Stories from this year’s Mayors Challenge

The 4th edition of the Bloomberg Philanthropies Mayors Challenge produced a wave of innovative ideas from City Hall teams across the United States. Spurred by a chance to win $1 million, and motivated to solve tough problems in their communities, 324 cities applied. Of those, 35 finalists received $100,000 and intensive coaching on how to test and improve their ideas with residents. Nine cities were chosen as winners.

Bloomberg Cities has been covering the action every step of the way. Here’s a selection of stories and commentaries from the past year highlighting key moments and ideas from this round of the Mayors Challenge.

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MILESTONE MOMENTS

Teams from all 35 Champion Cities worked on their proposed solutions in March at Ideas Camp.

IDEA ACCELERATORS: On the ground in 300-plus U.S. city halls

THE APPLICATIONS: 324 Mayors Challenge applicants tackle America’s most pressing concerns

35 CHAMPION CITIES CHOSEN: 5 ways U.S. cities are solving America’s biggest challenges

IDEAS CAMP: Prototyping city solutions and launching a revolution

COACHING: What innovation coaches learned by training 35 city hall teams

THE WINNERS: 9 Cities win $100,000 for innovative solutions

WHY THEY WON: How this year’s Mayors Challenge winners rose to the top

COMMENTARY

In Philadelphia, young people helped the city prototype its proposed Juvenile Justice Hub by role playing the intake procedure.

PATRICIA E. HARRIS: Mayors meeting the challenge: A visit to Philadelphia

JAMES ANDERSON: The Mayors Challenge: Unleashing the power of public prototyping

VIJAY KUMAR: When it comes to “open innovation,” cities have the advantage; here’s how they can run with it

ISSUES & IDEAS

Huntington, W.Va., Fire Chief Jan Rader tested whether offering first responders health and wellness supports can help them cope with the trauma of handling an overwhelming number of deaths from drug overdoses.

CLIMATE: How residents help cities stand up to extreme weather

ENERGY: How citizen input supercharged three energy-saving ideas

OPIOIDS: How one fire chief is fighting “compassion fatigue” as overdoes mount

TECHNOLOGY: How virtual reality is helping create real change in cities

TRANSPORTATION: Mid-sized cities test new approaches to reducing traffic