Category: News

Advancing Water Affordability: Lessons from Local Innovation and Statewide Action

By: Emma Denison, Communications and Student Engagement Manager • The Water Center at Penn The Water Center at Penn, together with our partners the Mayors Innovation Project, the National Consumer Law Center (NCLC), and the Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC), is working to shine a critical spotlight on local leaders advancing water affordability. By collaborating …

A Mayor’s Perspective on Water Affordability

By: Katya Spear, Managing Director • Mayors Innovation Project This Summer, the Mayors Innovation Project and the Water Center at Penn hosted a webinar featuring Mayor Danene Sorace of Lancaster, Pennsylvania, who offered a unique perspective on managing water affordability from the top. As the head of a city that owns and operates its water …

Member City Spotlight: Fitchburg, WI

Under the new federal administration, long-standing commitments to equity and public rights are under threat. This erosion threatens to deepen racial and economic disparities, undo hard-won progress, and weaken the trust that local leaders have worked hard to build with vulnerable communities. Local governments play a critical role in countering these setbacks by protecting inclusive …

Protecting Rights, Strengthening Cities: Upholding Local Democracy

Since January, cities across the nation have been working to interpret a new, uncertain, and often overwhelming federal policy landscape. At the Summer 2025 Meeting, city leaders came together to discuss how they’re protecting the health and safety of their communities in the face of reduced federal support and rapidly changing federal guidance that often …

A Movement, Not Just a Moment: Welcoming Week Builds Bridges Across America

By Mary Carr Lee, Mayors Innovation Project Welcoming Week is more than a celebration—it’s a movement. It’s a call to action to build a nation of neighbors where all residents can embrace diversity, foster belonging, and shape a future where everyone feels at home. “Welcoming Week started in 2012 as a conversation between a number …

Alternative response models improve safety for all by sending the right response at the right time

By Katya Spear, Managing Director, Mayors Innovation Project The panel The Right Response at the Right Time at the MIP Summer Meeting in Albuquerque, NM, brought together mayors, department heads, and national policy experts to discuss how cities are advancing public safety by establishing and expanding alternative response programs. The conversation highlighted a quiet but …

Hotter Days, Smarter Ways: Innovative Strategies for Heat Resilience

By Quincy Midthun • Mayors Innovation Project Across the country, cities are heating up. Extreme heat not only creates extreme discomfort, it strains the grid and endangers the health and safety of residents, particularly in neighborhoods that lack greenery, which are disproportionately home to communities of color and low income communities. At the Summer 2025 …

Member City Spotlight: Beaverton, OR

Nonprofits are critical partners for local government. They often serve as the first line of support for individuals and families in need, and they help local governments fill gaps and build trust with its most vulnerable communities. However, to be successful long-term, nonprofits need business expertise and education. Today, we bring you our latest Member …

Now is the time to redefine public safety: Building a comprehensive ecosystem to identify, engage, and support those most at risk

Building a comprehensive ecosystem to identify, engage, and support those most at risk

Mayors Combatting Summer Hunger

As a mother, former school board member, and Vice-Chair of the Mayors Alliance to End Childhood Hunger, it is critical to ensure that no child in our country experiences hunger while school is out.  As Mayor, you may know that summer can be the hungriest time of the year for millions of kids when school …