NEWPORT NEWS, Va. — Newport News is one of ten global cities teaming up on a project aimed at enhancing and revitalizing the downtown sector.
The collaborative effort is part of the Bloomberg Harvard City Leadership Initiative aimed at tackling issues impacting cities and thus creating a better space for the community.
“Mayors and city leaders face enormous and complex challenges, but they also have significant opportunities to improve residents’ quality of life,” said Helen Hendrickson, program director for city support from the Harvard team. “The program helps city leaders build skills and tools for successful collaboration, inside and outside of government, to solve problems.”
Newport News city and community leaders, including Mayor Phillip Jones, are meeting with a team from Harvard University on Monday to discuss ways to improve the city's downtown area and create a plan to achieve those goals.
“Today’s complex challenges require an innovative and collaborative approach to solving problems in our communities,” said Mayor Jones. “We are excited to bring together representatives from the city leadership team and community partners to formalize our participation in the Bloomberg Harvard City Leadership Initiative. We are fortunate to have support in our ongoing efforts to revitalize downtown Newport News, bridging divides across political, social, and economic differences.”
Jones is among 40 other mayors and 80 senior municipal leaders partaking in Harvard's yearlong professional management training program to help city leaders develop policies that improve their communities.
Since 2017, according to a release, the initiative group has worked with 465 mayors and 2,271 senior city officials in 524 cities worldwide.
