City Government

New York City Mayor Keeps Creating New Offices

From child care to rats, if you’ve got a problem, Mayor Eric Adams has a job to tackle it.

  • By Jeff Coltin and Eric Holmberg

The Five Best Movies About State or Local Government

The glitz! The glamour! The government officials! In honor of this weekend’s Oscar Awards, here are our team’s top picks depicting everything from municipal water wars to prominent politicians.

  • By Elizabeth Daigneau

Some Towns Get Funding Boost from Census Corrections

Census population count corrections have started to roll out, but officials say the bureau needs to be more transparent about the process as valuable funding opportunities remain on the line.

  • By Tim Henderson, Stateline

Neighborhood 'Walkability' May Boost Exercise, Lower BMI

People who live in walkable neighborhoods are more likely to exercise and have lower BMIs. But the finding differs by race and ethnicity.

  • By Boston University, Futurity

City Planners Are Questioning the Point of Parking Garages

COMMENTARY | As many cities grapple with the housing crisis, some places are rewriting regulations and finding creative ways to repurpose these hulking masses of concrete that suck up valuable real estate.

  • By Kevin J. Krizek and John Hersey, The Conversation

Are Mayors Open to Federal Budget Cuts? It Depends Who You Ask

Route Fifty caught up with mayors from around the country to get their views on Republican threats to chop federal spending.

  • By Kery Murakami

Atlanta’s BeltLine Shows How Parks Can Drive ‘Green Gentrification’

COMMENTARY | Cities can avoid the problem if they think about affordable housing at the start of their projects.

  • By Dan Immergluck, The Conversation

Miami's Mayor Un(block)chained

Francis Suarez, the city's cool, crypto-friendly mayor has presidential dreams. But is he paying enough attention to the homefront?

  • By Francisco Alvarado

How a Bankrupt City’s Pension System Hit a Breaking Point

The case of Chester, Pennsylvania involves hidden debt, missing documentation and lots of blame. Route Fifty takes a closer look in this second installment of a three-part series.

  • By Liz Farmer

Mayors Try to Cope With Pickleball Craze

Demands for new facilities, along with noise complaints and paddle-toting attendees at city council meetings are just some of what they’re contending with as the sport's popularity skyrockets.

  • By Kery Murakami

What the Mayors Discussed When They Met With Biden

Immigration and how cities are spending federal funding were among the topics that came up during the White House meeting.

  • By Kery Murakami

Mayors Have Affordable Housing Plans. But Do They Have the Funds?

The short answer is no. But they’re working on it.

  • By Molly Bolan
Featured eBooks
Road and Transit Infrastructure Trends
Federal Recovery Funds at the State and Local Level
Infrastructure at a Turning Point

How One City is Cutting Down Speeding in Its Municipal Fleet

Newly adopted technology has kept drivers within speed limits and reduced hard braking by more than a third, New York City Mayor Eric Adams said.

  • By Chris Teale

Mayors Fret Over Possibility of ARPA Clawbacks

Detroit’s mayor urged others to speed up putting American Rescue Plan Act funds to use and to take special care that spending adheres to federal rules. He's not the only one raising concerns.

  • By Kery Murakami

A Small City's Descent Into Bankruptcy

"By far the worst that we have encountered," is how one person involved in resolving the fiscal mess described it. This first article in a three-part series, looks at how the troubled city's situation resembles another municipal bankruptcy about a decade ago.

  • By Liz Farmer

A ‘Bootcamp’ to Help Smaller Cities Win Infrastructure Grants

Small and midsize localities tend to lack the dedicated grant-writing teams and expertise that bigger towns use to score federal dollars. A new–and free–initiative aims to get them onto more equal footing competing for the funding.

  • By Bill Lucia

Young Men Have Higher Risk of Gun Death in Some US Cities Than in War

In some U.S. ZIP codes, young men are more at risk of firearm-related injuries than military individuals deployed in Afghanistan and Iraq, a study finds.

  • By Corrie Pikul, Futurity

Real-Time Data on What Muni Bond Investors Think of Your City

A new data tool offers a window into how investors are responding to changes affecting the financial outlook of individual governments, including trends like the rise of remote work.

  • By Liz Farmer

New York City’s Municipal Staffing Shortage Won’t Solve Itself

A new report from city Comptroller Brad Lander offers recommendations to address hiring and retention issues, including appointing a chief talent officer.

  • By Annie McDonough

Rat Czar Isn’t the Only Weird Government Job in New York City

The city drew attention for its job-posting with a salary up to $170,000 a year, seeking someone to take the lead combatting rats. But the rodent chief wouldn't be the only intriguing or bizarre position on the Big Apple's public sector payroll.

  • By Annie McDonough

Demonstrating Digital Government

COMMENTARY | Digital work is ultimately change work and requires adapting systems, people, processes and services.

  • By Sarah Rodriguez