THE CITY OF NEW YORK OFFICE OF THE MAYOR New York, NY 10007

MAYOR MICHAEL R. BLOOMBERG ADDRESSES WORLD BANK EMPLOYEES ON BUILDING BETTER CITIES: NEW YORKS EXPERIENCE IN URBAN TRANSFORMATION AT WORLD BANK URBAN SECTOR DAY Remarks as Delivered Date: February 21, 2008 Location: World Bank, Preston Auditorium, 1818 H Street, NW between 18th and 19th Streets, WASHINGTON, DC Event: Addresses World Bank Staff At World Banks Urban Sector Day Mayor Michael Bloomberg: Bob, thank you for those kind words from London. I hope the traffic there isnt too bad. You were almost too late to introduce me. You should tell them they should put a congestion pricing charge in. maybe that would help. And in terms of the World Bank having Bloomberg terminals, my daughters say thank you. LAUGHTER Now my connections with the World Bank are not just through selling Bloomberg terminals. I actually know not only Bob, but both his two of his two predecessors. You should know that the in the interest of full disclosure my girlfriend works for Jim Wolfensohn. LAUGHTER Shell be pleased. Jim and I were partners together at Salomon Brothers and were both pushed out at exactly the same time. Our careers did okay afterwards, thank you, so theres nothing wrong with that. Paul Wolfensohn (sic) was a dean at the School of Advanced International Studies at Johns Hopkins, where I was chairman of the board. So you can say that he used to work for me and Im guessing that a few of you

probably think that he should have stayed there. But- I thought that would have gotten a little bit better laugh than that actually. LAUGHTER And Bob was a partner in an investment banking firm that offered me my first job when I got out of business school and I turned them down, thank goodness. Anyway, its amazing after all of that that you still invited me to speak. Nevertheless, seriously I am deeply honored by this invitation to address the World Banks- Bank Groups Urban Sector. The work you do in so many rapidly growing cities really does put you at the center of the stage of the worlds most important drama. And you should be proud really of the difference that youre making to so many in our society that need help. You truly are at the center of a changing world. This year, for the first time in human history, city dwellers will begin to make up the majority of the Earths population. And this global urbanization represents a seismic shift in world affairs and its happening really at a breathtaking pace. Fifty years ago, fewer than 100 of the worlds cities had populations of one million or more; within ten years, nearly 500 will. For example, 50 years ago, China was still largely an agrarian society. But in the middle of our current century, its expected to- that much- as much as three-quarters of the entire population of China will live in cities. And I was there two months ago visiting Beijing and Shanghai and there are certainly two things that are true: one, theyve made enormous progress. Theyve taken roughly 600 million people and given them the benefits of modern society. The other thing thats true is that they have staggering problems ahead of them. They have roughly 600 million people that live on a dollar a day or less. So China is a country that can help others, but also a country that needs our help. And I think that can be said of every country, including America. America needs help from around the world. We need people coming here Ill talk about that. We need capital coming here Ill talk about that. We need ideas and improvements to our culture from around the world. And we have a lot to be proud of and a lot to export elsewhere. Now, such astonishing growth really has produced new responsibilities for the- put on the shoulders of all of us who work in large cities and thats what I want to talk about today. All of us, in every country, today face daily and directly the economic, social, and environmental consequences of explosive urban growth. We now have to deal with the forces of globalization and climate change and simultaneously we must confront the challenges of providing all of our people with the health and social services they need to create better lives for their families. And as citizens of the world, our duties are great but so are the opportunities, I think, for building a more secure and prosperous world for everyone. A world where anything that can be imagined can be accomplished, where ending illiteracy or hunger or stopping AIDS or cleaning the air or deterring corruption are things that really are within our control. I think people are afraid to confront the important issues of our time. They are important- theyre afraid to confront the complicated issues of our time. If there isnt a simple solution, they dont want to get near it. But the truth of the matter is there are no simple solutions to complex problems. Nevertheless, we as individuals have a responsibility to do so and to do what I think is important. We want to share the Great American Dream with the rest of the world. And I think it is a dream that embodies the

aspirations of people all around the globe. And you should know that I am very proud of everything this country has done. I dont always agree with everything that it does do today. But we have a responsibility and I think America you will find will stand up and do its part. Now some people doubt that the worlds great cities are up to the tasks before us, but I do not. Time after time, cities have shown an ability to overcome even the most daunting obstacles and to mobilize and maximize the talents of our people. Today I would like to use the transformation of New York City as a small example of what I think can be done and God knows that you in this room and your colleagues around the world are truly trying to face infinitely more serious problems with people who are just trying to stay alive. But nevertheless, what New York City has done perhaps can be used elsewhere and we would proud if anybody would take our ideas and plagiarize them and improve them and send them back to us even better. We have no not invented here problem. We are a city, a global city. And the great strength of New York is that we have taken ideas from every place. If you go back to 9/11, many people thought that New Yorks days of greatness were numbered. There were serious predictions that businesses and residents would flee the city wholesale, that our economy would never recover, that crime would once again take root in our city and that New York was headed for an irreversible downward spiral of decline. I dont know if that sounds familiar, but it should because Id bet that all of you have heard the naysayers and cynics say exactly the same thing and disparaged the work of the World Bank and say that you wont succeed, that you cant succeed. We heard the exactly the same thing doubt, defeatism, hopelessness, negativism, but I think weve shown, and you have shown, that that we can address these problems. And in New York in the last six years, New York City certainly has proved the naysayers wrong and I think you are doing the exactly the same thing. How did we do it? Well theres no one answer, of course, no royal road to success. But I believe there are four values which have helped transform New York City and which provide lessons for the rest of the world, lessons that are universal and transferable. And they are: harnessing the force of immigration and globalization; tapping the power of innovation; instituting rigorous and accountable governance; and having the independence to take on entrenched interests when they stand in the way of progress. And let me expand on each of these values, beginning with the long-term and continued embrace of immigration and globalization. If you want to know what I think is the single biggest difference between New York and other cities that have never recovered from the job losses of the 1970s in America, I have one word for you: immigrants. Over the past 30 years, our immigrant population in New York has more than doubled in size. Today, 37% of New Yorkers more than three million people are foreign-born and more than 70% of them have come to New York since 1980. Their ambition, hard work, and entrepreneurial drive continues to bring dynamic new life to our economy and a fresh new spirit to our city. New Yorkers understand that. Even after 9/11, when it would have been understandable for us to become fearful about the rest of the world, we have continued to welcome immigrants in New York City at a historic-making pace and they have more than repaid us. Just as important as this global movement of people is the increasing crucial role that global capital plays in New Yorks economy. We finance development around the world and you see today other countries are doing the same thing in New York international and multi-directional. The power of globalization played a big part in reviving New Yorks fortunes over the past 30 years and prev- and in preventing us from going into a downward spiral after 9/11 and our success story is far from being a one-off anomaly in this world.

Just take a look at what India and China have achieved as they have become urbanized and more fully reintegrated into the global economy. What this tells us is that the worlds cities emphatically do not need the restrictive new barriers to immigration or trade that many political leaders want to erect, especially here in the United States. The cities that hope to succeed in the 21st century cannot close their doors to the worlds workers anymore than they can close their doors to the worlds capital or to the worlds ideas. In New York, the free, global movement of labor, capital, and ideas defines our character, underlies our prosperity, and explains our comeback. Sadly, some of our national leaders are turning their backs on this formula for success. And if they insist on turning away the best and the brightest and protecting jobs instead of promoting them then Im sorry but I think the hard economic times that are beginning to- we are beginning to experience in the United States will be with us for a very long time. But the choice is ours and every country faces exactly the same choice: do we reap the benefits of globalization and address its difficulties honestly or do we scapegoat globalism and turn away its benefits? I believe we should be working to bring the benefits of globalization not only to the United States but to cities around the world where too many people remain isolated and impoverished and something that the World Banks lending policies certainly can help achieve. One of the benefits of globalization is the ever freer movement of ideas, a trend that reinforces the second value I want to stress: the power of innovation. There are so many educated, creative, brilliant minds in our world today, capable of creating innovative solutions to many if not all of the problems that plague us. We must foster this spirit of innovation and reinforce it in every way we can. New York and other cities too understand this. We are increasingly adopting one anothers innovative approaches to our shared challenges and this is especially true in two areas: reducing poverty and global climate change. In the U.S. weve been fighting poverty with pretty much the same arsenal of weapons for the past 40 years. And guess what? Not much has changed. And thats why innovation that promises to break this cycle of futility is so crucial and so far theres been precious little talk of innovation at the national level in our government, or in our current political campaigns. But the worlds cities including New York arent waiting for others to act first. Countries around the world, especially in the developing world, are experimenting with anti-poverty programs that smash taboos and turn orthodoxies on their heads and some of them have had very promising results. And as Bob said in his introduction, New York has recently become the first U.S. city to adopt on a trial basis the kind of conditional cash transfers that have been successful in Mexico, Turkey, Brazil, and other developing nations. And Im pleased to read the other day that Prime Minister Brown of Great Britain is now proposing a similar program for the United Kingdom. By offering conditional cash tran- payments that can amount to up to one-third of household income, we hope to encourage low-income New Yorkers to stay in school, stay in their jobs, and stay on track to rise out of poverty. And for those that are skeptical let me just point out that in the developed world we use economic incentives for the rich and for companies to get them to do things that we think are in their interest and in societys interest. Using the same thing at the other end of the economic spectrum only makes common sense. Its worked in some places and I have great hopes that it will work in New York City. Nearly 5,000 families are already enrolled in what we call Opportunity NYC. This program is currently privately funded and if it becomes the success we hope it will then we will invest public dollars in it. And thats another thing: some of these programs require innovative solutions and independent sources of funds like the

World Bank or private philanthropy to do the untested things. But thats what innovation really is all about. Innovation is about not knowing whether it will work, what its going to look like, who will buy it, what color itll be, how much it costs to manufacture. But if we dont have innovation, the society cannot continue to grow. The World Bank really has long been a leader in supporting conditional cash transfers and I did want to thank its staff for working with us as Bob talked about and helping our- design our Opportunity NYC and that includes, in particular, Laura Rawlings of the Banks Caribbean and Latin American regional office. New York and other cities are also sharing innovative ideas about addressing an equally critical issue: climate change. Indeed, in many instances, cities are well out in front of their national governments in this area as well. For example, here in the United States, even though our national government has not ratified the Kyoto Accord, more than 700 American cities, including New York City, have pledged to meet its standards and in the past year Ive met and talked with mayors of the worlds great cities, from London, to Mexico, to Beijing. We recognize, as New York Times correspondent Thomas Friedman has written, when it comes to climate change, It is too late for later. So were not waiting for others to act; increasingly, were working in concert with one another and adopting one anothers best practices in areas ranging from greening our streets to cleaning our air. New Yorks sustainability agenda called PlaNYC draws on the policies of cities around the world, from Berlin to Singapore. New York City will expand and encourage that exchange of ideas when we host a major two-day international conference on climate change and urban air quality in New York in June. And the World Bank Group has shown its own leadership on climate change, starting with the example youve set by becoming a carbon neutral organization. Now your lending practices can support the worlds cities as we find innovative ways to shrink our carbon footprints, too. But to be effective, innovation has to be coupled with the third value that I want to stress: rigorous and publicly accountable governance governance that is transparent, governance that is efficient, and governance that makes decisions based on data. We have a saying: In God we trust. Everyone else bring data. And Ive foundLAUGHTER Ive found that in business and in government these are good words to live by. In New York City, weve not only used data to drive decisions, weve made it transparent so that the public will be able to see where the problems lie. And thats why, for example, weve begun grading all 1500 of our public schools the schools, not just the kids so that the parents will know how their schools- childrens school compares to other schools. If their children go to a school thats failing, well, they should yell and scream to make things better because if they dont nothing is going to change. And thats exactly the point. Accurate, transparent, and continually collected data is also crucial to decide when and how to most efficiently use scarce resources and improve our society. And public safety is a good example. During 2007, New York City had fewer homicides than we have had in any year since 1963, cementing our hold on the title of Americas safest big city. Weve done that by relentlessly mapping crime trends and deploying officers accordingly. And weve done that even as our police force has shrunk by some 5,000 officers over the past six years and even as the Police Department has assumed extensive new intelligence and anti-terrorism responsibilities in the wake of 9/11.

In American cities, just as in the global development community itself, many people will tell you that the solution to any problem is easy: more money. But in New York, weve learned that while more money is always nice, it also really is possible to do more with less. We can attack problems more effectively by rigorous analysis and a highly accountable approach: identifying the communities in greatest need, driving resources to them, and holding front-line workers responsible for their success. Such rigorous and accountable governance also allows us to direct funds that might otherwise be wasted to investments in the infrastructure that our growing city needs. And to cite just one example we are now on course to complete a third water tunnel that is vital to New York Citys future. Its a project that if it isnt done and if something happened to one of our existing two water tunnels literally would close the city down. Its a project that has stopped repeatedly over 30 years in large part because every time the economy slowed the easy way politically was to cut infrastructure spending while maintaining spending on popular programs. But the city is in danger and so what weve tried to do is to not divert even in tough times resources away from what will give us a life down the road so that we can have more things currently. And I think that kind of approach that we have is the only way to solve the problems long-term. Through accountable governance weve shown that its possible to sustain and even improve basic services while also investing in the citys future. Finally, let me turn to the fourth value I want to stress: political independence. In reforming our schools, in reinventing our social services, in area after area, weve been willing to touch the so-called third rail issues that others have avoided and the reason is quite simple: its that the political independence of our Administration has allowed us to take on vested interests and let the chips fall where they may. Ive found that when you do this, the voters even if they dont agree with you on everything will respect you because they know youre making decisions based on the merits, not on polls or partisanship or political calculus. A good example of how weve been independent and one with global implications concerns the largest single cause of preventable death worldwide, and thats tobacco. Over the past six years, New York City has as you know been very pro-active against smoking, often in the face of stiff and vocal opposition. Weve raised cigarette taxes, mounted aggressive public information campaigns, increased smoking cessation programs, and outlawed smoking in all public places, including restaurants and bars. And I can just tell you if you want a character-building experience, I suggest doing that and then marching in a St. Patricks Day Parade that goes past some of the citys pubs. You would actually be very surprised at how many one-fingered waves you get. LAUGHTER I will say though today you cannot find virtually anybody who owns a bar or restaurant or works in one that doesnt think two things: one, it was a great idea, and two, it was their idea. But let me tell you, and this- this is an area where political independence, a willingness to fight the vested interests, really has paid off. Weve cut smoking among New Yorks- New Yorkers- among adults by 20% during the past six years and reduced teen smoking by 52%. And that translates into a quarter of a million fewer smokers, untold millions, short- and long-term, in saved dollars in health costs, and even more importantly, saved lives. Now we need to write the same kind of success story worldwide. And to do that, your help is needed in supporting the city and national leaders who are willing to show political independence in the face of the powerful vested interests promoting tobacco use. As you may know, developing countries already account for 70% of cigarette consumption and tobacco companies are stepping up their marketing approaches in the

developing world. As The Economist put it recently, The tobacco industry is getting the worlds poor hooked before governments can respond. Unless we do respond, the result will be a public health calamity: one billion pre-mature deaths from cancer, stroke, and heart disease in this century, many of them in the cities where you work. In response, you should know my foundation has supported a recent World Health Organization study of tobacco habits and policies in 179 different countries. If we want these countries to change their policies we first have to know scope of the problem. And thats just the first step in whats going to be a long struggle fought on many fronts. But as New York City has shown this is a winnable fight, one that the worlds other cities and nations now must also join and again I ask you and them to join me in this effort. Globalization, innovation, accountable governance, independent leadership: each of you in your work in cities around the world has the opportunity to foster these values. The 21st century will see an increasing urban world on every continent in our globe. And now its up to all of us to ensure that the residents of the worlds cities enjoy a safer, healthier, and more secure future. Every generation, in its own way, faces the challenge of enlarging the realm of human happiness and opening up new vistas of human possibility. When we talk about building better cities in our world, thats truly whats at stake. We have the knowledge, we have the resources, and I believe together we have the will. And I do want to thank each of you in the World Bank Group for working to meet that challenge. So good luck to all of you and may your efforts here and in cities everywhere be crowned with success. The future really is in our hands. We can make an enormous difference. Thank you, keep up the good work.