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NY mayor contest for Europe cities
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New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg is offering European cities millions of dollars to be government groundbreakers, tapping his personal fortune to extend his cities-as-civic-laboratories campaign overseas as the end of his own tenure nears.
The billionaire businessman-turned-politician yesterday invited about 600 sizeable European cities to compete for 9 million euros — about US$12 million — in prizes, from his personal foundation, for novel plans to improve urban life.
The competition could signal how Bloomberg aims to maintain and broaden his impact on government after his 12-year tenure ends in December.
“I am a big believer in the power of cities to shape the future,” Bloomberg said in a statement ahead of a news conference at London City Hall.
He said the contest would spotlight “bold ideas which can take root in Europe and spread around the world.”
Modeled on a Bloomberg Philanthropies contest that awarded US$9 million to five US cities this year, the European competition seeks ideas that solve problems or make government more efficient or citizen friendly.
It’s open to cities with 100,000 or more residents in 40 countries. Winners of a 5 million euro grand prize and four 1 million euro awards will be announced next fall.
“Cities have a vital role to play in the recovery of struggling nations across Europe,” Mayor Matteo Renzi of Florence, Italy, said. He and London Mayor Boris Johnson and Mayor Hanna Gronkiewicz-Waltz of Warsaw, Poland, joined Bloomberg at yesterday’s news conference.
“Flexible funds for early-stage innovation are hard to come by in cities,” said James Anderson, who oversees Bloomberg Philanthropies’ government innovation work.
In the US version of the Mayors Challenge, the US$5 million top prize went to Providence, Rhode Island, to improve poor children’s vocabulary by outfitting them with recording devices, counting the words they hear and coaching parents.
Bloomberg’s philanthropy, which he has said will be his focus after leaving office, counts promoting government innovation among its priorities.
The organization also supports environmental, education, health and arts projects. It gave away US$370 million last year.
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