Mayor Thomas Menino is tapping the city’s innovative and creative-types to help the Hub win $5 million.
Menino, saying that the city’s residents, business owners and university scholars “have great ideas for how to improve the city,” is asking for bold ideas that the city can consider for submission to the Bloomberg Philanthropies’ Mayor’s Challenge.
The national contest has cities develop ideas to solve problems and improve cities’ quality of life. The city with the most innovative idea will win $5 million and four other cities will win $1 million.
“We are all urban mechanics. If you have an inventive idea that can make our city better, I want to hear it,” Menino said.
Citing the city’s creation and adoption of programs like Citizens Connect and Hubway, city officials want Boston’s idea to address a social or economic problem or improve the city’s customer service, level of efficiency of accountability to and engagement with the public.
According to Menino’s office, officials are particularly interested in ideas that can increase access to technology, expand affordable energy solutions, provide for Boston’s growing senior population or support the diversity of languages spoken in the Hub.
Share ideas at www.cityofboston.gov/mayor/challenge_ideas. Submissions are due Aug. 20.
