Cities as empty shells: Urban tourism in a post-pandemic world
The tourism industry employs almost five times as many people as car manufacturing in the EU. In much of Southern Europe, it has been a lonely growth area throughout years of stagnation. But for cities such as Rome and Venice, its side effects have been…
City council aims to support minorities with groundbreaking community program
Preston City Council commissioned the development co-operative Stir to Action to deliver a groundbreaking new community programme by focusing on providing targeted support for BAME organisations in the city, stimulating cultural awareness and interest in worker-owned business. With BAME communities suffering disproportionate impacts from the…
A municipalist response to COVID-19
Barcelona has been hard-hit by the pandemic, in terms of both health and the economy. But this impact hasn’t been evenly distributed across the city: the poorest residents of Barcelona have been hardest hit by the coronavirus. The city’s response to the COVID-19 has focused…
“Stop 5G”. Residents, doctors and judges going against the grain of Italy’s infatuation with smartphones
European institutions, telecom corporations and national governments are rushing to roll out 5G on the continent. The technology is promoted as a driver of growth and employment, but questions remain unanswered about its real economic benefits for people. On the ground, some are getting worried…
Cities versus multinationals: who will win our post-COVID future?
The importance of care and collective services and its often poorly treated workers has been visible to all during the confinement periods. The virus has often struck harder in poorer neighbourhoods, where living conditions in cramped apartments did not allow for social distancing, and where…
Zapatistas: lessons in community self-organisation in Mexico
As we witness the limits of the imaginable being radically shifted, the Zapatista experience is more relevant than ever. Yet, despite the challenges, in 26 years of their struggle for autonomy, Zapatistas have built functioning social arrangements based on bottom-up democracy, cooperation and communal justice,…
From public refuse to private profits. Does Belgrade really need a costly, corporate-built incinerator?
For over 50 years, one of the largest open air landfills in Europe has been poisoning the soil and air of Belgrade suburbs. French water and waste management giant Suez has signed a major contract with the leaders of the Serbian capital to build a…
Debt. The straightjacket on municipalism
One of the main goals of the “municipalities of change”, elected in 2015 in Spain, was to tackle the debt problem. Drawing on the experience of civil society, they sought to develop approaches such as “citizen audits”, but found themselves facing the power of finance….
Progressive procurement and corporate accountability in Barcelona
Public procurement is one of the areas where it is possible to achieve progress in making transnational corporations accountable, particularly with a view to making public policies consistent and coherent. In Europe, since the last revision of the EU directives on public procurement, there have…