During his State of the City address this year, Adam Paul, mayor of Lakewood, Colorado, nailed it. “I have given this a lot of thought,” he said, “and I want to tell you my ‘one thing’ for this year. I want to address childhood hunger in our city. There is no excuse for children to
In his early February state of the city address, Mayor Steve Schewel of Durham, North Carolina, was blunt with his constituents: “Here is a hard truth we must face: Despite our best efforts, Durham will not reach its true greatness while our state government weakens environmental protections, drops teacher pay to the bottom of the
More local solar energy development means cleaner air, increased resiliency, and more well-paying jobs in cities across the country. That’s why we’re launching our third-annual SolSmart City Challenge, a national competition for cities to showcase their support for solar energy, starting this week. The prizes for the two winners of the SolSmart City Challenge include: “Techno-economic
With city leaders confronting major challenges across education, infrastructure, economic development and more, Kansas City will showcase its own progress as the host of NLC’s annual City Summit in 2022. The booming Midwestern metropolis, which was announced as host of the national conference today, will provide a compelling backdrop for city leaders to tackle trending issues
Today, Americans have supercomputers in their pockets, on their wrists, in their cars and in their home appliances. Internet usage is at an all-time high, with 89 percent of the population having access in 2018 — compared to 52 percent in 2000. According to the Pew Research Center, nearly 90 percent of American adults have
“Today, that critical connection to the wider world isn’t just physical. It’s digital.” – Mayor Jim Gray of Lexington, Kentucky, in his 2018 State of the City speech. In this day and age, mayors are utilizing technological developments to create more innovative and engaging municipal services for their residents. From “online city halls” to an
In America, most local leaders don’t run for city council, county commissioner, or mayor solely to solve climate change. But its challenges are now present in our communities — along with opportunities to solve them. Despite lingering disagreement about the causes of climate change, its impacts have reached cities and towns across America. That is
Each year, mayors around the country detail their visions for the upcoming year in their state of the city speeches. With the federal process continuing to be in political gridlock, state of the city speeches have taken on new importance and meaning, giving mayors a bigger and brighter stage to articulate the changes their cities
In the past, many academics have complained about the Supreme Court frequently reversing lower court decisions that have denied police officers qualified immunity. Last month, in Sause v. Bauer, the court reversed (and remanded) a grant of qualified immunity. In a unanimous per curiam (unauthored) opinion, the Supreme Court remanded this case back to the
This article is part of an NLC series on the future of work in America’s cities. Among other technological advances and societal shifts, automation and artificial intelligence are impacting the workforce — vastly improving productivity and raising wages in some jobs while erasing or transforming others entirely. These new forces are also impacting the skillsets that are
