Bloomberg Philanthropies Unveils First Slate of Urban Solutions to Spread Through Bloomberg Cities Idea Exchange
Includes 11 proven and promising interventions from around the world that address widespread mayoral challenges including homelessness, economic development, polarization, climate change, public health, and more
Exchange will help great ideas spearheaded by local governments take off in thousands of other cities worldwide
Mexico City, Mexico – Bloomberg Philanthropies today announced the initial set of municipal programs and policies to enter the Bloomberg Cities Idea Exchange, a first-of-its-kind initiative to help spread proven solutions from one city to others around the world. The ideas selected tackle pressing municipal concerns, have been shown to work, and are adaptable—as cities who use the Idea Exchange must be able to customize the interventions to their local contexts.
Through the Bloomberg Cities Idea Exchange, local officials can source and learn about ideas to bring to their cities through the online platform, and also receive hands-on expert technical assistance to tailor and implement those ideas. From operational blueprints to experiential learning tours, strategy-sharing with peers, implementation grants, and an evaluation fund to expand the pipeline with new ideas developing locally, the Idea Exchange and its 11 inaugural interventions are expected to reach thousands of new cities, representing hundreds of millions of residents globally. The announcement was made by Bloomberg Philanthropies’ CEO Patricia E. Harris at Bloomberg CityLab 2024 in Mexico City, Mexico.
“We can help cities meet their biggest challenges by spreading proven solutions faster, but only if we also empower them to customize those solutions around their unique circumstances,” said Patricia E. Harris, CEO of Bloomberg Philanthropies. “This first-of-its-kind initiative arms cities with the information and technical assistance they need to tailor innovative ideas in ways that work for them, and we’re looking forward to working with mayors and local leaders to help them capitalize on our latest effort to help spread and share the best, most promising solutions around the world.”
Despite efforts from governments and nonprofit groups to catalog evidence-based programs that spread, proven and promising ideas rarely go viral and replication efforts often fail—though there is significant interest from municipalities to learn from peers. The Bloomberg Cities Idea Exchange’s design is based on research of what helps and prevents ideas to spread between localities. Each idea that is now part of the Idea Exchange was assessed through the Nesta Standard of Evidence. Interventions were also reviewed for their cost and complexity, level of implementation documentation, technical feasibility, and flexibility. Those selected have a track record of stoking enthusiasm from stakeholders, attracting investment, rallying ambassadorship, generating political interest, and creating excitement in communities—sparking the momentum ideas need to take hold in new places.
The first ideas to enter the Bloomberg Cities Idea Exchange include:
Air Pollution: Installing low-cost sensors to spur improvements
Over 50 cities worldwide benefit from air sensor programs: the installation of low-cost air quality sensors placed in high traffic locations for target populations, such as schools and children’s health centers. The sensors track pollution levels that can inform and mobilize behavior and policy improvements. In Lima, Peru, air sensor monitoring has improved air quality by 45% in locations that service 8,000 children.
Greenhouse Gas Emissions: Renovating and retrofitting aging public buildings
From Warsaw, Poland to Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, this intervention helps cities conserve energy and reduce emissions. It begins with assessing public housing or buildings. Cities then retrofit those that are aging with modern improvements including LED lights, solar panels, geothermal energy, cold-climate heat pumps, water-saving showerheads, and induction stoves. In Paris, France, where retrofits have been completed in 12% of public housing, energy use has decreased by 54% and greenhouse gas emissions have been lowered by 56%—reducing energy bills for those households by €400 annually.
Carbon Cutbacks: Supplying school lunches with sustainably farmed produce that reduce emissions
This program sources student meals that contain produce from local farms using sustainable agriculture methods. Established in São Paolo, Brazil, where it is projected to cut carbon emissions by over 18% by 2025, the initiative is currently serving 286,000 youth and expanding to reach over one million.
Community Crises: Using municipal data to connect neighbors in need with fellow residents
Developed in Istanbul, Turkey, Pay It Forward, a Bloomberg Philanthropies’ Mayors Challenge-winning idea, leverages municipal data to match residents in need with community members that can provide support. From helping neighbors pay utility bills during the pandemic to rallying global aid during a national earthquake disaster, this city-led platform brings people together to solve challenges. Since its inception, it has delivered over $12 million USD in aid.
Corruption: Digitizing permits and business licenses
Piloted in Guadalajara, Mexico, the Visor Urbano program is an open-source, fully customizable digital platform that streamlines the issuance of construction licenses and business permits—making the process efficient and transparent. The platform led to an 84% reduction in license processing times, as well as a 74% decrease in bribe requests. It is now being adopted in more than 100 other cities.
Economic Vulnerability: Powering cold storage with solar energy and community cooperatives
A Bloomberg Philanthropies’ Mayors Challenge-winning idea, this intervention provides local merchants with solar-powered cold storage units, managed by community-based cooperatives, that allow vegetables and other produce to be stored overnight. In Rourkela, India, the program has reduced food waste by 75% and allowed farmers to grow more produce that sells at a higher price.
Learning Loss: Providing summer education programs for youth to close academic gaps
Designed to bridge post-pandemic gaps, the Summer Boost summer learning program helps students advance academic progress while providing engaging enrichment. Already replicating in U.S. cities from Baltimore, Maryland to San Antonio, Texas, an independent evaluation of 35,000 students found that Summer Boost participants gained an additional 3 – 4 weeks of reading and 4 – 5 weeks of math progress relative to non-participants, recovering approximately 22% and 31%, respectively, of COVID-related learning loss.
Noncommunicable Diseases: Implementing smoke-free policies and regulations in public places
Implemented in New York City under Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg in 2003, smoke-free policies have since been adopted in over 1,000 cities across 74 countries. This intervention includes creating policies to ban smoking in public places coupled with public education campaigns about harmful impacts. These efforts have been found to significantly decrease or eliminate exposure to secondhand smoke, improving and saving lives—including preventing 10,000 premature deaths in New York City.
Street Homelessness: Converting shipping containers into temporary shelter
Piloted in Atlanta, Georgia and replicating in Los Angeles, California and Newark, New Jersey, this solution repurposes shipping containers into low-cost, temporary housing villages that are supported by social services. Together these three cities have collectively built over 300 bed-units more quickly and inexpensively than other temporary housing interventions trialed in mid-to-large sized cities from San Francisco, California to Washington, D.C., reducing construction costs by 30 percent per bed compared to traditional shelters, and completing construction within just three to six months.
Traffic Fatalities: Piloting and passing sensible speed limit legislation
This solution involves cities testing, setting, and enforcing speed limits in accordance with WHO recommendations for urban areas at 30 kilometers per hour alongside engaging communities on road safety benefits. Since 2007, Bloomberg Philanthropies has saved lives and reduced injuries from traffic crashes through these interventions in over 50 cities and provinces from Mumbai, India to Ho Chi Minh, Vietnam. By 2030, these efforts are projected to save nearly 312,000 lives.
Waste Management: Formalizing informal workforces
This intervention leverages policy, executive action, and legislation to bring informal sanitation workers—and their contributions—into the formal economy. In Accra, Ghana, this work boosted waste collection from 75% to 90%, increased waste capture from 53% to 90%, and more than tripled recycling rates. Its success is now being replicated in more than 20 cities, including Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, Dar Es Salaam, Tanzania, and Bengaluru, India.
“Cities may be culturally and demographically distinct, but they face many of the same intractable problems,” said James Anderson, who leads the Government Innovation program at Bloomberg Philanthropies. “To solve them, their local governments must have promising and proven solutions that work and the supports to adapt and implement them. The Bloomberg Cities Idea Exchange brings together curious mayors, evidence-based ideas, and the resources city halls need to deliver impact back home.”
The Bloomberg Cities Idea Exchange connects local governments with technical and policy experts, as well as leading global and regional organizations already advancing idea-sharing between cities. The Ideas Exchange’s founding partners, contributing their expertise and insight, are the United States Conference of Mayors, Federation of Canadian Municipalities, the OECD Champion Mayors for Inclusive Growth, Red de Innovación Local, C40 Cities, and the Partnership for Healthy Cities. Delivery Associates, a mission-based organization that works with local governments across the globe, will provide technical and operational assistance to participating officials.
The first-of-its-kind Idea Exchange builds on more than 10 years of work led by Bloomberg Philanthropies to discover, nurture, and drive innovation in cities. The Bloomberg Philanthropies Mayors Challenge has provided 38 winning cities with funding and technical assistance to realize their ideas for addressing civic issues across five rounds of the competition. Expanding the impact of the Mayors Challenge, to date Bloomberg Philanthropies has supported the replication of the most successful winning ideas to 337 other cities globally, reaching over 100 million residents around the world.
The Bloomberg Cities Idea Exchange is available pro-bono to any city that registers. To date, nearly 500 municipalities are participating. To learn more, visit citiesideaexchange.bloomberg.org.
About Bloomberg Philanthropies:
Bloomberg Philanthropies invests in 700 cities and 150 countries around the world to ensure better, longer lives for the greatest number of people. The organization focuses on creating lasting change in five key areas: the Arts, Education, Environment, Government Innovation, and Public Health. Bloomberg Philanthropies encompasses all of Michael R. Bloomberg’s giving, including his foundation, corporate, and personal philanthropy as well as Bloomberg Associates, a philanthropic consultancy that advises cities around the world. In 2023, Bloomberg Philanthropies distributed $3 billion. For more information, please visit bloomberg.org, sign up for our newsletter, or follow us on Instagram, LinkedIn, YouTube, Threads, Facebook, and X.
Media Contact:
Sam Fuld, sam@bloomberg.org