Mayor Justin Bibb, City of Cleveland: Rebuilding a Modern Midwest City Through People and Place

American cities are being stress-tested on immigration, public safety, and economic recovery. Debates over sanctuary policies, defund rhetoric, and protest cycles pushed mayors into the national spotlight. In moments that matter, itʼs mayors who set the ground truth. Justin Bibbʼs lens is pragmatic. Protect constitutional rights and neighborhoods, pair accountability with visible policing, welcome newcomers within the law, and keep City Hall focused on services that work.

Since 2024, Cleveland has launched a first-ever Open Data Portal and a modern online 311 so residents can submit, track, and self-serve without guesswork.

On housing, the administrationʼs Residents First overhaul tightened standards on bad actors and simplified compliance for good landlords, while A Home for Every Neighbor moved from pilot to proof with rapid-rehousing and services. Modular builds are entering the mix with partners to add supply faster and cheaper.

The Shore-to-Core-to-Shore plan advanced with a lakefront RFQ to bring new development to downtownʼs edge, opening acreage for private proposals alongside public-realm upgrades. This is a once-in-a-generation shot to turn waterfront access into talent attraction.

Inside City Hall, Bibb signed an executive order to overhaul permitting, making Building & Housing the single front door and pushing process and technology changes so applicants can track a permit like a package. The goal is less friction for homeowners and builders, more predictable timelines, and fewer projects dying in paperwork.

In a noisy national fight over immigration and policing, residents still judge cities on basics like safety, speed, housing, and place. Bibbʼs blueprint is data-first service delivery, housing enforcement and new supply, cleaner permitting, and a shovel-ready lakefront. If youʼre running a city (or building in one), the play is simple. Ship the basics fast, measure relentlessly, align incentives with outcomes, and scale what works.

State, county, and technology leaders from Hawaiʻi will gather to share strategies for securing island infrastructure, enhancing federal-local collaboration, and building local resilience in the face of evolving cyber threats.

A practical session with Government Technology and Forrester on how state and local agencies can implement FinOps to rein in cloud waste, align budgeting/procurement with real usage, and extend cost discipline to SaaS and enterprise tech.

CivicPlus outlines the most common compliance hurdles facing special districts, like spanning codes, standards, and regulations, and offers practical fixes to improve efficiency and protect federal funding. The paper focuses on fire, water, parks & recreation, and housing authorities with guidance to streamline processes and maintain compliance. Read →

A new survey shows near-universal AI use among HBCU students and faculty (98% and 96%, respectively), but formal campus strategies lag behind. Fewer than half of institutions report official AI tools or policies, and 23% of faculty and 33% of administrators arenʼt even sure whether their campus uses AI, signaling bottom-up experimentation outpacing governance and support.

Why government tech fails isnʼt about tech, itʼs org design and incentives. Pahlka (former U.S. deputy CTO) outlines how to move from waterfall compliance to agile governance by insourcing product teams, simplifying policy before modernizing systems, fixing procurement, and enabling user research.

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