When Seattle Mayor Bruce Harrell took office in 2022, it was with a vision both for the city he wanted to create and, critically, how he and his team would get there.
“In order to build the Seattle that we want to see, we first had to build relationships, build systems, build a team, and, most importantly, build trust,” he said at the time.
Harrell’s plan—which he calls “One Seattle”—is both a guiding principle for building a thriving city and a series of initiatives aimed at addressing the challenges that stand in the way, from public safety and downtown revitalization to affordable housing and homelessness. Fueling his strategy is Harrell’s crystal-clear understanding that city residents want local government to be more efficient and effective—and his conviction that innovation is the best way to deliver that change.
“Innovation and measurement and using data are proving to be very fruitful,” he says. “And they’re helping us tell the story we want to tell.”
Now, in this first of Bloomberg Cities’ “The Mayor’s Playbook” series, Mayor Harrell spotlights some of the key ways of working that are helping realize his vision. And he offers insight into how his team is raising people’s expectations of their city—and the roles they can play in its progress.