Mayors Innovation Project

Last week the Mayors Innovation Project was in Madison, WI for our Summer Meeting! Over 100 attendees—including 44 mayors—gathered for rich discussions on housing, zoning, entrepreneurship, civic health, safe streets, and building decarbonization. Mayors shared solutions, asked tough questions, connected with new and familiar friends, explored some of Madison’s most iconic attractions, and heard from our wonderful keynote speaker, Kate Garman Burns, the Director of State and Local Innovation, Federation of American Scientists (FAS)!

As always, our goal is to send each attendee home feeling inspired and with at least one new idea, policy, or connection that they can use to improve their city.

We’re incredibly grateful to the mayors, speakers, partners, city staff, and attendees who helped make this event a success! A special shout out to the incredible team at the City of Madison, WI who made this meeting such a success! And a huge thank you to our meeting sponsors: Grid Watch, Not With Our Money, Trust for Public Land, Via, Go Vocal (formerly CitizenLab), Simply Spatial, and Destination Madison, BCycle for making this meeting possible! Your support allows us to create spaces where mayors can share bold ideas, ask hard questions, and solve problems.

Stay tuned for more posts from us in the coming weeks with highlights, photos, and best practices from each panel! Check out materials from the meeting, including the briefing book from each panel, on our website: https://bit.ly/MIP-S26.

We’re thrilled to be kicking off our Summer 2026 Meeting tomorrow in Madison, WI! Hosted by Mayor Satya Rhodes-Conway and her wonderful team at the City of Madison, the summer meeting will bring together mayors and policy experts from across the country to share innovative ideas and resources that mayors can bring home to benefit their cities and residents.

We’ll be hosting panel discussions on zoning, housing, civic health, safer streets, and building decarbonization. In addition to panels, mayors will have the chance to explore Madison’s LEED certified fleet services building🚌♻️, safe streets projects 🚲🛣️, Olbrich gardens🌳🪻, Breese Stevens Field 🏃‍♀️🎤, Public Library 📖🎒, and more!

As always, our commitment is to send mayors home with at least one new best practice, policy, or connection that can help them improve their cities. Thank you so much to our generous sponsors who helped make this event possible: GridWatch, Trust for Public Land, Via, Destination Madison, BCycle, Go Vocal, Not With Our Money, and Simply Spatial—your support allows us to equip mayors with the tools they need to move their cities forward.

To stay connected during and after the event, be sure to follow us and tag us in your posts. We can't wait to see you! Not able to join us? No problem! Access all conference materials—including our panel resources—here on our website: https://bit.ly/MIP-S26, and stay tuned for meeting highlights and photos in the coming weeks.

Summer 2026 Meeting: Madison, WI! Join us in Madison, WI for the Summer Meeting, hosted by Mayor Satya Rhodes-Conway!

Across the country, cities are reassessing their relationship with Flock Safety, the fast-growing provider of automated license plate reader (ALPR) cameras. Once marketed as a turnkey crime-fighting tool, Flock’s system is now at the center of a national debate about data governance, public trust, and the limits of local control.

Check our our latest feature to learn how cities are balancing public safety with community expectations for privacy and accountability 👉

Cities Are Rethinking Flock Cameras—But Not All in the Same Direction By Mary Carr Lee, Mayors Innovation Project Across the country, cities are reassessing their relationship with Flock Safety, the fast-growing provider of automated license plate reader (ALPR) cameras. Once marketed as a turnkey crime-fighting tool, …

We’re just 4 weeks out from our 21st Annual Summer Meeting - this year in Madison, WI! Today, we're incredibly honored to announce that Kate Garman Burns will be taking the stage as our featured keynote speaker 🎤 .

Garman Burns served as Executive Director at MetroLab Network beginning in 2022. She brought this work to the Federation of American Scientists, now leading the MetroLab policy team as the Director of State and Local Innovation. Previously, she was a Senior Associate at Cityfi and worked for two mayoral administrations. Kate was the Technology Policy Advisor for Mayor Jenny Durkan in Seattle, WA. And before moving to Seattle, she was the Innovation Policy Advisor for Mayor Sly James in Kansas City, MO.

Don't wait! Make your plan to join us today 👉https://mayorsinnovation.org/meetings/summer-meeting-2026/

Happy 🌈🏳️‍⚧️!

Often national debates dominate the conversation, but it is local leaders who shape the everyday experiences of residents—through city services, public spaces, partnerships, and the simple but powerful act of ensuring that everyone feels they belong. Thank you mayors for all you do to build welcoming, safe, and inclusive cities for all!

Data consistently shows that youth violence spikes as schools close and seasonal temperatures rise. As we mark National Gun Violence Prevention Month and observe National Gun Violence Awareness Day, municipal leaders across the country are facing one of the most critical challenges of the year: keeping our communities safe during the summer months.

Our latest feature examines how cities are successfully reducing youth violence by investing in robust summer enrichment and youth employment programs. From Durham, NC to Milwaukee, WI, cities are proactively keeping young people engaged and out of harm's way by transforming empty classrooms and community spaces into safe hubs for mentorship, learning, and paid work.

Read the full feature on our website 👉

Summer youth employment as a violence prevention strategy By Leslie Vasquez, Mayors Innovation Project While violent crime has declined recently in many cities, summer months can still bring seasonal spikes in violence that disproportionately affect young people. At the same time, summer school …

Across the country, a new model is gaining momentum, and it's challenging cities to explore alternative approaches to community food access and economic opportunity.

From Atlanta's Azalea Market to Chicago's network of publicly-supported markets to New York City's La Marqueta and the Peninsula, public grocery is emerging as a real tool for cities serious about tackling food insecurity.

In partnership with HR&A Advisors, Local Progress, and Mayors for America, we're bringing together mayoral staff, advisors, and advocates to dig into what it actually takes to make this work — from quick-start interventions to long-term standalone stores. Whether your city is large or small, well-resourced or working with limited capacity, this conversation is designed to help you take the next step.

Register today 👉https://hraadvisors.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_D-_FCgGrRPSsNFx6aLvpGQ

Today, as the third installment of our New Mayor Movement series, we bring you a feature on Mayor Adena Ishii - City of Berkeley!

Mayor Ishii is the first Asian American and first woman of color to serve as Mayor of Berkeley. Central to her administration’s agenda is the idea of building a “beloved community.” For Ishii, this means grounding city priorities and caring for community members by providing public safety, affordable housing, functional infrastructure, and responsive public services.

Read the full feature on our website to learn more about how Mayor Ishii is addressing homelessness and building a culture of transparency and trust 👉 https://mayorsinnovation.org/2026/05/19/from-community-roots-to-city-leadership-mayor-adena-ishiis-vision-to-build-a-stronger-more-equitable-berkeley/

Across the country, a wave of newly elected mayors are stepping into office with fresh perspectives and high expectations.

Today, as the second installment of our New Mayor Movement series, we bring you a feature on Mayor Connie Boesen of Des Moines, IA. Elected in 2023, Boesen is the first woman to lead Iowa's capital city. Check out our feature to learn about how she's investing in neighborhoods and building civic spirit through initiatives like Invest DSM and the Improving Our Neighborhoods program 👉 https://mayorsinnovation.org/2026/05/06/a-historic-first-a-forward-vision-mayor-connie-boesen-on-the-future-of-des-moines/

In May of 2022, the Mayors Innovation Project launched its “May is for Mayoral Safety” campaign to raise awareness of the rise in threats and harassment of US mayors, and to share resources to meet this challenge. Since that time, the challenge has only grown - but so have the number of allies, organizations, and resources to help mayors meet them.

👉 Our 2025 report (https://mayorsinnovation.org/under-pressure/) documents the rise and prevalence of threats and harassment that mayors are facing, especially women mayors and mayors of color.
👉 Organizations including the Democracy Security Project, the Democracy Protection Network, Public Service Alliance (PSA), the Institute for Strategic Dialogue, and the Bridging Divides Initiative offer resources, data, and services to strengthen mayoral security and protection in advance of or in response to threats and harassment.

At MIP, we're committed to shining a light on the growing threat and prevalence of harassment and violence towards elected officials, and its impact on local democracy and representation. We will continue to support mayors, engage the growing network of democracy supporters and allies, and share policy solutions and tools that protect local leaders.