What Cities Need From the Biden Administration in the First 100 Days
Covid-19 financial relief, housing help and gun violence research are among the top priorities for local governments.
Local governments have been forced to delay or cancel projects to repair roads, water systems and other critical infrastructure due to budgetary constraints caused by the pandemic.
Photographer: Taylor Davidson / EyeEm
Municipal leaders have a privileged position in America: We see first-hand how policies affect the 200 million people we represent in our cities, towns and villages. We are also the first to respond to the challenges our communities face, and the first to provide the resources our residents need.
While most of the last 10 months have been devoted to our immediate duty to protect our residents from the spread of Covid-19, it has also given us an important opportunity to examine the future of our hometowns, including how to address the systemic challenges that predated — and are now exacerbated by — the pandemic. Whether it’s ensuring our cities are built to meet the needs of all our residents, providing help for working families struggling to support their households, or eradicating persistent inequities in our civic institutions, the challenges before us have been thrown into sharp relief.