How to Really Run a City powered by Accelerator for America
Former Atlanta Mayor Kasim Reed, former Philadelphia Mayor Michael Nutter, and Philadelphia Citizen co-founder Larry Platt talk about what it really takes to get sh*t done in cities. New episodes twice monthly.
Episodes
As mayor of Baltimore and then governor of Maryland, Martin O'Malley used transparency and statistics to drive his city and state forward into the Information Age. And then he — literally — wrote the book on the subject.
His conclusion after more than a decade in public office? "We live in a time of enormous opportunity," O'Malley said on the latest episode of How To Really Run A City to our hosts, form...
This special episode was recorded live at The Philadelphia Citizen's eighth annual Ideas We Should Steal Festival presented by Comcast NBCUniversal. Our hosts, former Philadelphia Mayor Michael Nutter, former Atlanta Mayor Kasim Reed and Citizen Media Group President and CEO Larry Platt were joined on stage by a return guest, five-term Rochester Hills, Michigan Mayor Bryan Barnett, a Republican.
Barnett is...
"I don't care if you live in urban America or rural America, everyone wants the same thing," Cleveland Mayor Justin Bibb said on the latest episode of How To Really Run A City. "They want a job they can get to in 15 minutes, they want a hospital or pharmacy within 15 minutes, they want a park or a grocery store or bars or restaurants, all within 15 minutes."
Bibb went on to explain to our hosts, former Phi...
On this episode of How To Really Run A City, innovation in cities takes a backseat to a more pressing question: How do we find our way back to recognizing the humanity in one another?
Our guest: Joe Walsh, a former Representative from Illinois. He was a self-described Tea Party arsonist, right-wing radio provocateur and mentor to Turning Point USA's Charlie Kirk. All of that changed when Donald Trump rode ...
When Detroit Mayor Mike Duggan took office in 2013, his city had just filed for the largest municipal bankruptcy in U.S. history.
Today, business is booming, crime has fallen to a 60-year low and it's no understatement to say that Detroit is back.
Mayor Duggan, now running for governor of his state as an Independent, joins former Mayors Michael Nutter and Kasim Reed, along with Citizen Co-fou...
When Denver, Colorado Mayor Mike Johnston isn't sparring with congressional Republicans over immigration (and being threatened with jail time), he's pushing his city to eliminate homelessness, continuing his crusade for high-quality, affordable education and inspiring Denverites to give five hours of volunteer service each month.
"I love the Give5 Mile High program," said Citizen co-founder Larry Platt. "...
"Just keep doing the next right thing, even though it's hard."
This mantra has become a political north star for Scranton mayor and recurring How To Really Run A City guest (and sometimes host), Paige Cognetti. She knows that what drives a city forward is everyone doing their parts at all levels.
"It's the colleges and universities," former Mayor Michael Nutter interjects. "It's the corporate ...
The AI revolution is upon us, and it will certainly have an impact on local governance.
"Let's have an open conversation about its use," says this week's podcast guest, Rochelle Haynes, Managing Director of Bloomberg Philanthropies' What Works Cities initiative at Results for America.
Haynes, who previously served as Chief of Staff at New York City's Department of Homeless Services, saw first...
While Washington implodes and other cities resist, Riverside, CA Mayor Patricia Lock Dawson is moving ahead with an ambitious tech agenda — and battling youth homelessness in her city.
"I feel positive about the direction California is taking," says Riverside, CA Mayor Patricia Lock Dawson, our guest this week on How To Really Run A City. In the wake of reduced support from Washington, D.C., she optimistic...
"Traditional license plate readers were developed in the 1950s and 60s," says this week's guest, Garrett Langley of Flock Safety. "But you can go into Flock and say I'm looking for a black Sedan with after-market tires and a dent on the left corner, and we will find that car."
Former Atlanta Mayor Kasim Reed and former Philly Mayor Michael Nutter, along with Citizen Co-founder Larry Platt, chat with Langle...
Donald Trump's tariff policies pose an economic threat to Rochester Hills, Michigan — and Republican Mayor Bryan Barnett has not been shy about speaking out.
"More robots are made in my city than in any other city in North America," Barnett told Atlanta Mayor Kasim Reed and former Philly Mayor Michael Nutter, along with Citizen Co-founder Larry Platt, in the latest episode of the podcast. "Our two biggest ...
In this episode, former Atlanta Mayor Kasim Reed and former Philly Mayor Michael Nutter, along with Citizen Co-founder Larry Platt, bring Scranton Mayor Paige Cognetti onto the show.
Cognetti is demonstrating how cities are blazing a way forward amidst the daily chaos spilling out of Washington, D.C.
"This is where local matters," Cognetti says. "At the local level, we're nimble, we're able to...
In our latest episode, former Atlanta Mayor Kasim Reed and former Philly Mayor Michael Nutter, along with Citizen Co-founder Larry Platt, invite an "elusive wizard" onto the show.
Bruce Katz is the Founding Director of the Nowak Metro Finance Lab at Drexel University, and an architect of the National Housing Crisis Task Force at Accelerator For America. "Bruce has forgotten more about cities than I'll eve...
Years of acrimony and conflict in our national politics has unfortunately trickled down to cities, where disdain for civil servants — and each other — has had a chilling effect on the work needed to get things done. So what can we do about it?
Former Atlanta Mayor Kasim Reed and former Philly Mayor Michael Nutter sat down with Diane Kalen-Sukra, a former city manager, current evangelist for political civil...
On our latest episode, former Atlanta Mayor Kasim Reed and former Philly Mayor Michael Nutter invite onto the show Tom Henkey, who served for six years as Chicago's Senior Emergency Management Coordinator. Henkey is currently the Director of Emergency Management for Titan Security Group, and adjunct faculty at DePaul University.
In the wake of weather-related emergencies all across the countries, not the l...
On the latest episode of our podcast with esteemed former Atlanta Mayor Kasim Reed and former Philly Mayor Michael Nutter, we are joined by two special guests. First, Mary Ellen Wiederwohl, President and CEO of Accelerator for America, the nation's preeminent city "do tank," and our dynamic new partner on this podcast. Second, Kansas City, Missouri Mayor Quinton Lucas, known affectionately to Kansas Citians as "Mayor Q...
On our closing episode of 2024, we thought listeners could use a good laugh. Larry Platt takes us through the year's funniest moments, from how former Atlanta Mayor Kasim Reed gets his gangsta lean on to former Philly Mayor Michael Nutter's "drugged up" call-in from his car. This year we had randy guests, mayors incognito and a dead tree in Wilmington, Delaware that just won't be removed.
Chicago's late, legendary first African-American mayor, Harold Washington propelled his charisma and grassroots support to topple his city's legendary machine and remake its government — a story brilliantly told in Punch 9 For Harold Washington, which The Citizen screened on the opening night of the Ideas We Should Steal Festival last month.
What can Philadelphia today take away from Washington's politic...
"Well, guys," Citizen Co-founder Larry Platt starts, "let's have a little therapy session. What the hell just happened?"
On this special episode of How To Really Run A City, former Atlanta Mayor Kasim Reed and former Philly Mayor Michael Nutter get together just days after the election to hash out how they're feeling and what they think turned the tide to President-elect Donald Trump.
Despite a "painful, painful map" and impending ...
On this episode of How To Really Run A City, former Atlanta Mayor Kasim Reed and former Philly Mayor Michael Nutter speak with Delaware Governor John Carney. Carney is doing something that almost no other governor has done--turned his sights from the highest executive office in the state to the role of mayor (in this case, the mayoralty of Wilmington, DE).
Reed and Nutter offer some sage advice and everyone on the show...
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