Honolulu Selected As a Global Finalist for Bloomberg Philanthropies’ 2025 Mayors Challenge

HONOLULU – Mayor Rick Blangiardi on Thursday announced that the City and County of Honolulu has been selected as one of the 50 finalists of Bloomberg Philanthropies’ sixth Mayors Challenge, a competition designed to spur local government innovation that improves lives in cities around the world. The Challenge elevates municipalities that have proposed the boldest ideas to bolster essential municipal services, and the 50 finalists this year — selected from more than 630 applications — hail from 33 countries and represent over 80 million residents.

As a finalist, the City and County of Honolulu will receive $50,000 to prototype its idea, which will work to understand how transit-oriented development can best integrate innovative food growing opportunities – blending transit, housing, and food security. City officials will also participate in Bloomberg Philanthropies’ Ideas Camp in July to hone and test their concepts with feedback from experts and fellow peers. In January 2026, the 25 cities with the most promising ideas will each be awarded $1 million and operational assistance to bring their proposals to life.

“The Bloomberg Philanthropies’ Mayors Challenge competition has enabled Honolulu to reimagine how we can create access to sustainable, local food,” said Honolulu Mayor Rick Blangiardi. “Our vision is to work collaboratively within our City agencies and community-based organizations to integrate innovative growing methods into transit-oriented development along our newly-opened Skyline rail line. This will not only create exciting opportunities for residents living along the rail line, but will also transform the way urban planning is done on Oʻahu. By incorporating innovative solutions to the City’s most pressing issues regarding affordability, housing, and local food access, we imagine a city that is more intentional and innovative in meeting resident needs.”

The 630 ideas submitted to the Mayors Challenge reflect some of the greatest public service challenges facing cities today, as well as the creativity that animates local governments across the globe. A third of the applicants from the U.S. and Canada, for example, devised solutions addressing housing and shelter, while nearly half of the applicants from Africa proposed upgrades to waste collection and management.

One out of five applicants from the Asia-Pacific region focused on cleaner water, air, and infrastructure, and 22 percent of European applicants sought ways to reduce poverty or enhance social inclusion. The 50 finalists’ ideas were selected for their originality, potential for impact, and credible vision for delivery.

“Local government is where people meet policy—and where government improves lives and builds trust,” said James Anderson, who leads the Government Innovation program at Bloomberg Philanthropies. “That’s why municipal innovation isn’t about grand gestures—it’s about solving hard problems under pressure, often with imperfect tools and finite resources. These Mayors Challenge finalists stand out because they’re not just thinking creatively—they’re designing solutions that reckon with the complexity of implementation and the urgency of their residents’ needs. Their proposals reflect a new standard for public sector achievement: ambitious, yes, but also grounded, disciplined, and ripe for real impact.”

The 50 finalist ideas were selected for their originality, potential for impact, and credible vision for delivery. Artificial intelligence was featured in the plans of a number of finalists, including South Bend, Indiana, which envisioned a cutting-edge 311 system that anticipates complaints for non-emergency issues, such as potholes, allowing officials to address problems before a resident report. More analog innovations also rose to the top: In Yonkers, New York, city officials proposed a powerful new hyper-local civic brigade to help older neighbors age happily and healthfully in place.

The 50 finalist cities are:

• Abha, Saudi Arabia

• Addis Ababa, Ethiopia

• Ansan, South Korea

• As-Salt, Jordan

• Barcelona, Spain

• Beaverton, U.S

• Beira, Mozambique

• Belfast, United Kingdom

• Benin City, Nigeria

• Boise, U.S.

• Boston, U.S.

• Budapest, Hungary

• Cap-Haïtien, Haiti

• Cape Town, South Africa

• Cartagena, Colombia

• Cauayan, Philippines

• Choma, Zambia

• Cuenca, Ecuador

• Detroit, U.S.

• Fez, Morocco

• Fukuoka, Japan

• Ghaziabad, India

• Ghent, Belgium

• Greater Visakhapatnam Municipal Corporation, India

• Helsinki, Finland

• Honolulu, U.S.

• Kanifing, Gambia

• Kyiv, Ukraine

• Lafayette, U.S.

• Lower Hutt, New Zealand

• Maceió, Brazil

• Marseille, France

• Medellín, Colombia

• Mexico City, Mexico

• Naga, Philippines

• Ndola, Zambia

• Netanya, Israel

• Nouakchott, Mauritania

• Pasig, Philippines

• Rio de Janeiro, Brazil

• San Francisco, U.S.

• Seattle, U.S.

• Seoul, South Korea

• Sialkot, Pakistan

• South Bend, U.S.

• Surabaya, Indonesia

• Taipei, Taiwan

• Toronto, Canada

• Turku, Finland

• Yonkers, U.S.

In this round of the Bloomberg Philanthropies Mayors Challenge, more funding will be distributed and more cities will be assisted than in the previous five Challenges which each selected between five to 15 winners.

The new Mayors Challenge builds on more than 10 years of work led by Bloomberg Philanthropies to discover, nurture, and drive innovation in cities. The awards to date across five previous rounds of competition have provided 38 winning cities with funding and technical assistance to realize their ideas for addressing civic issues. By supporting the replication of the most successful winning ideas, Bloomberg Philanthropies has expanded the impact of the Mayors Challenge to 337 other cities globally, reaching over 100 million residents around the world.

“Being able to support the affordability of living in Honolulu for our residents requires innovative and creative ideas to affect change amongst a multitude of sectors including transportation, housing, and food,” said Alex Narrajos Corby, Sustainable Agriculture and Food Systems Program Manager, at the City and County of Honolulu’s Office of Economic Revitalization. “We are excited to work with Bloomberg Philanthropies, City agencies, international partners, and community partners to build out culturally relevant food growing and access options for residents living along the rail line.”

With the expansion of the Bloomberg Cities Idea Exchange, future Mayors Challenge-winning ideas and other locally led solutions supported by Bloomberg Philanthropies will have new potential to scale—serving as models and catalysts for how governments solve problems across the globe.

To learn more about the 50 finalist proposals, visit mayorschallenge.bloomberg.org.

Photos of previous Mayors Challenge winning solutions, courtesy of Bloomberg Philanthropies, are available for media use here.

About Bloomberg Philanthropies:
Bloomberg Philanthropies invests in 700 cities and 150 countries around the world to ensure better, longer lives for the greatest number of people. The organization focuses on creating lasting change in five key areas: the Arts, Education, Environment, Government Innovation, and Public Health. Bloomberg Philanthropies encompasses all of Michael R. Bloomberg’s giving, including his foundation, corporate, and personal philanthropy as well as Bloomberg Associates, a philanthropic consultancy that advises cities around the world. In 2024, Bloomberg Philanthropies distributed $3.7 billion. For more information, please visit bloomberg.org, sign up for our newsletter, or follow us on Instagram, LinkedIn, YouTube, Threads, Facebook, and X.

Media Contact:
Sam Fuld, sam@bloomberg.org