Bloomberg CityLab Summit brings together 111 mayors in Mexico City to talk about solutions to urban problems

( Spanish) – This week 111 mayors from 37 countries will meet in Mexico City to talk about problems in their cities and the solutions they have applied.

Some of the topics that will be addressed will be digitalization, transportation, design of public spaces, economic development, climate change and migration.

The meeting is part of the eleventh edition of Bloomberg CityLaba summit organized by Bloomberg Philanthropies, in collaboration with the Aspen Institute, and will take place from October 14 to 16.

This Monday, work began with the first private meetings between the mayors at the Mayors Innovation Studio, where they talked about two issues that concern them worldwide: polarization and misinformation.

“All year, we’ve heard city leaders say they are battling misinformation and a rapidly changing media landscape, making it difficult to engage residents and build support for policy change. That’s exactly what this year’s Mayors Innovation Studio, which kicks off Bloomberg CityLab 2024, is designed to address, bringing together experts, creatives and more than 100 mayors from around the world to explore cross-sector approaches and emerging strategies that They will help city councils move forward,” explained James Anderson, director of the Government Innovation program at Bloomberg Philanthropies.

According to data from Bloomberg Philanthropies, these mayors together govern 80 million people.

These meetings, which have been held over the last decade, have allowed the creation of practical solutions to current urban challenges.

In previous years, these summits were held in cities such as New York, London, Miami, Paris and Amsterdam.

Among the topics the mayors will discuss this year are the nexus between housing and public transportation, led by San Antonio, Texas, Mayor Ron Nirenberg; development of addiction services in cities, led by Rhode Island Mayor Brett Smiley.

The mayor of Renca, Chile, Julián Gallardo will talk about how to create more housing in cities.

While the mayors of Ciudad Juárez, Chihuahua, Cruz Pérez Cuellar and his counterpart from Las Cruces, New Mexico, Eric Enríquez, will talk about what it is like to govern a border city.

Other topics that will be discussed will be the new Latin American urbanism, the national digital agenda of Mexico, and the renewal of citizen space, talks that will be given by José Merino, about whom President Claudia Sheinbaum announced that she will appoint head of the Agency Digital Transformation (pending creation) and Román Meyer, Secretary of Agrarian, Territorial and Urban Development during the six-year term of President Andrés Manuel López Obrador (2018-2024).

This year, participants are expected to discuss the progress made in Mexico City and the policies that Claudia Sheinbaum applied as head of government and that now, as president, she could apply at the national level.