Press

Across the United States and Europe, metropolitan regions have emerged as hubs of public innovation and collaborative problem-solving. A new model for progressive governance is emerging from some of our most dynamic cities, large and small. 

To draw transatlantic policymakers’ attention to this promising development, the Progressive Policy Institute has joined forces with Das Progressive Zentrum and Alfred Herrhausen Gessellschaft in Germany to launch “New Urban Progress.” This three-year project will study and compare notes on metro innovations in three German cities and three U.S. cities, with the aim of sparking a crossfertilization of ideas for encouraging local initiative and ground-up problem-solving. 

“At PPI, we have called for a renewed flexible federalism that will empower more localized innovation. It’s happening around the country—but local innovators need more support,” said PPI’s Director of Policy Innovation Dane Stangler. 

“Today’s urban ferment yields instructive insights for local and national policymakers in the United States and Europe,” said PPI President Will Marshall. “This transatlantic initiative will focus on empowering metros to tackle urgent national challenges — inclusive growth, new infrastructure, social mobility, climate change — from the ground up.”

Support for the New Urban Progress initiative comes from the Transatlantic Program of the Federal Republic of Germany, and funding from the European Recovery Program (ERP) of the Federal Ministry of Economics and Energy (BMWi) along with other key policy leaders. 

The cities chosen for this initiative will be announced in the coming months, including project fellows who will come from county and municipal government, business, the nonprofit sector, and more. 

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Blog post from our partner, Das Progressive Zentrum, on today’s announcement: https://www.progressives-zentrum.org/rejuvenating-transatlantic-dialog-from-the-bottom-up/?lang=en

Contact: media@ppionline.org or 202-525-3931