Smooth public meetings are the direct result of good governance,
deliberate preparation, and consistent application of clear
procedures officially established in advance. Here are a few
proven strategies, based on our over 90 years of combined
experience in local government.
State leaders have improved the CARE Act every year to address
concerns over its scope, cost, and practices. Yet the challenges
facing cities and patients alike remain the same: People with
severe mental illness are cycling through emergency medical
services without a sustained improvement in care.
More young people are running for office and challenging the
status quo. “I felt the biggest way that I could contribute was
being behind the dais and making decisions in real time,” said
Hercules Vice Mayor Alex Walker-Griffin, who joined city council
at age 23.
“Frankly, I think that is actually great,” says Anthony Townsend,
urbanist-in-residence at Cornell Tech’s Urban Tech Hub. “It has
given cities the time to do a lot of the governance planning they
weren’t able to do during earlier waves of tech disruption.”
“When I retired as San Rafael’s city manager, I wanted to capture
the emotional complexity of our work, our frustrations and joys,”
writes Jim Schutz. “Poetry and government don’t typically hang
out together. But poetry fits because it’s built to express how
something feels deep inside of you.”
“In my career, I have heard so many times that childcare is not
the business of the city,” says San José Council Member Pamela
Campos. “However, childcare is absolutely part of economic
development. We need people to be able to show up and go to work
and do their jobs, which they can’t do if they are caring for
their children.”
California’s accessory dwelling unit laws opened a fast lane for
homeowners to add small, independent homes to existing lots. But
ministerial approval doesn’t mean anything goes: Cities can still
respond to community concerns while meeting the statute’s
requirements.
California city officials say the surprise immigration sweeps
that started earlier this year have eroded public trust, strained
local economies, and revived old fears. And although there are
limited ways to respond, they are determined to take care of
their residents.
For decades, planners focused on attracting young singles to
dense urban cores. That dynamic has shifted, in part because
those young singles didn’t want to move to the suburbs to
have kids. But many cities still don’t have
enough affordable, family-sized housing or services.
“The painful truth is that it’s less of a contradiction than just
the system functioning the way it’s been designed. That sounds
bleak, but in fact, it points to the possibility of different
choices: If systems are designed, they can be redesigned.”
In recent years, cities across California have faced
unprecedented challenges — wildfires, flooding, mass shootings,
hazardous spills, and more. But the benefits of a good crisis
communication plan go beyond emergencies.
In recent months, the federal government has slashed funding to
cities and states, warning that almost every federal funding
stream is under review. While cities can’t stop these cuts
completely, they can take steps to mitigate them.
“As mayor, you can call on certain voices to lower the
temperature on a particular issue,” says Asm. Diane Papan.
“Everyone gets an opportunity to speak, but it’s about what order
you have them speak. The order of things can affect the outcome
of a decision.”
“Displacement can happen across any income group,” says planner
Karen Chapple, “and it can happen with benefits or with losses.
The policy issue is, is the diversity of the neighborhood that
you had before as sustained as the new transit improvement comes
in?”
Most neighborhoods used to have a mix of single-family homes and
houses with multiple units. But today, many cities struggle to
provide that same level of choice. Daniel Parolek says that’s
because the systems needed to deliver those choices have
disappeared.
As congregations continue to dwindle, many churches and other
houses of worship have found themselves with empty swaths of
parking lots and land. Some are building affordable housing on
the roughly 47,000 acres of potentially developable land.
According to State Librarian Greg Lucas, no other
government-paid-for entity is as nimble or flexible as libraries.
That makes them pillars of their community and well-positioned to
tackle some of our biggest challenges — if they have the
funding.
Elk Grove, Burbank, and San Pablo were some of the winners of the
2025 Outstanding Local Streets and Roads Project Awards. Elk
Grove dramatically improved its streets thanks to a systemic,
fix-it-first maintenance approach. Burbank and San Pablo both
overhauled major traffic corridors.
California is in the middle of an ambitious effort to overhaul
its waste systems — chief among them organic waste. But reducing
the million tons of organic waste thrown away each year has
proven challenging. Here’s how three cities are successfully
meeting the mandate.
Many cities have long used artificial intelligence for routine
tasks. Some are seizing on advances in AI to further automate
everyday tasks. But as with any new tool or policy, there are
benefits and costs to using AI. Experts say it’s crucial for
cities to have guardrails over anything AI produces.
