Seven stories

Story Bellows '01

Story Bellows ’01

An interview with the director, Mayor’s Office of New Urban Mechanics, City of Philadelphia

New Urban Mechanics? It was started in Boston; the former, late Mayor Menino was called “The Urban Mechanic.” He had this office where people were working with apps and looking at new technology and innovation inside of government — they became the Office of New Urban Mechanics. My boss, Mayor Nutter, heard about it at a convening a few years ago and said, “I want one.”

Philly mechanics. We often say that our office is the front door to city government. We want to be a place that people can call when they have ideas. My job is basically to promote more innovative approaches to problem solving inside government. A lot of what we do is to encourage piloting, experimentation. We’re doing a lot of work through partnerships, whether with different start-ups, academic institutions, nonprofits, or other businesses and industry in and around Philadelphia. We’re leveraging technology — adopting new ways of communicating and testing and experimenting with new solutions.

Fast-forward. We won $1 million from Bloomberg Philanthropies to create a program called FastFWD. We just finished working with our second cohort of 10 start-ups from across the globe that have come to Philadelphia (some are from Philly). They have solutions that they would like to work on with government, and maybe government will buy their solutions, or maybe government will be a partner. One is a company, based in Chicago, that’s testing its tablet-based education platform inside our prisons. We have a high recidivism rate. [This could lead to] better training programs, better education programs that [the prisoners] can take advantage of all the time — they can rent a tablet as opposed to having a specific class that maybe [they’re unable to attend]. We’re testing it with male prisoners right now.

Meeting of the mayors. When I was in D.C. [2009­–2012], I directed a program called The Mayors’ Institute on City Design that works with about 50 mayors a year from cities across the country. It’s a leadership development program, working to build up their capacity to make better decisions related to development, design, transportation, and sustainability.

Sustainable cities. I care about the environment, and obviously, people have a huge impact on the environment. You start to unpack a city, and there are so many institutions that play into its health. The built environment is a huge contributor to how people experience a city. I knew if I wanted to have a lasting impact, I needed to have firsthand experience working inside government. Having experience from for-profit, nonprofit, and now the public sector gives me an interesting perspective in terms of how cities operate.

Downtime in downtown. I like photography, so I wander around the city taking photos. I enjoy exploring new restaurants, and then testing out those recipes at home.  I also spend a lot of time on Amtrak, because my boyfriend’s in New York. [So,] I’ve read a ton in the last year. All the Light We Cannot See is fantastic — highly recommend it.

The story behind Story. My family, when they came to the United States, settled in Bucks County and Philadelphia (though I consider the Chicago area home). My great-grandfather started the first mental hospital in the country — now called the Kirkbride Center. My middle name is Kirkbride, which was his last name, and his middle name was Story.

— Aleta Mayne