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A recent report by Harvard University's Opportunity Insights revealed a sorry statistic for Philadelphia: We are last in the nation for economic mobility. In other words, we have a lot to learn from other American cities.
On this  special episode of How To Really Run A City, Citizen Co-Founder Larry Platt and former Philly Mayor Michael Nutter and former Atlanta Mayor Kasim Reed pull out their favorite moments from the last year of the podcast that take on just this issue.
From housing availability in Detroit to help for small business owners in Scranton, PA to 15-minute cities and unexpected employment programs in Cleveland, the mayors and changemakers from this episode are demonstrating how cities can unlock their immense power, and how city leaders can become facilitators while spreading goodwill along the way.
Remember to subscribe to the podcast to keep up on all the latest episodes. And watch for new episodes on YouTube and Piksel+ as they become available.
As cities go, so goes the nation!

Milwaukee, WI Mayor Cavalier Johnson won reelection in 2024 with 80 percent of the vote. "Those are Vladimir Putin levels," joked Citizen Co-Founder Larry Platt.
"The difference is, Putin's still looking for the other 20 percent!" said host and former Philly Mayor Michael Nutter.
Asked why he decided to devote his life to public service, Johnson said, "I fell in love with helping people in my community. I mean, the key word in 'progressive' is progress. And mayors get stuff done. It's truly where the rubber meets the road in cities."
From youth workforce development programs ("Ten-year-olds were being recruited to steal cars, here") to rejecting partisanship for the good of the city ("Bringing the RNC to Milwaukee in 2024 was a purely business decision") to his efforts to grow the population of Milwaukee to a million people, Johnson is out earning that 80 percent each day.
"We have an awful lot of people who listen to this podcast that we hope will one day run for office," said host and former Atlanta Mayor Kasim Reed.
"Right, I think it's important for the people to see their reflection in this office," said Johnson. "It's a powerful thing. It's all about service."
Remember to subscribe to the podcast to keep up on all the latest episodes. And watch for new episodes on YouTube and Piksel+ as they become available.
As cities go, so goes the nation!

Nashville, TN Mayor Freddie O'Connell was compelled to run for office on a simple principle. For too long, transit and infrastructure had been neglected by city officials. Upon winning his race in 2023, O'Connell's north star has been making it easier for Nashvillians to get around their city.
"I don't know of a greater transit evangelist among the mayor fraternity than Mayor O'Connell," said Citizen Co-Founder Larry Platt on this week's episode.
"My mom remembers a Nashville that still had streetcar lines," O'Connell told our podcast hosts, former Mayors Kasim Reed of Atlanta and Michael Nutter of Philly. "And then we ripped that all out. If you look at our old streetcar maps, we had a good transit system. I ran [for mayor] because I felt like we had priorities as a city that simply were not going to get addressed unless I forced the issue."
Join us for a discussion during this year's Infrastructure Week centered on a blue city in a red state pulling every lever to reestablish customer-focused government and "trying every day to showcase that we've made the right choices" in infrastructure investment.
But Mayor O'Connell isn't all work and no play down there in Nashville. He also moonlights as DJ Stay (he chose this nom de vinyl because "I want you to stay" in Nashville).
"Our man says he's on the ones and twos," laughed Nutter, who knows a few things himself about spinning records.
"I didn't have this on the bingo card for today," Reed said with a grin. 
Remember to subscribe to the podcast to keep up on all the latest episodes. And watch for new episodes on YouTube and Piksel+ as they become available.
As cities go, so goes the nation!

When Republican Stephen Goldsmith was Mayor of Indianapolis, IN, he ran his city by "devolving" decisions down to the grassroots level. He created partnerships with the movers and shakers of local areas – community-based organizations, small businesses, faith leaders — to decide together how best to spend money in their neighborhoods.
"Government had neglected those neighborhoods," he told our podcast hosts, former Mayors Kasim Reed of Atlanta and Michael Nutter of Philly. "And no amount of expenditures would have been sufficient if we couldn't lift up the civic infrastructure of the neighborhoods themselves."
This, said Goldsmith, who was a deputy mayor under Mike Bloomberg in New York and is now a professor of urban policy at Harvard University's Kennedy School, is the true power of mayors: the ability to convene and inspire a city to greatness. Despite the circus coming from Washington, D.C., Goldsmith told our hosts that he has great hope for cities. "This is the time to be mayor, because if you want to lead, you can really make a difference."
Goldsmith also garnered some unexpected praise from our hosts. "I was struck by your book, Putting Faith in Neighborhoods: Making Cities Work through Grassroots Citizenship," Citizen Co-Founder Larry Platt told him. "I remember thinking it was a model for cities to follow."
"This is exciting," Goldsmith replied, "You're one of five people who read that book. What sort of life do you live?"
"We're working on it, Mayor Goldsmith," laughed Nutter and Reed. "We're trying to help him!"
Remember to subscribe to the podcast to keep up on all the latest episodes. And watch for new episodes on YouTube and Piksel+ as they become available.
As cities go, so goes the nation!

One of our favorite sayings here at How to Really Run a City is that there are really three political parties in the U.S.: Democrats, Republicans and Mayors — and only one of them have no choice but to be practical problem solvers. We believe if more politicians acted like mayors, there'd be much less bickering in D.C.
Turns out, Bloomberg Philanthropies agrees. For the past six years, the civic-minded global organization has held the  Mayors Challenge, a competition that awards cities $1 million prizes to spur innovative solutions to ingrained urban problems.
This week, Challenge leader Aparna Ramanan and Challenge grantee, Lafayette, LA Mayor Monique Blanco Boulet, join former Atlanta Mayor Kasim Reed, former Philadelphia Mayor Michael Nutter and Citizen Co-Founder Larry Platt for an eye-opening conversation about what it takes to innovate in a city. (Lafayette's problem might sound familiarly stinky to Philadelphians: old, failing, sewers.)
Blanco Boulet believes true innovation must start with a change of mindset. "Critical thinking is just not natural in government. If I don't know where we're having flood issues, I could just choose anywhere [to put the money]. That happens. That's not abnormal for government in the absence of real decision-making."
Join us for an episode about cities tackling entrenched problems and the public-private partnerships like Bloomberg Philanthropies that support them. 
When it comes to facing these intractable issues, as Nutter said, "You have to deal with the consequences of not."
Remember to subscribe to the podcast to keep up on all the latest episodes. You can even watch new episodes on YouTube.
As cities go, so goes the nation!