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Date: 26 June 2025
Belfast has been selected as one of the 50 finalists of Bloomberg Philanthropies’ sixth Mayors Challenge, a competition to spur local government innovation that improves lives in cities around the world.
The sixth Challenge elevates municipalities that have proposed the boldest ideas to bolster essential municipal services. The 50 finalists, selected from more than 630 applications, together hail from 33 countries and represent over 80 million residents.
Belfast will receive $50,000 (almost £37,000) to prototype an idea, put forward by Belfast City Council, to work with communities and stakeholders to re-imagine the city’s network of alleyways and create shared community assets that deliver benefits for local neighbourhoods.
Council staff will also participate in Bloomberg Philanthropies’ Ideas Camp in July to hone and test their concept with feedback from experts and fellow peers.
In January 2026, the 25 cities with the most promising ideas will each be awarded $1 million (£735,000) and operational assistance to bring their proposals to life.
“Belfast is thrilled to have been selected as a finalist for this challenge and to get the chance to test drive the exciting ideas we have for maximising the city’s alleyways,” said Lord Mayor of Belfast, Councillor Tracy Kelly.
“Alleyways present challenges in terms of cleanliness, anti-social behaviour and connectivity, but they offer real opportunities too, with the potential to use these spaces more effectively to bring communities together and enjoy more time outdoors, especially for those living in areas of high deprivation without access to private gardens.
“Community volunteers have driven this type of work so far, to great effect, and this funding will now allow us to build on their experiences and to look at what may potentially work in other areas of our city too. Between July and October, we will design and test activities with residents to inform our final funding bid. If successful, it will help transform these often forgotten spaces into places of real beauty and value.”
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 U.S. and Canada applicants, for example, devised solutions addressing housing and shelter. 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 finalist ideas were selected for their originality, potential for impact, and credible vision for delivery.
Belfast’s proposal aims to develop a more strategic, sustainable approach to regenerating 126 miles of alleyways across the city.
Using the funding provided by the Mayors Challenge, the council will trial activities to provide additional outdoor space for residents to enjoy, improve wellbeing, increase planting and play spaces, reduce dumping and foster an increased interest in these spaces.
“Local government is where people meet policy—and where government improves lives and builds trust,” said James Anderson, who leads the Government Innovation programme 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 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; and 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 ten 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 realise 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.
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