The Atlas for Cities is a free online community which provides a space for local government leaders to view case studies, see what trends are out there and to source solutions. The Atlas has a sole vision to make cities smarter, safer and more sustainable. City officials must work quickly and therefore this space provides  

“We are, at the Atlas for cities, really part of the everyday learning experience for local government leaders. We are part of problem identification, solution identification…and that means we have unique insight into the parts and the minds and the problems that individual local governments are prioritising and individual government decision makers are prioritising.” Said Elle Hempen, Co-Founder and Executive VP of the Atlas for Cities. 

“This allows us to not only provide valuable information to our local government community, but on the back end we can track trends, track buying patterns and provide real time market intelligence that is missing right now” 

The company was founded by three women: Elle Hempen, Ellory Monks and Angela Murrell, all who are under the age of thirty. They are military spouses and have been former government officials themselves, so these ladies know the field very well. 

Women are a driving force in the U.S economy, 40% of business are women-owned in the U.S and these businesses are said to be generating nearly $1.8 trillion a year according to the Women’s Business Enterprise National Council.

“I think women are often at times motivated to solve problems. Everybody wants to make money and be successful but often at times you see female founders get into it not because they wanted to be entrepreneurs when they were growing up but because they saw a problem and wanted to solve it” said Hempen 

“This is why Ellory; Angela and I came together. We saw a problem and we said there was an easy fix here, it’s not easy to build or easy to execute but it’s a pretty straight forward fix” continued Elle. 

The company provides an incredible platform for residents and local governments to work together efficiently and effectively to make their cities smarter. These three women are the creaters of a highly innovative community. 

The Atlas helps 1,000+ city officials each month find creative solutions to urban problems that have been proven in other communities around the world and has facilitated more than 3,000 new relationships to help cities jumpstart progress on the ground. 

Elle will be joining us at MOVE America this September in Austin to join our stream on Smart Cities and Infrastructure. to find out more head to: MOVE America

Watch the full interview will Elle below! 

To find out more about Atlas for Cities head to: https://the-atlas.com