Among the trends accelerated by the pandemic, digitalisation stands out for its pace of change. Large parts of education, work, and social services moved online in a matter of weeks. Though many people lack the connections, equipment, and skills to access what are often fundamental...

An understanding of Spain’s 15M movement’s mutation into what has been termed an “institutional takeover”. Focusing in particular on the potential ties and limitations of municipal politics, discussing the open possibilities of “Radical Municipalism” in changing political power relations in the city. It will also...

In June 2020, after a drawn-out process punctuated by the peak of the health crisis, Green lists excelled in France’s municipal elections. They are now at the head of the executive in some of France’s largest cities, including Marseille, Lyon, Bordeaux, Strasbourg, and Tours. In...

People around the world are rallying to fight privatisation and to bring services back under public control. In tandem with the failure of private corporations to provide affordable and good-quality services – such as health, water, education, energy and transportation – support for remunicipalisation is...

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...

The emergence of radical municipalist experiences across the world is challenging  the hegemonic liberal vision that has dominated global politics hitherto. By incorporating a global vision to the municipal approach, the new movement, articulated around the Fearless Cities conference that took place in Barcelona in...

The climate crisis today demands nothing less than a worldwide social and political transformation. Piecemeal reforms, technocratic schemes, and state-driven ‘climate resilience’ have proven not only ineffective at stymying the effects of climate change, but also utterly incapable of combating its underlying cause: a capitalist...

The movement Ne da(vi)mo Beograd (Don’t let Belgrade d(r)own) opposes the Belgrade Waterfront project, designed to generate private gain and by means of non-transparent procedures. The movement has fostered massive participation, thus becoming successful in promoting the involvement of citizens in the municipal politics. Photo:...

Democratic socialists rely heavily on electoral strategies to bring about socialism, but elections make a poor venue for radical working-class struggles. Can electoral politics shift us from capitalism to socialism? Photo: Pixabay

Naples was the first Italian city to establish a “Department of the Commons” and the first to change the municipal statute by inserting the “commons” as one of the interests to be protected and recognised as a fundamental right. This italian city is just one...

The global movements of 2011 reconfigured urban space as a new interface of collective action and policy creation. The new political narrative of cities is serving to counteract prevailing neoliberal narratives.More than a phrase, “the Cities of the Commons vs. global neoliberalism” could be understood...

All over the globe, corporations and politicians are hyping up the concept of “smart cities”, but what exactly lies behind the catchy slogan? And whose interests does it serve? There is growing resistance to the idea due to fears of privatisation, increasing surveillance as well...