Providence, Rhode Island's vision for improving early childhood literacy has been selected as the winner of the Bloomberg Philanthropies' Mayor's Challenge, a nationwide contest seeking innovative and replicable ideas for improving cities.
While Providence's plan for helping parents to improve their children’s vocabulary was chosen as the winner of the $5 million grand prize, four other cities were also selected to receive $1 million grants to help kick-start their promising projects.
Other winners include:
- Houston's plan for "a new recycling program that would allow residents to be free of sorting"
- Santa Monica's plan to develop a comprehensive wellbeing index
- Philadelphia's plan to facilitate creative entrepreneurship
- Chicago's plan for a real-time analytics platform to improve city operations
“These five ideas reflect the most promising innovations that are emerging from city halls around the country,” said Mayor Bloomberg, in an e-mail, “and we’re excited to support them because they have the potential to be replicated in cities large and small. While Washington is paralyzed by partisanship, mayors are moving forward with bold new solutions to many of our nation’s toughest problems.”
To see the five award-winning pitches see this post in The Atlantic Cities.
FULL STORY: Providence Is Top City in Contest of Ideas

Planetizen Federal Action Tracker
A weekly monitor of how Trump’s orders and actions are impacting planners and planning in America.

Chicago’s Ghost Rails
Just beneath the surface of the modern city lie the remnants of its expansive early 20th-century streetcar system.

San Antonio and Austin are Fusing Into one Massive Megaregion
The region spanning the two central Texas cities is growing fast, posing challenges for local infrastructure and water supplies.

Since Zion's Shuttles Went Electric “The Smog is Gone”
Visitors to Zion National Park can enjoy the canyon via the nation’s first fully electric park shuttle system.

Trump Distributing DOT Safety Funds at 1/10 Rate of Biden
Funds for Safe Streets and other transportation safety and equity programs are being held up by administrative reviews and conflicts with the Trump administration’s priorities.

German Cities Subsidize Taxis for Women Amid Wave of Violence
Free or low-cost taxi rides can help women navigate cities more safely, but critics say the programs don't address the root causes of violence against women.
Urban Design for Planners 1: Software Tools
This six-course series explores essential urban design concepts using open source software and equips planners with the tools they need to participate fully in the urban design process.
Planning for Universal Design
Learn the tools for implementing Universal Design in planning regulations.
planning NEXT
Appalachian Highlands Housing Partners
Mpact (founded as Rail~Volution)
City of Camden Redevelopment Agency
City of Astoria
City of Portland
City of Laramie