Bloomberg Philanthropies Announces 'What Works Cities' Certifications

Bloomberg Philanthropies has announced the first cohort of cities to achieve What Works Cities certification, a first-of-its-kind national program designed to recognize and encourage cities' use of data to improve residents' lives.Based on factors such as whether city contracts are awarded based on past performance, meetings are focused on numbers, key datasets are open to the public, and agencies dedicate staff to tracking results, the nine cities recognized for their efforts are Boston, Kansas City, Los Angeles, Louisville, New Orleans, San Diego, San Francisco, Seattle, and Washington, D.C.Los Angeles was named the top-performing city (Gold Level certification) for Mayor Eric Garcetti's embrace of the use of data analysis to map, better understand, and address the challenges posed by affordable housing, crime, traffic, and pollution. The city's Data Science Foundation also is partnering with local universities to enhance its use of data-driven tools while creating a pipeline to bring new talent into local government.