Mayors and elected officials from across the Twin Cities met Friday with the country's top housing official, who told them he wants to use their strategies to help guide affordable housing efforts in other parts of the country.

Julián Castro, the U.S. Secretary of Housing and Urban Development, was in Minneapolis as part of a five-city tour to gather input for a "Prosperity Playbook" -- a set of resources and ideas that will be posted online for cities and organizations working on housing issues. The guide will include ideas from projects in Minneapolis, Atlanta, Denver, San Francisco and Kansas City, Mo.

"Having something that is straightforward and easy to read and can inform the way (cities) look at land use policies, when they make decisions on investments and zoning, I think is very smart," Castro told the group, which included the mayors of Minneapolis, Bloomington, St. Louis Park, Edina, Crystal and a handful of other cities.

The meeting at Minneapolis A-Mill Artist Lots -- an income-restricted affordable housing development -- was part of the housing secretary's fourth visit to the city since August. Castro, the former mayor of San Antonio and rumored future running mate for Hillary Clinton, toured north Minneapolis last summer and sat in on an affordable housing forum in the fall.

He said he's paying attention to work in some north Minneapolis neighborhoods, which won federal designation as a "Promise Zone" last year. Projects in the area get preference for federal grants and technical assistance.

Minneapolis Mayor Betsy Hodges said the north side has already received funding she attributes to the Promise Zone, including some for lead testing and removal. Hodges' said Castro's visit on Friday provided a boost to work already underway.

"This is a huge opportunity for us to put some wind in the sails of this conversation," she said.

Castro said the area would be receiving a technical assistance grant from the federal government for housing efforts, but did not specify the amount or how it would be used.

It's not clear exactly which guidance from the Twin Cities is likely to end up in the online guide. The summit of elected officials was closed to the media following opening comments from Castro, Hodges and Adam Duininck, chairman of the Metropolitan Council.