CityLab Summit of Global Mayors, City Innovators, and Urban Leaders to be Held in Detroit October 28-30

Washington, D.C. and New York, NY (August 24, 2018)—CityLab, the preeminent global summit organized by The Atlantic, the Aspen Institute, and Bloomberg Philanthropies to address the most urgent urban issues of our time, has selected Detroit for its sixth-annual convening. The event will gather the world’s leading mayors, city innovators, urban experts, artists, and activists for two-and-a-half days of intensive conversation and idea sharing, with the goal of making cities more vibrant and livable.

CityLab Detroit will take place at the Westin Book Cadillac Hotel from October 28-30, with additional site visits and events to be held throughout Detroit. Press registration is now open. To request a credential or for more information on coverage opportunities, please reach out to The Atlantic’s Anna Bross (anna@theatlantic.com).

CityLab was founded on the principle that the most important innovation is happening at the local level and that global impact can be achieved when cities share solutions. In 2018, the summit will grapple with a raft of issues along the greater theme of opportunity, from the future of transportation, to housing, to public health, to economic mobility. Individual sessions intend to explore such topics as how technology and design can variously enable or inhibit personal freedom; whether universal basic income could work in cities; what cities are doing to combat the opioid crisis; and how everyone from mayors to informal leaders can work to build stronger city communities.

The event’s programming will draw inspiration from the ongoing story of Detroit’s path to revival—and be infused with the entrepreneurial character of the city. Speakers will be announced in the coming weeks, along with a full roster of programming and agenda.

“We are grateful to The Atlantic, the Aspen Institute, and Bloomberg Philanthropies for bringing this year's CityLab to Detroit,” said Detroit Mayor Mike Duggan. “This is truly an exciting time in our city, with so many visible signs of progress and of work yet to be done. Many of the topics that will be discussed, such as housing, transportation and opportunity, are the same issues we are working on every day. We look forward to listening and sharing our experiences.”

The first CityLab summit was held in New York City in 2013, and subsequent events have been hosted in Los Angeles (2014), London (2015), Miami (2016), and Paris (2017). Over the last five years, CityLab has involved participants from over 400 cities, including hundreds of mayors representing: Accra; Athens, Greece; Atlanta, Georgia; Austin; Barcelona; Cape Town; Istanbul; Jerusalem and Tel Aviv; London; Los Angeles; Lisbon; Medellin; Mexico City; Montreal; Nairobi; Oakland; Paris; Pittsburgh; Reykjavik; San Jose; Seoul; Tokyo; Vilnius, Lithuania; Warsaw; and Washington, D.C., among others.

Presenting Level underwriters for CityLab Detroit are General Motors, JPMC, the Knight Foundation, and Mastercard. Knowledge Level support comes from McKinsey & Company. The Supporting Level underwriters are AARP, Amazon Web Services, and the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation.

About the Aspen Institute
The Aspen Institute is an educational and policy studies organization based in Washington, DC. Its mission is to foster leadership based on enduring values and to provide a nonpartisan venue for dealing with critical issues. The Institute is based in Washington, DC; Aspen, Colorado; and on the Wye River on Maryland’s Eastern Shore. It also has offices in New York City and an international network of partners. For more information, visit www.aspeninstitute.org.

About The Atlantic
Founded in 1857 and today one of the fastest growing media platforms in the industry, The Atlantic has throughout its history championed the power of big ideas and continues to shape global debate across print, digital, events, video, and audio platforms. With its award-winning digital presence TheAtlantic.com and CityLab.com on cities around the world, The Atlantic is a multimedia forum on the most critical issues of our times—from politics, global, and the economy, to technology, arts, and culture. Bob Cohn is president of The Atlantic and Jeffrey Goldberg is editor in chief. Emerson Collective is majority owner; Atlantic Media is the minority operating owner of The Atlantic.

About Bloomberg Philanthropies
Bloomberg Philanthropies works in over 480 cities in more than 120 countries around the world to ensure better, longer lives for the greatest number of people. The organization focuses on five key areas for creating lasting change: Arts, Education, Environment, Government Innovation, and Public Health. Bloomberg Philanthropies encompasses all of Michael R. Bloomberg’s charitable activities, including his foundation and his personal giving. In 2017, Bloomberg Philanthropies distributed $702 million. For more information, please visit www.bloomberg.org or follow us on Facebook, Instagram, Snapchat, and Twitter.