NLC and SmartCitiesWorld partner to showcase innovation of US cities and connect US cities with global peers

The National League of Cities (NLC) is partnering with SmartCitiesWorld to highlight and showcase the most innovative cities in the U.S. and share best practices when it comes to solving urban challenges. The partnership is based on the organizations’ common values and focus to support cities and local governments in the work they do to improve the places and people they serve.

A series of “challenge workshops” will be launched featuring cities from the NLC membership and SmartCitiesWorld community. These will be designed as two-way learning experiences and will bring together cities that share similar challenges but may have found different ways to tackle them in areas such as infrastructure, housing, equity and climate change. Following these extensive discussions of the challenges and solutions, a structured set of actionable insights will be developed for each one and shared.

The workshops will also bring together expert speakers and partners to offer possible solutions or a different perspective to help cities make further progress. A series of practical how-to webinars will also be co-hosted by the two organisations to exchange knowledge and disseminate information to a wider audience.

SmartCitiesWorld will also produce and publish in-depth City Profiles on NLC member cities that will provide an opportunity for cities large and small to tell their story, demonstrate how they’ve addressed their most pressing challenges, and showcase their future plans. As with all SmartCitiesWorld City Profiles, this series of reports aims to provide real-world examples of the challenges cities face and how they are meeting them.

In addition, the new partnership will see Clarence E. Anthony, CEO and executive director of NLC, join SmartCitiesWorld’s Advisory Board of global urban experts. Joining up with the rest of the board, Clarence’s insights into pressing urban challenges will contribute to the future direction of SmartCitiesWorld’s coverage and bring a new perspective to the board during its bi-annual meetings and roundtables.

“Our member cities are leading the way on solving some of the toughest issues facing local leaders throughout the world,” said NLC CEO and Executive Director Clarence E. Anthony. “I’m excited that our mayors and councilmembers will have the opportunity to share what they’ve learned, and to learn from their peers in cities throughout the world.”

“I am delighted to be partnering with the National League of Cities to help shine a light on the fantastic work being done by their 2,700+ member local governments in the USA,” said Chris Cooke, CEO of SmartCitiesWorld. “The organisation’s focus on improving policy, governance and encouraging innovation resonates with the SmartCitiesWorld mission and I’m excited to welcome Clarence to the SmartCitiesWorld Advisory Board.”