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Stephen Goldsmith

Stephen Goldsmith is the Derek Bok Professor of the Practice of Urban Policy at Harvard Kennedy School and director of Data-Smart City Solutions at the Bloomberg Center for Cities at Harvard University. He previously served as Deputy Mayor of New York and Mayor of Indianapolis, where he earned a reputation as one of the country's leaders in public-private partnerships, competition and privatization. Stephen was also the chief domestic policy advisor to the George W. Bush campaign in 2000, the Chair of the Corporation for National and Community Service, and the district attorney for Marion County, Indiana from 1979 to 1990. He has written The Power of Social Innovation; Governing by Network: The New Shape of the Public Sector; Putting Faith in Neighborhoods: Making Cities Work through Grassroots Citizenship; The Twenty-First Century City: Resurrecting Urban America; The Responsive City: Engaging Communities through Data-Smart Governance; and A New City O/S.

Just a few years ago, only a handful of cities had chief data officers. Now that the position is more prevalent, experts take stock of what it takes to build an effective, data-driven local government.
Tacoma's Equity Index is a data-driven tool that allows leadership to not only measure progress in ensuring equitable services, but also to see interconnected outcomes on issues like safety community-wide.
The Syracuse, N.Y., Office of Analytics, Performance and Innovation and its partnership with the Department of Public Works demonstrates the cascading effects of what happens when traditional services go digital.
Addressing air quality in cities is a complex issue that requires balancing good policy and equitable outcomes. Finding the right technology and visualizing the data are essential components of success.
In the face of rising temperatures that are particularly hard on underserved communities, urban planners are increasingly turning toward expanding tree canopies and green spaces.
As state and local governments cautiously pursue AI, they must prioritize ethics, transparency and accountability in procurement to protect public interests and deliver on the technology's potential.
The map-based Chicago Recovery Plan was created with feedback from residents. It also allows them to track progress on city projects to create safe neighborhoods and drive equitable economic growth.
While it makes sense that a big, well-staffed data operation gets a lot done, there's strategy and art that go into to the work done at the Dallas Office of Data Analytics and Business Intelligence.
As government grapples with how to make practical use of generative AI, one avenue for the new technology could be helping cities ensure regulatory compliance from companies bidding for new construction contracts.
As home to popular vacation destination Breckenridge, Summit County, Colo., turned to GIS and data to create long-term policy solutions to issues around short-term rental properties.