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PERSPECTIVES

Listening to Mayors to Enable Progress in Cities

January 20, 2016
Bob Annibale, Citi Pride Affinity Co-lead

Cities around the world are growing – and growing fast. For the first time in human history, more people live in urban areas than rural ones. In the United States, for example, 81 percent of Americans now live in urban locations, an increase of 12 percent since 2000.

As hubs of innovation that serve as critical parts of our global economy, cities are magnets for talent, investment and trade from every corner of the world. It is why over 300 languages are spoken in New York City; why 44% of small businesses are owned by immigrants in Los Angeles; and why Chicago O'Hare Airport features direct flights to 210 cities around the world.

However, as urbanization continues to accelerate, formidable new challenges are emerging. Infrastructure, equitable access to public services like transportation, household financial resiliency, and public safety have all become strained as more and more people make cities their home. Mayors are at the frontline of addressing these complex topics, yet they are rarely called upon to share their collective insights and perspectives. And we believe this is a missed opportunity.

To bring together perspectives from mayors across the United States, we sponsored the inaugural 2015 Menino Survey of Mayors. The survey is named in honor of Thomas Menino, a visionary urban leader who served as Mayor of Boston for more than two decades, but sadly passed away in October of 2014. Over the past year, we have worked – in collaboration with the U.S. Conference of Mayors and Boston University's Initiative on Cities – to take the pulse of U.S. mayors on contemporary issues through the largest and most comprehensive survey of its kind ever undertaken in the nation.

Today, we are proud to publish the findings of the survey, which offers rich and important new insights into public infrastructure, housing, public safety and municipal finance. We hope these findings will provide valuable insight to local governments, academics and even the private sector, including our own company. Through our Citi for Cities initiative, we partner with governments, businesses and communities to develop innovative solutions that help cities thrive during this period of unprecedented urban transformation.

Whether it is developing the U.S's first universal child college savings account program in San Francisco, repairing Detroit's street lights, leading as the nation's number one affordable housing lender, or providing today's youth with the career readiness tools and opportunities necessary to thrive in the 21st century economy, Citi has been committed to developing inclusive cities, where residents can fulfill their potential and contribute to thriving urban economies.

But the challenges highlighted by the survey are a powerful reminder that much more remains to be done. As Mayor Menino once said "Cities are full of energy and promise these days. But they are also full of challenges — of environmental threats, of educational roadblocks, of growing inequalities."

We must continue to listen to mayors and understand their needs. Today's survey helps us do that, and in turn, informs what we at Citi do best – working with our partners and clients creating innovative solutions for cities that enable real urban progress.

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