The Seventh Annual Tom Tom Founders Festival is a week-long celebration of innovators, visionaries, and artists who are shaping small cities. The Festival occurs at dozens of venues throughout downtown Charlottesville.
In February, Bloomberg Philanthropies announced the 35 Champion Cities in the 2018 U.S. Mayors Challenge, a nationwide competition that encourages city leaders to uncover bold, inventive ideas that confront the toughest problems cities face. Selected from a pool of more than 320 applications, these cities and are now in the midst of a six-month testing phase where they will conduct public prototypes of their ideas. Hear how Huntington, West Virginia will tackle compassion fatigue for emergency responders on the frontlines of the nation’s opioid epidemic; how Hartford, Connecticut will use gunshot detection technology to support traumatized youth; and how Durham, North Carolina will leverage behavioral insights to encourage alternatives to driving downtown.