Collaborative Cities

Dynamic problems require dynamic collaboration and technology.

Our communities today face difficult issues-such as climate change, access to health care, and homelessness-which are tangled, complicated, and constantly evolving. Coined "wicked problems" more than 40 years ago by the University of California's professors Horst Rittel and C. West Churchman, these issues exceed the capacity of any one sector, instead demanding the kind of creative thinking, democratized engagement, and integrated action that come from government, nonprofits, businesses, and citizens working in concert.

Starting with Collaborative Cities, government officials, nonprofit leaders, and citizens alike who are acting for social value can learn how to use a geospatial approach-the commonality in driving social outcomes-to improve insight, trust, and the efficacy of their combined efforts to solve wicked problems.

Stephen Goldsmith was the 46th mayor of Indianapolis and also served as the Deputy Mayor of New York City for Operations. He is currently the Daniel Paul Professor of Government, director of Innovations in Government Program, and director of Data-Smart City Solutions at the John F. Kennedy School of Government at Harvard University.

Kate Markin Coleman has 30 years of experience as a senior executive in the private and social sectors where she has successfully participated in multiple significant organizational transformations, including in her subsequent role as executive vice president, chief strategy and advancement officer at YMCA of the USA.