NLC report shows infrastructure remains top priority for American mayors

California Construction News staff writer

The National League of Cities (NLC) has released the 2023 State of the Cities report, an annual review of mayoral priorities throughout the U.S. This year’s report shows that building infrastructure is the top priority for American mayors.

The NLC report identifies the challenges mayors identify for their communities and reviews common themes in addressing them.

The 2023 report shows that, overall, mayors have a positive outlook focused on repairing and building critical infrastructure, and making it climate resilient.

“The priorities highlighted here show that the state of America’s cities is strong, with our local leaders making strategic investments in programs and services that deliver benefits to all of their residents,” said NLC CEO and Executive Director Clarence Anthony. “We hope that this year’s State of the Cities report not only paints a clear picture of mayors’ priorities today but can help inform their municipal strategies moving forward as well.”

Additionally, this year’s report reveals that securing accessible and affordable housing is part of mayors’ economic development strategy, and mayors’ approaches to public safety recognize how it ties hand in hand with health and human services. However, the authority of mayors to make decisions in these focus areas can be different based on the size (large versus small) and type (city, rural, suburban) of the municipality.