A record number of cities submitted proposals to Bloomberg Philanthropies’ Mayors Challenge this year. Their ideas show where urban innovation is headed.

The Mayors Challenge is about more than big ideas, however. It’s also about deepening the ways city leaders think about problem solving, strengthening the capabilities they bring to it and lifting their ambitions to tackle big problems. This is where this year’s applications get even more interesting. They’re like an EKG measuring the heartbeat of urban innovation as we prepare for a post-Covid world.