With Support from Citi and The Rockefeller Foundation, Boston University Releases “Cities Joining Ranks—Policy Networks on the Rise”
Today the Boston University Initiative on Cities, with support from Citi Community Development and The Rockefeller Foundation, launched Cities Joining Ranks—Policy Networks on the Rise, a new report which details the activities, visibility, value, and membership of city-to-city policy networks, and provides the first evaluation of city peer groups based on joining behavior.
Report findings show big cities on average are part of more networks: 44 of the 50 largest US cities are in two or more of the 15 networks and the largest population centers—including New York City, Los Angeles, Chicago, Houston, and Philadelphia—participate in seven or more networks. The most highly networked cities are not exclusively the biggest: Boulder, CO; Pittsburgh, PA; New Orleans, LA; and Berkeley, CA are among the 13 most active joiners of the environmental networks; and Akron, OH and Richmond, VA are among the most engaged in non-environmental policy networks.
The analyses included in the report are based on a number of original data sets and sources, including a nationally representative survey of American mayors, network membership rolls, interviews with network representatives, and supplemental information from online sources...