CityLab 2023: City leaders converge on Washington, D.C.

October 11, 2023

As more than 500 mayors and other leading urban and civic leaders from around the world head to Washington, D.C., for the Bloomberg CityLab 2023 summit, set for Oct. 18-20, here's everything you need to know about this preeminent global cities convening, about the challenges and solutions that will take center stage, and, importantly, how people everywhere can join the real-time conversation online throughout the week.

Exploring challenges—and solutions—of global importance.

In its 10th year and organized by Bloomberg Philanthropies in partnership with the Aspen Institute, Bloomberg CityLab brings together the world's leading urban and civic authorities, from policy makers to creatives, to dig into cities' most pressing challenges, uplift promising solutions, and then work together to pressure test and strengthen those ideas. Among the issues to be explored at this year’s summit:

The promise and peril of generative artificial intelligence for the public sector and, especially, how city leaders can leverage this emerging technology, ambitiously and responsibly, to address capacity concerns, uncover creative solutions, and improve residents’ lives.
Implementing once-in-a-generation infrastructure funding—both to fix today's aging highways, bridges, airports, railways, and waterworks and, critically, to envision new projects that address tomorrow’s challenges and promote equity, access, inclusion, and new opportunities.
Transforming streets and mobility options that put residents first, including how buses are delivering some of the fastest mass-transit solutions globally and what local leaders should know about the greatest possibilities and latest innovations of this longtime city staple.
Building newfound community connections within and across communities, including how public art is making city streets safer, the latest urban-violence preventions, and innovations that are expanding opportunities for cities’ most vulnerable residents.
Solving for sweeping societal changes such as climate change, public health and mental health care services, and tackling homelessness, while expanding access to quality affordable housing.

The world’s leading urban voices.

Leading the Bloomberg CityLab 2023 discussions next week will be some of the world’s most prominent city experts and leaders, including Michael R. Bloomberg, the 108th mayor of New York City and founder of Bloomberg LP and Bloomberg Philanthropies. Other speakers will include:

Mitch Landrieu, White House senior advisor and infrastructure coordinator and former mayor of New Orleans, who will uplift the unprecedented federal funding opportunities for local infrastructure innovations.
Keisha Lance Bottoms, a member of the President’s Export Council and former mayor of Atlanta, who will join Jackson, Miss., Mayor Chokwe Lumumba and Scranton, Pa., Mayor Paige Cognetti for a discussion around the challenges mayors face—and the strategies they use—to remain resilient as they lead through turbulent times.
Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass, who has made ending street homelessness a top priority of her administration and will highlight the ambitious and radical strategy her team is implementing to house tens of thousands of people.
Washington, D.C., Mayor Muriel Bowser who will address the blow the pandemic and remote-work dealt many cities' downtowns—and how to best reverse this trend.
Diana Rodriguez Franco, Bogotá’s secretary for women’s affairs, will join Reykjavík Mayor Dagur Eggertsson in a conversation about how cities can build an infrastructure of care that supports everyone, from caregivers to the oldest and youngest members of society.
Jennifer Pahlka, the founder of Code for America, who will join José Merino, the head of Mexico City's Digital Agency for Public Innovation, in considering what it will take for cities to build their own digital ecosystems—from payment systems to cameras to broadband networks—and when cities should build rather than buy new technology.

A complete list of Bloomberg CityLab 2023 speakers can be found here.

Join the conversation from anywhere.

Because the ideas shared at Bloomberg CityLab 2023 are of global importance and address the future of cities everywhere, much of that conversation—including all of the mainstage events—will be available for everyone to watch via livestream. The livestream will be available here beginning Wednesday morning (EDT), Oct. 18, and will be accompanied by a complete schedule of mainstage events.

Also be sure to follow the action throughout the week by using the #CityLab2023 hashtag and by following Bloomberg Cities on X, LinkedIn, and Instagram.