Cities of Opportunity (CoO) are putting equity at the core of their decision-making. They are crafting policies and budgets that advance equitable opportunities for long-term health improvement and well-being across multiple factors: physical, mental, social, emotional, financial, environmental and others identified with communities. They are moving away from tackling single issues within discrete departments and systems. Instead, they are looking at actions that will address multiple issues at once. They are creating new ways of operating more collaboratively to effectively address holistic measures of health and well-being—in ways that are meaningful to residents across their cities.
Equity work often begins with a definition of the desired end state for all city residents— whether that’s called equity, dignity, opportunity, well-being or something else depending on community priorities.
The National League of Cities (NLC) has developed a messaging guide to support municipal officials in their communications specific to the multiple factors that affect health and racial equity, How Cities Can Redefine Progress Toward Equity for Well-Being.