Publications

April 2015 (Revised April 2022)
Case

Bankruptcy in the City of Detroit

By: Stuart Gilson, Kristin Mugford and Annelena Lobb

The June 2013 bankruptcy of the city of Detroit, Michigan was, at the time, the largest municipal bankruptcy in American history. Detroit had struggled for years with a weakening tax base, high unemployment, a heavy debt load and increasing retiree costs. These... View Details

June 2003
Case

Memphis City Schools

By: Rosabeth M. Kanter and Kevin Morris

Associate Superintendent Marieta Harris needs a plan for continuing the momentum of systemic change in this urban school district while facing shifts of leadership and curriculum philosophy, uneven progress on reforms, new tests that put a high proportion of schools on... View Details

Keywords: Curriculum and Courses; Leading Change; Transition; Education Industry

summer 1974
Article

Communes in Cities

By: R. M. Kanter

Keywords: Relationships

Find at Harvard

01 Sep 2017
News

City of Dreams

Nayana Mawilmada (MBA 2005) is seeing things. Standing at the edge of Beira Lake, an algae-choked body of water in the heart of Sri Lanka’s capital, Colombo, he envisions people and restaurants—like New York’s South Street Seaport, he says, or Singapore’s Clarke Quay.... View Details

Keywords: Julia Hanna; photographed by Alice Carfrae; Sri Lanka; Construction of Buildings; Construction; Administration of Housing Programs, Urban Planning, and Community Development; Government

March 1999
Case

City of Charlotte (B)

By: Robert S. Kaplan

This case shows how two operating departments-transportation and police-translate the high-level corporate scorecard for the city into departmental balanced scorecards. The transportation department follows a highly structured approach designed to link initiatives... View Details

Keywords: Crime and Corruption; Global Strategy; National Security; Balanced Scorecard; Organizational Design; Technology Adoption; Public Administration Industry; Transportation Industry

23 Oct 2013 - 24 Oct 2013
Conference Presentation

Key Drivers for Inner City Growth

By: Michael E. Porter

Initiative for a Competitive Inner City (ICIC) annual ecomonic summit. The 2013 theme: Transforming Urban Ecologies, What Works for Cities View Details

Keywords: Development Economics; Industry Clusters; Strategy; Urban Development; Ohio

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February 2024
Supplement

Can Cities Beat the Heat? (B7): Milwaukee Climate Action Snapshot

By: Rosabeth Moss Kanter, Coelin P. Scibetta and Jacob A. Small

Climate snapshots provide a summary of climate actions that occurred between 2018 and 2024, highlighting major green initiatives, innovations, carbon mitigation strategy, and action across multiple levels of government and the private sector. Snapshots also provide an... View Details

Keywords: Cities; Climate; Climate Impact; Innovation; Mitigation Policies; Carbon Footprint; Investing; Climate Finance; Mobility; Adaptation; Renewable Energy; Climate Change; Problems and Challenges; Sustainable Cities; United States; Wisconsin

February 2024
Supplement

Can Cities Beat the Heat? (B3): Chattanooga Climate Action Snapshot

By: Rosabeth Moss Kanter, Coelin P. Scibetta and Jacob A. Small

Climate snapshots provide a summary of climate actions that occurred between 2018 and 2024, highlighting major green initiatives, innovations, carbon mitigation strategy, and action across multiple levels of government and the private sector. Snapshots also provide an... View Details

Keywords: Cities; Climate; Climate Impact; Innovation; Mitigation Policies; Carbon Footprint; Investing; Climate Finance; Mobility; Adaptation; Renewable Energy; Climate Change; Problems and Challenges; Sustainable Cities; United States; Tennessee

10 Jul 2019
News

Should we build cities from scratch?

June 2003 (Revised July 2003)
Case

Union City Schools: Sustaining The Turnaround

By: Rosabeth M. Kanter and Ryan Raffaelli

Under the leadership of Superintendent Thomas Highton, Union City Schools, New Jersey, underwent a 14-year turnaround. In 1989, the Union City School District was the second-worst-performing district in New Jersey. As Mr. Highton prepared to retire, 2002 student test... View Details

Keywords: Leadership; Leading Change; Performance Consistency; Change Management; New Jersey

01 Mar 2019
News

City Hall’s Headbanger

notice: heavy metal mayor. READ MORE Keller on the Bloomberg Harvard City Leadership Initiative's impact on homelessness in Albuquerque READ MORE Keller on the Bloomberg Harvard City Leadership Initiative's... View Details

Keywords: Julia Hanna

November 1990 (Revised September 2004)
Case

Circuit City Stores, Inc. (A)

By: William J. Bruns Jr. and Susan Harmeling

Circuit City sells consumer electronic equipment, appliances, and extended service and warranty contracts which supplement those provided by equipment manufacturers. Equipment is sold at low margins, while warranties carry very high margins. A question has been raised... View Details

Keywords: Sales; Cost; Profit; Financial Statements; Revenue; Marketing Strategy; Electronics Industry; Consumer Products Industry

September 2012 (Revised November 2012)
Case

The Fall of Circuit City Stores, Inc.

By: John R. Wells and Galen Danskin

On January 16, 2009, after a dismal holiday season, Circuit City was forced into liquidation. Unable to meet creditors' demands, and with no acquirer in sight, Circuit City began the process of liquidating its remaining 567 U.S. stores. Circuit City had been the leader... View Details

Keywords: Strategic Planning; Competitive Strategy; Leadership; Consumer Products Industry; Electronics Industry; North America