Wiki on sustainable just cities
This Wiki is an ongoing, open-ended online collaborative database and knowledge source for the Community of Practice of the UrbanA project. It captures the learning process of the UrbanA Community of Practice and is an important part of UrbanA’s knowledge commons. It includes a database…
Municipal actions for building energy democracy and energy sovereignty
Energy sovereignty – which is based on the highest level of democracy – means to listen to, give voice to, empower, meaningfully engage with, and encourage voting by the largest number of people possible. They must have the democratic power to decide what kind of…
New Municipalism and the State: Remunicipalising energy in Barcelona, from prosaics to process
Given “new municipalist’s” aspirations towards the transformation of the municipal state, how might state theory inform research and practice on new municipalism going forward? This is the question with which Bertie Russell concludes his paper which focuses on municipalist initiative Barcelona En Comú’s endeavours towards…
Loos-en-Gohelle, from coal to renewables. Is there a future for a small town without resources?
A former coal mining town in the North of France, Loos-en-Gohelle shows how a town can free itself from fossil fuel dependence through democratic participation, beginning with the real needs of locals. Photo: Pawel Blazewicz
Good news from the Brink. The story of Horní Jiřetín, a small North Bohemian town that defied the coal industry
Horní Jiřetín, a small town in the Czech Republic, was set to be wiped off the map and replaced by a brown coal mine. The end of Communist rule and the privatisation of the coal company was not going to change the town’s fate. But…
Energy transition. A small German district shows the way
Although Germany has failed to meet its climate objectives, and energy companies are still clinging to coal, a small district North of Berlin is showing the way. Commitments made by both local authorities and citizens to renewable energy have paid off, with renewable energy sources…
Switching off Spain’s electricity oligopoly. Three proposals to dismantle the corporate power of Spain’s electricity companies
In Spain, as in other countries, the electricity sector remains dominated by a handful of large companies, powerful enough to impose their interests and hinder the energy transition. Movements against energy poverty and green cooperatives show a path towards greater energy democracy, but a third…
City stories: The podcast by Energy Cities. Episode with Alba del Campo from Cadiz
In this episode of “City Stories” Alba del Campo, a Spanish journalist and activist fighting for more energy democracy. She has been an advisor to the local authority of Cadiz since 2015. A new local government elected in 2015 and re-elected in 2019. Since then,…
The german activists and cities rising up against the car industry
In many German cities, efforts are underway to shift focus away from cars. These include a ban on old diesel cars and a push for more cycling infrastructure. In a country where carmakers sit at the throne of the economy and have a major political…