Monday, March 30, 2015
How Bloomberg is Still Changing the Way Cities Operate
Bloomberg began his national innovation campaign in 2010, while he was still serving as mayor of New York City. His foundation sought to spread an entrepreneurial spirit to local governments around the country. In 2011, Bloomberg Philanthropies awarded a total of $24 million to five cities: Atlanta; Chicago; Louisville, Ky.; Memphis, Tenn.; and New Orleans. The mayors of those cities weren’t required to pursue any particular agenda. They simply had to demonstrate that they were entrepreneurial.
So far, every city has had a success story to report. Memphis reduced its retail vacancy rate by 30 percent in key commercial corridors. Atlanta found housing for almost a quarter of its chronically homeless population. Chicago cut the licensing time for new restaurants by 33 percent. Louisville redirected about a quarter of its low-severity 911 calls away from emergency rooms and into a doctor’s office or urgent care center. The first round of results encouraged Bloomberg Philanthropies to announce another $45 million last year to support 12 more U.S. cities....