Across the country and the world, local governments are striving to break through obsolete ways of working to address the challenges of the 21st century, especially on issues facing low-income residents. Here in the United States, economic opportunity in cities remains elusive for many – a fact made all the more significant as the nation heads towards a future in which a majority of its residents are people of color. Around the world, cities are growing at astonishing rates, bringing with that growth new challenges in terms of environmental sustainability, economic opportunity and quality of life. In a time of such rapid change, local government leaders are eager to adapt how they do business in order to produce materially different results. This guide is intended to help them do just that.