Featured Topic

Inclusive cities

The future demands more inclusive cities.

Cities are the beating hearts of nations. They are the places where people and cultures collide, expanding perspectives, powering creativity and generating new opportunities. Pre-COVID-19 projections showed that two-thirds of the global population will be living in cities by 2050, up from 55% in 2018, according to the United Nations. And while that growth holds unlimited promise, it also comes with risk, especially in the post-COVID world.

Progress starts on the local level. Building a more inclusive digital economy involves partnering with all city stakeholders to drive growth and expand access to opportunity for all residents, paving the way for economic mobility and sustainable wealth creation.

That means designing technological innovations that power our cities – from 5G to AI to digital identity – in a way that meets all residents’ needs, regardless of socioeconomic class.  

People are at the heart of every city, and any solution created should be made with the citizen at the center. If we leverage the superpower of collaboration, we can collectively ensure that no person is left behind. While the global pandemic has been a unique moment, it’s not the first challenge most cities have faced. Cities always seem to find ways to come through these moments better and stronger. We’re eager to reimagine what’s possible.  

City Spotlights

In collaboration with city leaders, we are working to enable 1 million residents with digital access to essential financial tools and support

New York City 

Learn more

St. Louis

Learn more

related content

Takeaways
4 ways to make 24-hour cities safer, more productive and more inclusive

City leaders, planning experts and activists from 21 countries joined forces to identify challenges and find innovative new ways to keep the nighttime economy humming.

Podcast
In Atlanta, making data work harder to mint opportunities for all

The city’s deputy chief equity officer chats with inclusion experts about how data tools and insights can build more sustainable and inclusive economies.

Story
These HBCU students are making their cities smarter

A new challenge unlocked the innovative power of these universities to solve community challenges, from emergency response to waste management to tourism.

Q&A
For everyone to win, you have to keep score

A data tool called Inclusive Growth Score is helping leaders better understand economic conditions at a granular level and make decisions that propel equity in their communities.

Blog
Lessons from Birmingham: How to build up Black-owned small businesses

The city’s small business owners were at the heart of the civil rights struggle, and they can be key today in narrowing the racial wealth gap.

Story
Creating inclusive cities that never sleep

Many cities have long viewed the night as a challenge instead of an opportunity. A new global network wants to change that.

Blog
It’s time to get people back on board with mass transit

Ridership remains far below capacity due to pandemic fears. Here’s what transit agencies can do to boost revenue and improve service.

blog
It’s time to problem solve — not paper over — inequities in our cities

"The pandemic has provided a unique opportunity to harness efforts to rebuild more equitable and sustainable cities," says Mastercard's Salah Goss. "Let’s get to work, lock arms with local leaders and communities to building a bridge to a more inclusive future."

Q&A
Why challenges common to most cities require collaborative answers

Citi has joined Mastercard’s City Possible network to expand its efforts to build more resilient and inclusive communities through data and technology. Citi’s Andy Taylor explains how.

Story
Monuments, not just markers: Saving Birmingham’s civil rights landmarks

With interest in civil rights tourism surging, the city of Birmingham has embarked on an ambitious plan to revive the A.G. Gaston Motel.

Story
How artists are projecting social change and propelling racial justice

The collection ‘Movement: Art for Social Change,’ presented by Pitroda Art and Mastercard, reflects the power of art to drive equality.

Story
Elevating Atlanta’s Black entrepreneurs takes a ‘Village’

This Atlanta nonprofit gives Black business owners the training to grow. ‘Support is a verb,’ its founder says.

Story
Black-owned restaurants have supported their neighbors. Now they need help

The heart of Black neighborhoods, these restaurants have struggled during the pandemic. Their closures could leave an outsized hole – but there is hope.

Inclusion
Have data, will travel: Why the tourism industry needs data analytics for a recovery

COVID-19 has accelerated digital transformation, and the rich data insights it enables can accelerate the recovery and creation of an inclusive global tourism economy.

Story
Putting themselves on the map: These citizens charted how their city moves

Residents of Santiago de los Caballeros in the Dominican Republic helped create the first maps — paper and digital — to make the city’s informal transportation system more reliable and safer for everyone.

Blog
Creating a digitized transit system can move everyone forward

Here are four ways cities can use tech to respond to the pandemic and modernize their transit systems.

Podcast
In Atlanta, making sure a massive public transit investment benefits everyone

On Mastercard’s ‘Fortune Favors the Bold’ podcast, a self-proclaimed transit nerd and an urban designer discuss how to make Atlanta a city where where everyone can thrive.

Story
Transforming Erie: Using data to drive investment to overlooked neighborhoods

The city used data insights from a new Inclusive Growth Score tool, a hyperlocal snapshot that captures progress toward not simply growth, but inclusive growth benefiting everyone.

Story
Rethinking how cities help their most vulnerable in the wake of COVID-19

The massive disruption caused by the pandemic reveals five ways cities can rethink how they deliver essential services – and what is now essential in the digital age.

Video
‘Nobody in the Dark’ shines a light a light on digital exclusion

A light installation by the poet and mental health campaigner Hussain Manawer in two U.K. cities aims to start a conversation about bringing more people into the digital economy.

Blog
Why inclusive cities aren’t just smart ones: Centering equity in technological innovation

Two new tools from the Urban Institute can help cities ensure technology narrows, not deepens, divides.

story
Building a more inclusive post-COVID economy: A chat between Bill Clinton and Ajay Banga

Mastercard CEO Ajay Banga and former President Bill Clinton discuss how digital technology and innovative ways to access capital can help minority-owned small businesses thrive.

Story
Helping migrant workers stay connected to home

Migrant workers can feel at home among their fellow nationals at exchange houses, where they send money to friends and family abroad.

Blog
The economic costs of structural racism are too high to ignore

Our $500 million commitment to reducing the racial wealth and opportunity gap is cities-based and includes access to affordable financial tools and capital.

Story
The gift of clarity: Data-driven insights help cities

As circumstances continue to rapidly evolve, fast and reliable data is more meaningful than ever.