\n<\/p>\n
The winners of this year\u2019s Bloomberg Philanthropies Mayors Challenge<\/a> created innovative projects to improve their cities\u2019 core services \u2013 many using some combination of artificial intelligence<\/a> and the wisdom of their residents.<\/p>\n That\u2019s what South Bend, Indiana, Mayor James Mueller did with his initiative that uses AI to interpret data about residents, like a family falling behind on paying its water bill, and to help offer them services and support that could prevent larger issues.<\/p>\n \u201cTechnology is not necessarily good or bad \u2013 it\u2019s how it\u2019s used and how you protect against abuses,\u201d said Mueller, a Democrat who has been mayor since 2020. \u201cWe\u2019re trying to use cutting edge tools to deliver city services in a proactive way that meets our residents\u2019 needs.\u201d<\/p>\n The twenty-four winners announced Tuesday range from Boise, Idaho, where they are using geothermal energy to lower residents’ heating bills, to Beira, Mozambique, where they are relocating fishermen and their families from flood-prone coastal homes to safer inland houses. Each will receive $1 million to implement the program, as well as support from Bloomberg Philanthropies experts to help the new initiative succeed.<\/p>\n The hope, says former New York City Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg<\/a>, founder of Bloomberg Philanthropies and Bloomberg L.P., is that successful programs from Mayors Challenge winners can be used in other cities.<\/p>\n \u201cThe most effective city halls are bold, creative, and proactive in solving problems and meeting residents\u2019 needs \u2013 and we launched the Mayors Challenge to help more of them succeed,\u201d Bloomberg said in a statement.<\/p>\n James Anderson, head of government innovation programs at Bloomberg Philanthropies, said many of this year\u2019s winners are integrating AI technology into their work in sophisticated ways, bringing municipal governments closer to the residents they serve.<\/p>\n \u201cTesting and learning and adapting new ideas don\u2019t generally get funded with public dollars,\u201d Anderson said. \u201cIt is up to philanthropy to support experimentation.\u201d<\/p>\n Vico Sotto, mayor of Pasig City in the Philippines, said becoming one of this year\u2019s Mayors Challenge winners will speed up his project to build floating parks in the Pasig River that will become new community space and reduce flooding threats in the area. Without the support of Bloomberg Philanthropies, Sotto said the initiative wouldn\u2019t be able to start for another year or two.<\/p>\n \u201cThe government doesn\u2019t have a great reputation when it comes to maintaining infrastructure,\u201d Sotto said. \u201cSo we will be creating a governance council, including people who live in the area, so definitely they\u2019re not going to abandon these parks. They\u2019re going to take care of them because they\u2019re using them as well.\u201d<\/p>\n In Lafayette, Louisiana, the city-parish had the opposite problem. Lafayette wanted to update parts of its sewer system, but because some parts were on homeowners\u2019 property the city wasn\u2019t allowed to pay for it.<\/p>\n Mayor-President Monique Blanco Boulet said the Mayors Challenge encouraged her administration to figure out a solution that will now allow Lafayette to make the repairs and, as a result, encourage development in the city. The plan was also named a Mayors Challenge winner.<\/p>\n \u201cBloomberg Philanthropies, the staff, Michael Bloomberg \u2013 all of them \u2013 have such a global impact in ways that most people will never know,\u201d said Boulet, a Republican elected in 2023. \u201cThey bring in a level of capacity and give you the space to really be creative and to come up with solutions that can change lives.\u201d<\/p>\n South Bend\u2019s Mueller said that the Mayors Challenge comes at a time when more and more global problems need to be solved at a local level.<\/p>\n \u201cTrust in government is at an all-time low, but local governments consistently perform better in surveys about trust from their residents,\u201d Mueller said. \u201cIt is critical for us to maintain that level of trust with our residents and build it even further. So that\u2019s why we\u2019re always looking at innovative ways of doing things better and making the city a better place to live.\u201d<\/p>\n The winners of the 2026 Bloomberg Philanthropies Mayors Challenge are: As-Salt, Jordan; Barcelona, Spain; Beira, Mozambique; Belfast, Northern Ireland; Benin City, Nigeria; Boise, Idaho, United States; Budapest, Hungary; Cape Town, South Africa; Cartagena, Colombia; Fez, Morocco; Fukuoka, Japan; Ghaziabad, India; Ghent, Belgium; Kanifing, The Gambia; Lafayette, Louisiana, United States; Medell\u00edn, Colombia; Netanya, Israel; Pasig, Philippines; Rio de Janeiro, Brazil; South Bend, Indiana, United States; Surabaya, Indonesia; Toronto, Canada; Turku, Finland; Visakhapatnam, India.<\/p>\n _____<\/p>\n Associated Press coverage of philanthropy and nonprofits receives support through the AP\u2019s collaboration with The Conversation US, with funding from Lilly Endowment Inc. The AP is solely responsible for this content. For all of AP\u2019s philanthropy coverage, visit https:\/\/apnews.com\/hub\/philanthropy<\/a>.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n