Stories from the Field

This is what building a culture of innovation looks like

At first glance, the scene playing out last spring inside a conference room in Port St. Lucie, Fla., might have resembled a routine exercise in human-centered design. Civil servants pored over resident feedback, crafted and refined takeaways about where the city was succeeding and where it was falling short, and brainstormed new ideas. In doing so, Port St. Lucie leaders are acting on the recognition that innovation can't be confined to standalone teams or labs if cities are to deliver the efficiency and responsiveness residents expect.