For Leading Cities Toward Solutions

James Anderson

Head of government innovation programs, Bloomberg Philanthropies

- Ben Paynter

When James Anderson arrived in Tel Aviv, Israel, in October 2014, the city was in the midst of an immigration crisis. Ten of thousands of Africans, having fled the poverty and conflict of their native countries, now resided in the southern neighborhood of Neve Sha'anam. In less than a decade, the area's population had grown four-fold, resulting in overcrowding, unemployment, and cultural rifts between some members of the migrant community and native Israelis. "It was the opposite of vibrant city life," Anderson says tactfully, recalling a flea market set up inside a former bus depot as a particular bright spot of the trip.

City officials had ramped up trash collection and were maintaining the overloaded sewage system, but these kinds of measures only treated the symptoms. A couple of months later, Anderson invited Tel Aviv mayor Ron Huldai to join the new “i-team” program he had launched in 2012: Bloomberg Philanthropies would fund and coach a cross disciplinary innovation squad (project manager, analysts, designer, etc.) for three years to help local officials address systemic issues.

Today, that once-depressing bus terminal has a kindergarten on one floor, a city-backed business accelerator on the next, and an international food market in the parking lot. Various Neve Sha’anan community groups share a Facebook page, where officials and service groups post information in multiple languages about how to register for school or what emerging sports, chess, and music programs are available to, say, Eritrean or Sudanese transplants. The iteam keeps detailed records of all of these efforts, so that other cities can learn from them.