2017 Menino Survey

Methodology

115 mayors from around the country were interviewed throughout the summer of 2017, providing a representative sample of mayors and cities nationally.

Housing in the City

Cities are burdened by the rapidly rising costs of housing for their residents, so much so that mayors across the country agree that housing affordability is the top reason that people are moving away.

Sustainability and Climate Change

Mayors are deeply concerned by the consequences of climate change and are willing to buck current federal policies to mitigate the negative effects on their cities.

Budgets and Federalism

In response to budget cuts and diminished transfers from other levels of government, mayors see new local and state taxes and resources as the most promising way to plug fiscal gaps.

City-to-City Networks and Compacts

Mayors generally, though not universally, value city-to-city policy networks as tools to signal priorities and influence national and global issues.

Leveraging Data in Decision-Making

Mayors are increasingly using data to drive decision-making, but there is great variation in the key metrics they look to assess performance.

Boston University Initiative on Cities – www.bu.edu/ioc