Bloomberg Associates

Jacob Koch on our sustainability team recently spoke at the Arbor Day Foundation Partners in Community Forestry conference, highlighting the impressive tree equity work happening in Chicago. In this video, he also highlights Chicago's tree planting efforts and why trees are a win for cities, residents, and the environment: 

Exciting news from City of Newark. Mayor Ras J. Baraka announces the 2024 Creative Catalyst Fund Awardees, supporting 168 local artists & art organizations. A testament to the city's commitment to its vibrant artistic community. Congrats to all awardees! https://lnkd.in/gkfkWZcU

Yesterday I was honored to deliver a keynote address at Cornell Tech’s Urban Tech Summit, which focused on the role of #climatetech and AI in accelerating adaptation. I highlighted four areas tech and AI can play a key role in urban adaptation and five actions we can take to unlock that potential. AI can help cities: 🔎 better understand how our built environments are functioning to target the the commonsense solutions that exist today (see First Street) ⛑️ be more resilient through real-time monitoring and response (see Pano AI) 🏙️ model future impacts and solutions —whether it’s new zoning laws, flood barriers, or building retrofits—without spending a dollar 🔗 link distributed systems to scale up small actions for outsized impacts (see Renew Home for incredible potential of VPP’s to address peak energy demand) What is needed to help these solutions and new ideas scale? ❓climate tech companies need to start by asking cities what problems need to be solved 📝 city leaders need to streamline the processes to source and deploy solutions (see NYC’s challenge-based procurement) 📈 Companies need to better leverage policies to create demand - and policy makers to better understand how they can create or strengthen markets for climate action 🤝 We need to build partnerships, break down institutional silos, and streamline arcane processes (see The New York Climate Exchange and City of Boston’s Office of New Urban Mechanics) 💪 We to be bolder! The status quo is what got us here – it won’t solve our problems. Thanks to Michael Samuelian, Anthony Townsend, and simon sylvester-chaudhuri / CIV:LAB for the invitation. And great to see (and hear from) David Gilford, Jamie Torres-Springer, Jaime Lavin, Rohit Aggarwala, Louie Woodall, Micah Kotch, & David Hammer (Popwheels) #UrbanTechSummit #UTS2024

In his recent piece for World Cities Culture Forum, David Andersson from our Arts & Culture team explores how #AsphaltArt can transform dangerous intersections into vibrant community spaces, helping to slow traffic and make crosswalks more visible (and colorful!)   Now, cities across Canada, Mexico, and the U.S. can apply for up to $100,000 in funding for large-scale artistic street interventions. This grant opportunity supports projects that use murals, sculptures, and installations to improve street safety, activate public spaces, and engage local communities.   The Asphalt Art Guide is a valuable toolkit for cities looking to implement these impactful projects. Apply by January 31, 2025! Read the full story and learn more here: https://lnkd.in/gdq3bHwG

Earlier this week, the City of Phoenix announced the Shade Phoenix Plan – a comprehensive plan to increase shade in neighborhoods and public spaces that need it most. In a unanimous vote, Phoenix City Council and Mayor Kate Gallego approved the $60 million Plan, which includes planting up to 27,000 new trees and 550 shade structures over the next five years. We are incredibly proud to have worked with City of Phoenix and Mayor Kate Gallego on this project and are excited to see the transformative impact it will bring to Phoenix residents 🌳🏙️ https://lnkd.in/gcBeFZB5

Congrats to Mayor Kate Gallego and the whole City of Phoenix team on the unanimous approval and launch of the Shade Pheonix Plan! This comprehensive, data-driven, $60 million plan will add 27,000 new trees and 550 new shade structures across the city in the next five years, nearly doubling the number of trees planted annually by the City. Following two of the Plan’s core values (putting people first & leading with an environmental justice and equity lens), more than 50% of these investment will be made in low- to moderate-income communities. Bloomberg Associates is proud to have partnered over the past year with the City of Phoenix’s Office of Heat Mitigation and Response, led by David Hondula, and the 26 City depts and offices represented in #ShadePhoenix to develop and design this groundbreaking plan. Read the plan at: https://lnkd.in/egDpR5vY Cc: Jacob Koch, Willa Altman-Kaough, Gina Ramos Montes, Jad Daley, Benita Hussain, Lora Martens, RLA, ASLA, Bloomberg Cities, Resilient Cities Catalyst, C40 Cities, Eleni (Lenio) Myrivili, Kathy Baughman McLeod, Louie Woodall

During a breakout session at this year’s Bloomberg CityLab, we led a conversation with four urban leaders specializing in housing affordability about the strategies needed to tackle the affordable housing crisis amid an increasing global population. From expanding the public housing model beyond traditionally funded housing to eliciting private capital investments, Maria Vassilakou, Director of Vassilakou Urban Consulting and former Vice-Mayor of Vienna; Sarah Dusseault, Chief Strategist at LA4LA; Margaret Anadu, Senior Partner at The Vistria Group; and Jaime Pujol, Housing Department Head, City of Santiago (Chile), all lended their experience and insights on how we can, together, address the housing affordability crisis. Learn more, and visit the CityLab website to view the live stream: https://lnkd.in/gCypMJtT #CityLabCDMX

Today, the European Commission has revealed the winners of this year’s European Capital of Innovation Awards (iCapital), celebrating a decade of recognizing cities that lead the way in delivering innovative solutions for their citizens. The top prizes this year have been awarded to the cities of Torino and Braga for embedding innovation into the daily fabric of their communities. The awards ceremony took place during Lisbon’s Web Summit, with our very own Katherine Oliver serving as a juror for the winning cities. Read more here: https://lnkd.in/dTYmz3Bq

Happy #WorldCitiesDay! 🏙️   From City of Newark to Bratislava - hlavné mesto SR, Bloomberg Associates supports cities around the world to implement projects that tackle the biggest issues facing cities today to improve residents’ lives and build a brighter, healthier, and happier future. 🌎

In recognition of #WorldCitiesDay, Adam Freed, who leads our sustainability team, sat down with New York Sun Works to discuss the crucial role that local governments and youth have in accelerating climate action. Check it out. https://lnkd.in/gPWAtpbR