Introducing Future Cities: Government's Inside Track to 2030
View of the Los Angeles skyline. Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti is one of six mayors who will be participate in Future Cities. SHUTTERSTOCK
Next week, Route Fifty will host Future Cities—a weeklong digital experience that will help government officials envision what the next decade of city government could look like.
Cities are facing some of the most daunting challenges ever. The indefinite crisis of the Covid-19 pandemic, rising racial tensions and severe economic strain have placed local governments into uncharted territory on how to move forward.
The urban landscape we once knew is gone—forever altered from the events of this year. That may seem like a harrowing position, but it’s not.
Major societal change is upon us and it’s long overdue. The status quo has for decades left too many people behind and made some communities exponentially more vulnerable to crises. As cities are forced to make hard decisions and choices, it’s important to think beyond what has been, and instead turn toward what could be.
Where do cities go from here? And how will the beginning of this decade shape the next?
While the current state of affairs makes it difficult to think past tomorrow, let alone ten years from now, if cities are going to move past the crises of today, they must chart a path to recovery that makes city government institutions proactive, resilient, sustainable and equitable.
Route Fifty is excited to host a weeklong digital summit called Future Cities to help cities envision and embrace the possibilities of the future. During Future Cities, city and state leaders will identify solutions to fundamentally redesign city government in order to achieve historic progress.
Each day will focus on a different theme. Monday will explore where cities stand now. Tuesday will focus on livability. Wednesday on infrastructure. Thursday on technology. And Friday will examine what’s next for cities.
Future Cities will feature six mayors to share their vision for their cities: Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti, Boston Mayor Marty Walsh, Kankakee, Illinois Mayor Chasity Wells-Armstrong, San Jose Mayor Sam Liccardo, Dayton, Ohio Mayor Nan Whaley and Providence, Rhode Island Mayor Jorge Elorza.
Finally, Government Executive Media Group’s Government Business Council will release new survey results on government officials’ attitudes about the present and future of local government. And Route Fifty will unveil its 2020 Navigator Award winners.
You can view the full program and speaker line-up here.
Alisha Powell Gillis is the Senior Editor for Route Fifty.
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