Nearly all tobacco use begins in childhood and adolescence, and an estimated 23,000 children currently under the age of 18 could die prematurely from a smoking-related illness. So here in Providence, we're fighting back.

It's up to others, outside of Silicon Valley, well beyond the tech sector, to embrace an innovation agenda if we are truly to build a new economy -- and new future -- that will endure for generations. Thankfully, this is already happening in places that have historically been at the forefront of innovation: America's cities.

In recent years, as Washington has sunk further into a swamp of dysfunction, local leaders are rising to meet many of the toughest challenges facing the country -- from economic growth and environmental protection to public safety and poverty. Cities have become the new laboratories of democracy, and there are promising policy experiments happening all across the country. Solutions to many of our most pressing challenges will need to be pioneered in cities -- and, based on what is already happening, we have great faith and optimism that they will. Today, on behalf of The Huffington Post and Bloomberg Philanthropies, we are excited to launch a new platform that celebrates the boldness and creativity of mayors and cities across the country. Here you can weigh in and help choose the Mayors Challenge Fan Favorite -- the civic innovation that Americans most want to see succeed.

By their fourth birthday, children who grow up in low-income households will have heard thirty-million fewer words than their middle- and high-income peers. Providence Talks solves this problem, for good.

Level Up, Lafayette! bridges the "engagement gap" by encouraging residents to play community enrichment games in which winning outcomes translate into tangible improvements for residents of Lafayette.