Innovation-in-Europes-Cities_Bloomberg-Mayors-Challenge1

WinnersFive cities – Barcelona, Athens, Kirklees,Stockholm, Warsaw – were rewarded for puttingforward innovative ideas and visions that, accordingto the jury members, could be implemented, wouldhave a significant impact and could potentially betransferred to other cities in Europe or across theworld. The judges were impressed by how relativelysimple initiatives could have transformative effectson the way governments and people connect,with measurable impacts on the daily lives ofurban dwellers who share common problems.The relatively small Metropolitan Borough ofKirklees, United Kingdom aimed to harness thepotential capacity of the shared economy to buildsocial cohesion, while the historic yet fragile cityof Athens, Greece wanted to use collaborativeengagement to address the negative socialconsequences of reduced budgets and governmentinefficiency. Stockholm, Sweden targeted thechallenges of climate change, suggesting newtechniques for generating green energy. BothBarcelona, Spain, the winner of the Grand Prize,and Warsaw, Poland focused on at-risk groups,proposing innovative approaches to improvingquality of life for, respectively, the elderly andthe blind.32