Oakville mayor Rob Burton has joined a new colation of mayors from major cities across the continent, teaming up for a "data alliance" with a well-known international business figure: Michael Bloomberg.
Burton is one of 23 mayors from across North and South America to join the third cohort of the Bloomberg Philanthropies City Data Alliance, and according to the alliance "will receive multi-year operational support to build and apply leading data and, for the first time since the program’s inception, AI capabilities across their city hall operations."
Burton joins notable figures (including Mike Bloomberg) and alumni mayors of the first City Data Alliance cohort at the Bloomberg Center for Government Excellence at Johns Hopkins University starting today, June 27, in Baltimore, Maryland.
The aim of these efforts is "to enhance government delivery and resident outcomes, such as increasing access to health care, expanding affordable housing, improving public safety, or reducing homelessness."
"Through the City Data Alliance, more cities are now using data across city hall agencies to tackle their toughest challenges, from expanding affordable housing to improving public transportation," said Bloomberg, founder of Bloomberg Philanthropies and Bloomberg L.P. and 108th mayor of New York City.
"Today we’re glad to welcome 23 more cities to our program and provide them with the tools, support, and connections they need to capitalize on emerging technologies and put data to work on behalf of their residents."
The new 23 Bloomberg Philanthropies City Data Alliance mayors include:
THE CARIBBEAN:
Dominican Republic:
Mayor Carolina Mejía of Santo Domingo, D.R.
Jamaica:
Mayor Richard Vernon of Montego Bay, JAM
NORTH AMERICA:
Canada:
Mayor Dawn Arnold of Moncton, New Brunswick
Mayor Rob Burton of Oakville, Ontario
Mayor Mark Sutcliffe of Ottawa, Ontario
The United States:
Mayor Matthew Tuerk of Allentown, PA
Mayor Kelly Girtz of Athens-Clarke County, GA
Mayor Eric Genrich of Green Bay, WI
Mayor Jon Mitchell of New Bedford, MA
Mayor Justin Elicker of New Haven, CT
Mayor André Sayegh of Paterson, NJ
Mayor Eduardo Martinez of Richmond, CA
Mayor Matthew Mahan of San José, CA
Mayor Jane Castor of Tampa, FL
Mayor John Carli of Vacaville, CA
SOUTH AMERICA:
Argentina:
Mayor Esteban Allasino of Luján de Cuyo, AR
Mayor Ramón Lanús of San Isidro, AR
Mayor Rossana Chahla of San Miguel de Tucumán, AR
Mayor Diego Valenzuela of Tres de Febrero, AR
Chile:
Mayor Pablo Silva Perez of San Fernando, CL
Colombia:
Mayor Jorge Humberto Rivas Urrea of Rionegro, COL
Guatemala:
Mayor Ricardo Quiñónez Lemus of Ciudad de Guatemala, GT
Peru:
Mayor Gabriel Antonio Madrid Orúe of Piura, PE
In cities with advanced data practices – which includes city leaders using stakeholder engagement, evaluation tools, and performance analytics to inform decision-making – residents report higher satisfaction and well-being than those without.
Established in 2022 through a $60 million investment from Bloomberg Philanthropies, the Bloomberg Philanthropies City Data Alliance helps more cities across North, Central, and South America with populations of 100,000 or more reach this advanced data standard to better their communities. The addition of the 23 new cities brings the total number of cities in the Bloomberg Philanthropies City Data Alliance to 65 across 12 countries.
"As artificial intelligence rapidly advances, so too does the opportunity for local governments to put it to work for residents’ benefit," said Amy Holmes, Executive Director of the Bloomberg Center for Government Excellence at Johns Hopkins University.
"Doing this effectively, however, demands that municipalities have a foundation in place to guide the way data is collected, shared, and utilized through which the promise of new technologies can be harnessed. The Bloomberg Philanthropies City Data Alliance—comprised of the most determined data-led mayors across the Americas—brings the sophistication and standards into municipalities so they can leverage every tool available to transform how their governments operate, and we are thrilled to welcome these 23 new cities and support them in all they will be able to do."
Already, cities’ work as part of the Bloomberg Philanthropies City Data Alliance has resulted in:
- The creation of a centralized Urban Monitoring Center in Las Condes, Chile which enhanced data collection and sharing across departments to reduce crime and improve public safety. This system, which now supports a new artificial intelligence platform based on deep learning algorithms, has guided the city in where to target patrols, inspections, and surveillance devices, efforts which have led to a decrease in home burglaries and commercial theft by 22% and a reduction of physical assaults by 60%.
- New standards and staff upskilling in collecting and disaggregating data in Jackson, Mississippi is enabling the city to address root causes of crime and homelessness. This has helped the city create targeted programs to reduce youth violence and reach functional zero homelessness.
- The formation of a new dashboard in Recife, Brazil for the more than 800,000 people who rely on frequently out-of-stock prescriptions, including for diabetes, heart disease, and hypertension. The platform provides the supply levels of the most in-demand medications citywide and a locator tool so residents can easily identify pharmacies with available stock and get the prescriptions they need.
- A citywide data strategy and hackathons in Chattanooga, Tennessee which led to the launch of an interactive affordable housing tool that connects qualified tenants in-need to low-cost housing options and providers. This helped the city reduce the number of people experiencing homelessness by 40% and place over 3,000 residents in permanent housing. Also supported by the city’s data strategy are new artificial intelligence applications, including a 311 system that uses image detection to route residents’ photo-based issues to the right department and digital twin projects to redesign major roadways, examine mobility-related energy use, and monitor traffic and pedestrian movements to make streets safer.
- A citywide data strategy in Montevideo, Uruguay which underpinned the city’s emergency response to a severe drought crisis. The city’s data strategy enabled the municipality to rapidly assess the situation, identify safe well-water reserves, communicate with residents in real-time, and target the delivery of more than 940,000 liters of water. This included getting over 600,000 liters of water to 4,000 people at the highest risk: pregnant women, infants under six months of age, and those with immunocompromising conditions.
The suite of supports provided to cities in the City Data Alliance helps mayors and their municipalities utilize data to inform decisions, tackle complex challenges, communicate results, and look ahead. Participating cities also receive the program’s support to upgrade their approach to artificial intelligence, program evaluation, or data as a service—designing or packaging data that promotes cross-government collaboration or resident engagement.
The Bloomberg Philanthropies City Data Alliance is delivered in partnership with the Bloomberg Center for Government Excellence (GovEx) at Johns Hopkins University, along with the Behavioral Insights Team and Public Digital.
The City Data Alliance aligns and builds on the success of the Bloomberg Philanthropies What Works Cities Certification, led by Results for America, a first-of-its-kind standard of excellence for data-informed, well-managed local government. Further advancing data leadership in cities, in October 2023, Bloomberg Philanthropies and GovEx launched City AI Connect, a global learning community and digital platform for cities to trial and advance the usage of generative artificial intelligence to improve public services, together.
Comprised of more than 500 municipal leaders from over 250 cities around the world, City AI Connect is available at no cost for any local government official to use.