Bandić is viewed as having been a hands-on mayor because of his ambition and the number of projects related to Zagreb that he undertook. He put a focus on large infrastructure activities and social welfare programs, and embraced a populist rhetoric. He attracted criticism for a number of statements he made as mayor and corruption allegations, which ended in two court proceedings, but without a conviction. Bandić was credited for the construction of the Arena Zagreb and Homeland Bridge, which opened during his third term, and the renovation of the Zagrebačka Avenue, Lake Bundek, and the Remetinec Roundabout. Bandić campaigned for a seventh term, but died from a heart attack on 28 February 2021, less than three months before the election, as the longest-serving mayor of Zagreb.