Providing World-Class Consulting to Cities

Bloomberg Associates is the philanthropic municipal consulting arm of Bloomberg Philanthropies. Founded in 2014, our Bloomberg Associates team works with client cities on a wide array of projects to improve residents’ quality of life. Across this work, we take a strategic, collaborative, and results-oriented approach to make cities stronger, safer, more equitable, and more efficient.

Overview

19 cities engaged since 2014

$3.3 billion in city and private funding invested in projects we supported or created

55,000 hours of pro bono support provided in 2022

Partner City Spotlights

Chicago, Illinois

Bloomberg Associates has supported a series of projects in Chicago. To address disparities in tree canopy coverage, we helped create the “Our Roots Chicago” campaign, which will use a data tool developed by our team to prioritize underserved neighborhoods and plant 75,000 trees over the next five years. We also helped the city’s Chief Data Technology Officer organize a new Digital Service Office, including launching a website, assisting with public outreach, and producing the Chicago Digital Equity Plan, summarizing the city’s plan to expand internet access to all residents.

A group of people looking at newly planted trees — In Chicago, Bloomberg Associates helped create a data tool to identify neighborhoods with low rates of tree canopy coverage, allowing the city to prioritize them when planting new trees.

Video

Learn How Cities are Acknowledging That Trees are Critical Infrastructure

Detroit, Michigan

Following the 2020 U.S. Census, which suggested that Detroit suffered a 10% drop in population, our team successfully worked with the city in a comprehensive process to find those who were missed during the 2020 count. Detroit submitted the results to the Census Bureau, which approved them and updated the city’s census data. In a major win, the decision will provide millions of dollars in additional federal funding for the city over the remainder of the decade.

Lima, Peru

In Lima, Bloomberg Associates helped expand and improve access to public space. Our team created a toolkit to help target spaces that would benefit the greatest number of residents, with a special focus on areas that could be safe and welcoming for children to play. After an initial rollout with 17 public spaces, the program has grown to include over 50 parks, parklets, and other areas throughout Lima, benefiting residents of all ages.

London, United Kingdom

We partnered with London to create a network of major institutions working together to support the recovery from COVID-19, address social and economic inequalities, and fight the climate crisis. Our team has provided strategy, policy, and project management support, and these institutions have pledged to dedicate hundreds of millions of pounds to local procurement and hiring, mentoring for young people, and facility decarbonization. We also helped design and launch the city’s Business Climate Challenge, which partners with local Business Improvement Districts to provide free technical assistance that helps businesses reduce their energy use and emissions. In the program’s first year, participants reduced their energy use by an average of 16%, surpassing the 10% target. It has now scaled to support more than 200 businesses across the city.

Milan, Italy

Our Bloomberg Associates team is working with Milan on a school-based iteration of the city’s Piazza Aperte (“Open Plazas”) program, which transformed and reclaimed over 40 plazas and public spaces for pedestrians with our support. We are helping to select and implement projects at schools across the city, focused on improving safety and quality of life for students as well as local residents.

Dynamic public plazas around the city in Milan where kids are playing with chalk

Global Reach, Local Impact: Milan

Our experts at Bloomberg Associates have worked with Milan to modernize its economic development strategy, create green public spaces and plazas, and make it easier for people to move to the city.

See more global stories

Newark, New Jersey

We supported Newark’s creation of a new “Newark360” master plan, which will guide the city’s land use, development, preservation, sustainability, and neighborhood revitalization efforts over the next 10 years. After extensive community engagement, the plan was adopted in September 2022 and awarded “Outstanding Plan of the Year” by the New Jersey Chapter of the American Planning Association. We also worked with the city on a comprehensive, data-driven plan to end chronic homelessness over the next three years. Developed with more than 100 public, private, and nonprofit partners, as well as dedicated residents, it focuses on building partnerships, expanding housing, and eliminating barriers to service.

A man reading a brochure — Bloomberg Associates helped Newark develop a data-driven plan to tackle chronic homelessness.

Phoenix, Arizona

Phoenix is our newest client city, where our projects are in their early stages. Our team is working with the tourism bureau to ensure that major events hosted in the city are selected strategically and provide valuable community benefits. We are also helping the Office of Arts & Culture gather feedback to strengthen communications and better collaborate with key stakeholders. Our work will continue to expand moving forward, as we support the city’s efforts to increase affordable housing, improve access to good jobs, and reconnect residents to the area’s natural resources.

Podcast

Listen to Learn How We Work With Client Cities to Address Key Housing Affordability Issues

Tampa, Florida

Our team began working in Tampa in 2022, where we helped to develop Tampa Soulwalk, an art and heritage trail that tells the rich history of Tampa’s Black communities and the city’s diverse arts and culture sector. The trail spans 46 miles and 25 neighborhoods and includes nearly 100 stops that visitors can explore, with more than 25 public art installations in development. Bloomberg Associates also helped design a bike path that connects the city’s downtown with the University of Tampa and major cultural institutions, providing safer crossings for thousands of students, pedestrians, and cyclists every day. We are continuing to build out other work in Tampa to expand affordable housing, support workforce development, and improve tree canopy cover.