I would also mention Reno, Nevada which what managed to hugely transform the downtown/midtown area from what was an incredibly seedy place with hourly motels and homeless to something closer to average that you can take your family to. Lots more hip bars and restaurants, walkable areas, upgraded bus transport in the downtown/midtown area, and the UNR campus which abuts the downtown is significantly upgraded from what it was 10 years ago with beautiful new buildings and lots of new student housing.

Key actions: - Far more housing built, especially mid-upper end apartments - Actively partnered with real estate developers to get rid of unutilized land in downtown/midtown and purchase and upgrade what were once sketchy motels - New transportation options in the area to make it more walkable/accessible with a scooter partnership (geofenced to the area) and bus service

Edit to add: Almost all of this has been under the leadership of the current three term mayor who is an independent (or nonpartisan, forget exactly how she bills herself) showing how impactful local office can be. However, she does get some flak for not solving the local homeless problem, but personally having lived in SF, I understand how that's a much more difficult/intractable issue.