What happens if you treat healthy school meals as a public service?
Nearly four billion meals are dished out every year in France’s school cafeterias and childcare kitchens. Catering companies such as Sodexo currently dominate this market, but, more often than not, the meals have little nutritional value and the companies fail to factor in environmental concerns….
Europe’s cities are leading the fight against xenophobia and the climate crisis
Today, the politics of hate and xenophobia are the main threats to the values that the EU once espoused. We need to avert their spread and build societies that are fair, inclusive and diverse. The municipal movements in cities across Europe are already building networks…
Universal basic income won’t help people find work but it will make them happier, expert report finds
Researchers looked at the implementation of guaranteed income in a neighbourhood in Barcelona and found out that it didn’t help people find work, but it made them happier. Against what some critics of basic income say, the money didn’t stop people from looking for a…
In Grenoble, local government and civil society organizations address the issue of the right to the city and the ecological transition
From 7 to 12 March 2017, the Biennale des Villes en Transition (Biennale of Cities in Transition) took place in Grenoble, organized by its City Council. Issues such as the Right to Housing, the management of common goods and public spaces as well as the…
Without cities there will be no Green Deal
In order to tackle such an ambitious climate agenda as that which the European Union proposes with its Green Deal, cities must be taken into account. It would not be realistic to go ahead with the plan for zero emissions by 2050 without including cities….
City problems: A fairly true Barcelona story
Gala Pin, Barcelona City councillor from 2015 to 2019, reflects on her experience at the front row of the municipalist transformation of the city during the first government of Ada Colau. Photo:
Making the transition from extraction to regeneration with Brandon King
Brandon King, Founding Member of Cooperation Jackson, shares his experiences helping conceive and build strategies and social structures that reveal that we can put our shoulders to the wheel and build a truly just and sustainable future. Photo: Elizabeth Lies
Putting the ‘public’ back into public services
In the face of climate catastrophe, mounting inequalities and growing democratic unrest, public services are more important than ever. Across the world, people are building better, more democratic and inclusive public services because privatisations are failing. Amsterdam is confronted with challenges comparable to those facing…
Explainer: new municipalism
Investment might be flowing into local areas but poverty and inequality persist. ‘New municipalism’ is a term that has emerged as an answer to improving local economic development. It is an approach that aims to build wealth in the community using local government procurement to…