by Matt Whitney
Cities are the heartbeat of our economies, culture and societies. They are home to over 50% of the world’s population, consume over 75% of the world’s energy, and generate more than 80% of global GDP.
As such, cities play a critical role in addressing the most pressing challenges of our time, including climate change, public health, inequality and housing.
I was privileged to recently attend the Bloomberg CityLab event in Mexico City, thanks to an invitation from Aspen UK. CityLab recognises that city governments around the world are innovating to tackle common problems, and that providing the space to share those innovations can ladder local successes into global impact.
The CityLab 2024 event brought together over 700 mayors, policymakers, innovators and creatives to deliver on this ambition. Over three days, we explored a variety of urban issues and showcased some inspirational examples of action. Here are my top three takeaways:
- City governments face immense but common challenges: topics covered at the event were wide ranging, and each one could easily have occupied the full three days alone. I was struck that no matter how big, small, new, old, developed or developing a city is, all are asking the same questions: how do we house a rapidly growing population? How do we deal with increasingly extreme weather? How do we expand public transport? Guarantee water supply? Manage waste? Deliver jobs? With cities tackling the same problems, it’s imperative to find ways – through events like CityLab – to share and scale solutions.
- Government can’t solve problems alone: being a mayor sounds like a thankless job. You’re presented with all the aforementioned challenges and expected to solve them with budgets that are too small and powers that are often constrained by national government oversight. No single leader can ever hope to deliver on everything, and especially not within one or two political terms. Yet, mayors don’t necessarily need to. At this event alone, there was an army of urbanists with fresh ideas, bold visions, practical experience and local expertise. Trusting people and sharing power with them can be transformational, and isn’t that the definition is true leadership? Participatory budgeting, cooperatives and citizens’ assemblies are just some examples that could and should be scaled significantly.
- The value of multidisciplinary events: I spend a lot of my time at events focussed on the areas I work in every day: climate change, air pollution and philanthropy. I’m often running into familiar faces and hearing recurring topics, sometimes making me feel like I’m working within my own ‘bubble’. CityLab burst that bubble: I heard about topics that were new to me and I spoke to people working in completely different areas. Networking beyond the usual suspects wasn’t just intellectually interesting but was also professionally valuable. Most conversations quickly found common ground, be it an unexpected mutual contact, a shared experience, or a common reflection, and I bring home new ideas and experiences I otherwise wouldn’t have gained from a narrower event.
Overall, CityLab is what the Aspen UK is all about: meeting new people, learning from inspiring leadership and discussing knotty problems. I am grateful for the opportunity and hope to attend next year’s convening.