success of our nation, political leaders from both political parties are speaking out about education in America. Focusing specifically on higher education issues, the Lumina Foundation hosted panel discussions about The College Advantage at both the Republican and Democratic National Conventions. A recent article was released in The Hectinger Report summarizing ways in which Charlotte panel members believe we can fix higher education. Additional articles discussing Republican and Democratic opinions on education can be found on The Hectinger Report homepage.

Expanding Our Understanding of Transit Delays

Everyone has experienced transportation delays—whether by car, bus, or train. Confusion about the cause of delays sparks irritation and distress, particularly when attempting to accomplish tasks for the day. It turns out that riders aren’t the only ones trying to figure out why things are behind. 

Researchers at University College London are conducting a study in conjunction with the London Underground to understand the relationship between the many parts of a large network of routes.  They are looking at rider behavior as well as how blockages and delays in one part of a system create issues elsewhere. “Making Sense of Inevitable Transit Delays,” published in The Atlantic Cities, offers us a glimpse of what the researchers are trying to accomplish, in hope that the findings will lead to new ways of increasing the efficiency and functionality of the  transit system.  An accompanying  video also provides some interesting visualizations from the London underground stations.

Public Art Creates Change

Street art, which is sometimes a marker of urban decay, is serving a purpose in urban renewal efforts around the country.  In August, the city of Atlanta organized its third Living Walls Conference where, over the course of a few days, artists from around the country worked to “visually activate” the city.  Atlanta’s support of Living Walls has been paralleled with a crackdown on graffiti, which is differentiated from their murals based on the ownership of property where the art is installed.

While Atlanta has their Living Walls Conference to support public works of art, other cities have found different ways to fund public art.  In November, residents of Ann Arbor, Michigan will vote on a four-year tax for public art.  Currently, Ann Arbor has a Percent for Art ordinance which stipulates that any capital improvement projects funded wholly or partially by the City will include funds for public art equal to one percent of the construction costs.  If the tax passes in November, the Percent for Art ordinance will be suspended for the four years. 

Earlier this year, the Urban Land Institute published an article called "Public Art in Transit" which shows how in Los Angeles, California, transit-oriented public art generates income for both public government and the private developers.  No matter how it is funded or created, public art has both soft benefits (such as beauty) and hard benefits (such as monetary gains through tourism).  

CEOs for Cities at World Bank and United Nations Symposia

CEOs for Cities has been invited to exhibit City Vitals, its flagship research conducted by Senior Advisor Joe Cortright, at the 6th World Bank Urbanization Knowledge Partnership Symposium in Barcelona on October 8-9. The symposium, "Rethinking Cities: Framing the Future" will feature new research and best practices in economic efficiency, sustainability, and social equity in the wake of rapid global urbanization. Jim Rooney, CEOs for Cities' London-based Senior Advisor for Global Partnerships, will represent CEOs at the symposium, as well as at the United Nations Habitat Urban Planning Conference in London on September 20, held in conjunction with the new Siemens' Sustainability Cities Initiative. Rooney also recently participated in the New Cities Foundation summit in Paris for CEOs for Cities as it strengthens relations with global stakeholders.

Former Design Director at the National Endowment for the Arts, Jeff Speck will be speaking at our Fall National Meeting, October 15-17 in Boston, MA!  Jeff Speck is a city planner and architectural designer who focuses on smart growth and sustainable design.  His most recent work is a book called Walkable City: How Downtown Can Save America, One Step at a Time, which will be given to all attendees of our Fall National Meeting.  The book argues and powerfully documents how walkability is truly what makes cities work.

We hope you will join us in celebrating Jeff Speck’s work as well as the work of many other innovators at our Fall National Meeting.  Registration is now open, and all attendees who register by September 7 will recieve a special prize.  A discounted block of hotel rooms has been reserved for the event, however rooms must be booked by September 13.

Walking More and Walking Less

A city’s “walkability" is important not only because it speaks to its accessibility, but also because it speaks to the activeness of its inhabitants. As cities work to make their streets more walkable and health experts continue to speak about the importance of physical activity, one has to question if people are in fact walking more. An article in The Atlantic Cities summarizes findings from a new Centers for Disease Control and Prevention report, titled “Vital Signs: Walking Among Adults,” which concludes that “we're walking more but still walking less.”

Are College Educations Worth It?

In response to the continued debate over the necessity of receiving a college education, a recent article was published in The Garden Island, titled “Are College Educations Worth It? Yes!”. The article discusses ways in which a college education is indispensable, and looks specifically at the success of community colleges. The article shares that “44 percent of all college students attend community college,” and the percent of Kaua’i Community College graduates who get jobs after graduation exceeds the national average.

Innovative Ideas in Transportation

People have evolved to use many different forms of transportation, but transportation innovation spreads beyond the commonly understood definition of infrastructure improvement. If the great benefits of cutting down on vehicle miles travelled isn’t enough (check out our Green Dividend research), there are innovators all over the nation looking for ways to make alternative transportation fun. Here are just a few:

• A new glow in the dark bicycle frame is not only a creative way to be noticed, but it is much safer as well! (Springwise)

• Cities all across the U.S. (including Kansas City and Portland) are thinking in the past to come up with sustainable options for the future -- sparking the increasing adoption of Streetcar Plans. (Wall Street Journal)

• An innovative grocer in Madison, WI is just one man taking healthy options to the road by creating a “Pop-Up Grocery Store” in response to a lack of options in food desert communities. (TIME)

Have you seen any innovative transportation ideas? Share them with us on Facebook or Twitter using the hashtag #TransportIdeas.

2012 Inner City Economic Summit

The 2012 Inner City Economic Summit will be held September 19-20 in Boston, Massachusetts, organized by the Initiative for a Competitive Inner City (ICIC). As a recipient of ReThink, you can register with a $100 discount (discount code: “bricklayer”)! This discount ends Friday, August 31 (tomorrow), so register now!  Some of the highlights include a “What Works for Cities: Spotlight on Solutions” panel co-sponsored by CEOs for Cities, a keynote presentation by Harvard Business School Professor and ICIC Chairman Michael E. Porter, and a discussion led by the Executive Director of the President’s Council on Jobs and Competitiveness, Don Graves.

Help Shape Our Future

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The CEOs for Cities Fall National Meeting will feature a “Lightning Round” session based off of Pecha Kucha style presentations.  Lightning Round presentations will focus on “City Ideas that Work,” and are short (~7 minutes), compelling, and a great way to share your work with meeting participants.  If  you are interested in speaking during the Lighting Round session, please submit your proposal to Jackie Mostow by Friday, August 31.  1-2 paragraphs is sufficient, and we would appreciate video links to one or more presentations that you have done.

Registration is still open for the Fall National Meeting, and we encourage you to register TODAY!  Anyone who registers before September 7 will receive a special prize.

Change By Us- Sparking Communication, Digitally

In his tragedy Coriolanus, William Shakespeare wrote, “What is the city but the people?”  However, a more modern question might be “What is the city but the communication among the people?”  Progress happens through connections, but at times, the lines of communication are difficult to form.  In his recent TEDx Talk in Harlem, Jake Barton talks about what change looks like.  CEOs for Cities has a partnership with Jake and his company Local Projects to work on Change By Us, a digital platform meant to facilitate these connections.  In his talk, Jake shows the comparison between a traditional community meeting and the efficient communication that can occur via Change by Us.  He shows how Change By Us frames cities as a place of shared goals, such as improved safety, education and opportunity.  Currently, Change By Us has been launched in Philadelphia and New York, and there are more cities to come.

Proven Benefits to a College Degree

By no means is a college degree a ticket to success, but a new report released by the Center on Education and the Workforce at Georgetown University shows the differences between those with and without a college degree in the current economic struggle.  While college graduates make up about one third of the workforce, over half of the jobs created during the current recession recovery have gone to those with a college degree.  Even if someone without a college degree has a job, they are likely making half of what those with at least a Bachelor’s degree make.  The Talent Dividend initiative of CEOs for Cities aims to increase college degree attainment in cities across the country.  Currently 57 cities are competing to see who can achieve the greatest increase in the number of post secondary degrees granted per one thousand individuals over a four-year period.  The city with the greatest success will win a $1 million prize.  To stay up to date on the Talent Dividend, sign up for their monthly e-newsletter.

The Short North has Tall Ambitions in Columbus, Ohio

A recent New York Times article showcases the success of Columbus, Ohio’s Short North district-- a bustling art belt that connects downtown Columbus to the campus of The Ohio State University.  The area brings together an eclectic mix of individuals from different socioeconomic classes and backgrounds.  In the 1980s, the Short North was not a safe area for people to meet-up, however the groundbreaking of a new boutique hotel, the Joseph, shows just how successful the area’s efforts have been.  The renaissance began with the opening of Rigsby’s Kitchen in 1986 and was supported by the opening of many art galleries soon after.  Columbus Mayor Michael B. Coleman called it “the premier arts district in the nation.”  The article also discusses many of the housing development projects happening in the area, ranging from upscale condos to mixed use apartments.

Participate in a Public Transit Study

Calling All Pro-Transit Employers! Does your company actively encourage employees to use transit? Does it support public policies or ballot initiatives for transit? If so, Good Jobs First wants to hear from you. GJF is a non-profit group that focuses on aligning job sites with public transit, and it is now conducting a national study to identify and describe America’s many pro-transit employers. Please contact research director Phil Mattera (202-232-1616 x 212).

Member Benefits

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We are excited to announce that Rosabeth Moss Kanter, Professor of Business Administration at the Harvard Business School, will be one of our speakers for City of Ideas, the CEOs for Cities Fall National Meeting.  Kanter is a well known and respected author and speaker, having published most recently her book Supercorp: How Vanguard Companies Create Opportunity, Profits, Growth, and Social Good.  Kanter is one of many inspiring speakers who will be at the CEOs for Cities Fall National Meeting in Boston, October 15-17.  Registration is now open and we are offering a special prize to all those who register for the National Meeting by September 7!

Chicago City Colleges are Closing the Gap

The skills gap continues to be one of the biggest challenges to economic growth.  In her Huffington Post blog entry, Cheryl Hyman, the Chancellor of the City Colleges of Chicago writes about how their Colleges to Careers program is helping to lessen the gap that exists between available jobs and qualied workers for those jobs.  Rather than just preparing students for what faculty believe is the need of the workforce, Colleges to Careers has developed a partnership between the City Colleges of Chicago staff and leaders in the industries with the most job growth.  Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel has supported this program, and even incentivises employers to hire City College graduates by paying their stipend for their first four weeks on the job.

Going from "OK" to Great in Oklahoma City

The 1980s hit Oklahoma City hard econmically.  However, in this interview in Metropolis, Mayor Mick Cornett talks about the raising of standards of livability that brought the city back to life.  In the 1990s, the region passed a tax to finance the Metropolitan Area Projects Initiative, bringing over a billion dollars to the area for local projects.  The city raised $180 million to redesign downtown streets, and has plans to create a downtown park, epand walking and biking opportunities, and add riverfront recreation activites.  Most of the planning has been done locally, using architects, designers and landscape architects from Oklahoma City. “We want to make a city where at five o’clock people still want to stay,” says Cornett.

Sustainable Communities Magazine

CEOs for Cities was featured in the Summer 2012 Sustainable Communities Magazine produced by the Partnership for Sustainable Communities.  The article highlights the current work of CEOs for Cities and talks about the importance of showing short-term results in catalyzing city progress.  The Partnership for Sustainable Communities is a membership-driven organization that focuses on community planning and development to create more environmentally, economically and socially sustainable communities.

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