What Mayors Want

Mayors are increasingly focusing on issues like climate change, immigration, and infrastructure that have traditionally fallen to federal and state governments. That’s according to a comprehensive survey of mayors and city managers from 156 big and small cities around the country, conducted by Bloomberg Philanthropies.

Climate change seems to be one of the foremost concerns for U.S. mayors: Eight out of 10 said it was important that their cities to address the issue. But roughly half view the lack of funding as the most significant barrier to making progress on this front—more than political opposition at the state and federal level and lack of public support. While mayors say they’re trying to encourage public transit and green energy locally, many feel ill-equipped to put a broader range of climate adaptation strategies in place.