25 cities to get climate-focused innovation teams through $200M Bloomberg initiative – GWC Mag

Dive Brief:

• Bloomberg Philanthropies selected 25 U.S. cities to participate in a three-year initiative aimed at helping communities leverage federal funds for climate action. Announced on March 12, the $200 million Bloomberg American Sustainable Cities initiative includes mostly cities in the East and Midwest U.S.
• The cities will each receive customized policy and technical assistance as well as a Bloomberg Philanthropies-funded innovation team with up to three staff with “expertise in data analysis, insight development, human-centered design, systems thinking, and project management,” according to a press release.
• The Bloomberg American Sustainable Cities initiative removes the burden on cities of choosing between competing priorities, Amanda Daflos, executive director of the Bloomberg Center for Public Innovation at Johns Hopkins University, said in a statement. 

Dive Insight:

More than $400 billion is available to local governments through the Inflation Reduction Act and 2021 infrastructure law, according to Bloomberg Philanthropies. However, strained local government capacity has been identified by researchers and communities as a barrier to unlocking those funds.

“Many local governments will struggle to monitor grant opportunities, devote adequate staff time to developing grant applications, or find projects that are sufficiently advanced and adequately tailored to the specifics of a grant program,” Amy Turner, director of the Cities Climate Law Initiative at Columbia Law School’s Sabin Center for Climate Change Law, wrote in a May 2023 blog post about the IRA.

Mayor Shammas Malik of Akron, Ohio, one of the selected cities, said in a statement, “With the added staff capacity and the network of other cities working towards similar solutions, we will be more innovative and engaged with the community in ideating, developing, and executing projects that create local solutions to the problems facing not only our city but the entire world.” 

Oakland, California, another city selected to participate in the program, plans to use the support of the initiative to ensure that the city’s urban greening efforts benefit Black residents. “This includes addressing the under-representation of Black businesses in City contracting areas and maximizing the economic opportunities associated with the [Urban Forest Plan] contracting dollars,” the city said in a March 13 press release.

Nashville, Tennessee, will leverage the initiative to support a residential clean energy initiative that also trains and upskills the city’s Black communities for jobs and business ownership in the clean energy workforce, according to a press release. 

Atlanta said in a press release that its work as part of the initiative could include developing affordable, energy-efficient housing; investing in electric vehicles and infrastructure; and expanding access to clean energy and local nutritious food.

Other cities selected for the Bloomberg American Sustainable Cities initiative include:

• Birmingham, Alabama
• Buffalo, New York
• Charlotte, North Carolina
• Chattanooga, Tennessee
• Cincinnati
• Cleveland
• Columbus, Ohio
• Dayton, Ohio
• Hampton, Virginia
• Jackson, Mississippi
• Kansas City, Missouri
• Lansing, Michigan
• Memphis, Tennessee
• Montgomery, Alabama
• Nashville, Tennessee
• Newport News, Virginia
• Philadelphia
• Pittsburgh
• Raleigh, North Carolina
• Rochester, New York
• Savannah, Georgia
• St. Louis, Missouri