Cities Win $1M Each for AI-Powered Solutions to Help Residents

Twenty-four cities worldwide have been selected as winners of Bloomberg Philanthropies' Mayors Challenge, each receiving $1 million to implement innovative programs. Many winning projects combine artificial intelligence with community input to enhance municipal services and address local challenges proactively.

Cities across the globe are receiving major funding to launch groundbreaking programs that blend artificial intelligence with community engagement to enhance municipal services, according to Tuesday’s announcement of Bloomberg Philanthropies Mayors Challenge recipients.

Among the innovative approaches is South Bend, Indiana Mayor James Mueller’s program, which employs AI technology to analyze resident data – such as households struggling with water bill payments – and proactively connect them with assistance before problems escalate.

“Technology is not necessarily good or bad – it’s how it’s used and how you protect against abuses,” Mueller explained. The Democratic mayor, who took office in 2020, added: “We’re trying to use cutting edge tools to deliver city services in a proactive way that meets our residents’ needs.”

The competition selected 24 municipal governments from around the world, with projects ranging from Boise, Idaho’s geothermal energy program to reduce heating costs, to Beira, Mozambique’s initiative to move fishing families from flood-vulnerable coastal areas to secure inland housing. Each winning city receives $1 million in funding plus expert guidance from Bloomberg Philanthropies staff.

Former New York City Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg, who established both Bloomberg Philanthropies and Bloomberg L.P., envisions successful programs spreading to additional municipalities.

“The most effective city halls are bold, creative, and proactive in solving problems and meeting residents’ needs – and we launched the Mayors Challenge to help more of them succeed,” Bloomberg stated.

According to James Anderson, who leads government innovation programs at Bloomberg Philanthropies, this year’s recipients are incorporating AI in advanced ways that strengthen connections between local governments and their communities.

“Testing and learning and adapting new ideas don’t generally get funded with public dollars,” Anderson noted. “It is up to philanthropy to support experimentation.”

In the Philippines, Pasig City Mayor Vico Sotto plans to accelerate his floating river park project, which will create community spaces while reducing flood risks in the Pasig River. Sotto said the Bloomberg support moves his timeline up by one to two years.

“The government doesn’t have a great reputation when it comes to maintaining infrastructure,” Sotto acknowledged. “So we will be creating a governance council, including people who live in the area, so definitely they’re not going to abandon these parks. They’re going to take care of them because they’re using them as well.”

Lafayette, Louisiana faced different challenges with sewer system upgrades complicated by infrastructure located on private property, which prevented city funding. Mayor-President Monique Blanco Boulet said the Mayors Challenge motivated her team to develop a workaround that enables necessary repairs and promotes urban development.

“Bloomberg Philanthropies, the staff, Michael Bloomberg – all of them – have such a global impact in ways that most people will never know,” said Boulet, a Republican who won election in 2023. “They bring in a level of capacity and give you the space to really be creative and to come up with solutions that can change lives.”

Mueller emphasized that the competition addresses the growing need for local solutions to worldwide challenges.

“Trust in government is at an all-time low, but local governments consistently perform better in surveys about trust from their residents,” Mueller observed. “It is critical for us to maintain that level of trust with our residents and build it even further. So that’s why we’re always looking at innovative ways of doing things better and making the city a better place to live.”

The complete list of 2026 Bloomberg Philanthropies Mayors Challenge recipients includes: As-Salt, Jordan; Barcelona, Spain; Beira, Mozambique; Belfast, Northern Ireland; Benin City, Nigeria; Boise, Idaho, United States; Budapest, Hungary; Cape Town, South Africa; Cartagena, Colombia; Fez, Morocco; Fukuoka, Japan; Ghaziabad, India; Ghent, Belgium; Kanifing, The Gambia; Lafayette, Louisiana, United States; Medellín, Colombia; Netanya, Israel; Pasig, Philippines; Rio de Janeiro, Brazil; South Bend, Indiana, United States; Surabaya, Indonesia; Toronto, Canada; Turku, Finland; Visakhapatnam, India.