On Nov. 8, don’t forget the deep down ballot (Alaina J. Harkness, Brookings)

https://www.brookings.edu/blog/metropolitan-revolution/2016/11/01/on-nov-8-dont-forget-the-deep-down-ballot/

In Buenos Aires, a city commits to a long-neglected neighborhood (Andy Altman, Alaina J. Harkness, Bruce Katz, Brookings)

Leadership changes in Argentina and its capital city of Buenos Aires in December 2015 marked the beginning of a significant political moment for urban governance and innovation. With the former mayor of Buenos Aires, Mauricio Macri, now Argentina’s president and his former chief of staff, Horacio Rodriguéz Larreta, now the current mayor, for the first time in modern history the leadership of the country and its capital are aligned and focused on maximizing the potential of this metro region of more than 12 million people.

http://www.brookings.edu/blogs/metropolitan-revolution/posts/2016/07/26-buenos-aires-harknessa

Hardwiring urban innovation: RD&D partnerships for 21st century cities (Alaina J. Harkness, Brookings)

Smart meters and streetlights. Autonomous vehicles. Air quality sensors. These and other “smart city” innovations have the potential to generate vast quantities of data for cities and their residents, and universities are stepping up by investing in new efforts to catalyze the research, development, and deployment (RD&D) of such urban technologies. And by partnering with their communities, universities are pioneering innovations to improve the effectiveness of government, make cities better places, and even save lives.

http://www.brookings.edu/blogs/metropolitan-revolution/posts/2016/07/hardwiring-urban-innovation-harkness

A new federalist arrangement for disconnected youth (Bruce Katz, Ross Tilchin, Alaina J. Harkness, Brookings)

Creating pathways to opportunity is one of the most complex challenges that cities face. Supporting the needs of all residents—particularly those born into poverty—takes targeted interventions at multiple stages of life. The obstacles vary from place to place, but there is one challenge all communities have in common: making sense of the complex patchwork of federal funding that supports opportunities for young people

http://www.brookings.edu/blogs/metropolitan-revolution/posts/2016/05/24-cities-and-youth-katz-tilchin-harkness

Show me the money: Fiscal and financial fundamentals of 21st century city governance (Caroline Conroy, Alaina J. Harkness, Brookings)

Finding solutions to complex urban challenges, such as climate change, migration, or rising income inequality requires a grounded, fine-grained understanding of how cities are governed: how the interests and imperatives of public and private institutions work together (or don’t), and the politics that determine how much change from the status quo is possible

http://www.brookings.edu/blogs/metropolitan-revolution/posts/2016/05/24-show-me-the-money-harkness-conroy

The market makers: Local innovation and federal evolution for impact investing (Alaina J. Harkness, Emily Gustafsson-Wright, Brookings)

Announcements of new federal regulations on the use of program-related investments (PRIs) and the launch of a groundbreaking fund in Chicago are the latest signals that impact investing, once a marginal philanthropic and policy tool, is moving into the mainstream. They are also illustrative of two important and complementary paths to institutional change: fast-moving, collaborative local leadership creating innovative new instruments to meet funding demands; federal regulators updating policy to pave the way for change at scale.

http://www.brookings.edu/blogs/metropolitan-revolution/posts/2016/04/28-market-makers-harkness-gustaffson-wright