T he State of the Cities 2022 delves into the key areas that mayors nationwide are focused on in their cities. Local governments are working hand-in-hand with the federal government to help cities build back in a more equitable, forward-facing direction.

The once-in-a-generation level of support provided to cities through ARPA, tied together with the passage of the BIL, is having an incredibly positive impact as we recover from unprecedented impacts of the pandemic.

Furthermore, the pandemic has laid bare the vast inequities and racial disparities in our country that can only be addressed with policies that place equity and inclusion front and center.

This is reflected in mayoral priorities this year, as cities can finally plan for how they will start to repair long-crumbling infrastructure. At the same time, with many people moving to new places throughout the pandemic, areas that weren’t previously experiencing such rapid growth are seeing incredible challenges on affordable housing. Mayors are leaning into building a strong economy, becoming laserfocused on workforce priorities and keying in on the need to put public safety front and center.

Our analysis of mayoral speeches gauges how key conditions in cities have changed over the past year and which conditions have had the most significant positive and negative local impacts. While the postpandemic period has still not fully materialized, in many ways, 2022 has seen the closest return to normalcy yet. More people have returned to offices, COVID-19 hospitalization rates have remained low and our cities have awakened – even if many downtowns remain somewhat moribund.