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 cities of Barcelona, Freetown, Mexico, London, Los Angeles and Tokyo have co-founded a network focused on gender equity, with mayors warning that the Covid-19 pandemic risks widening inequalities. Through ‘CHANGE’ (City Hub and Network for Gender Equity), the cities will share best practices, policies...

The mayors of the seven largest Spanish cities took part in a video conference to discuss their role in the fight against COVID-19. Madrid, Barcelona, ​​Valencia, Seville, Zaragoza, Malaga and Murcia have united under C-7, to defend their common interests and to claim more involvement...

So far, children have featured in the pandemic discussion mostly in relation to the reopening of schools. Now that we know that public spaces can be rapidly transformed by collective action, we can start giving streets back to children. The author of this article puts...

By building a “democracy from below,” the Zapatistas recognize the leadership of, and carry on a long tradition of resistance by Indigenous communities in Chiapas. Photo: Gareth Davies

In the 1970s, Chicago’s 44th Ward was placed under direct democratic control of its residents, challenging the corrupt mayor’s near-total control over the city. The objective of the ward assembly was two-fold: first, to direct the alderman on legislation in the city council, and second...

Democratic 2020 presidential candidate Elizabeth Warren recently endorsed Philadelphia City Council contender Kendra Brooks, from the Working Families Party. This interview with K. Brooks deepens her views on politics. Photo: Felipe Ribeiro

Rather than essentialising cities as inherently progressive or democratic, the municipal is instead becoming framed as a “strategic front” for developing a transformative politics of scale. Given this critical awareness, this nascent movement demonstrates how local loyalties can be mobilised as part of a progressive...

What is New Municipalism? Matthew Thompson, author of the article What’s so new about new municipalism? published in February 2020, walks us through the evolution of the concept of new municipalism starting from its origins, passing through international municipalism as a way of the sharing...

A growing number of cities around the world are temporarily reallocating road space from cars to people on foot and on cycles to keep key workers moving and residents in coronavirus lockdown healthy and active while socially distancing. Photo: Jack Van Hel

Scholars of participatory democracy have long noted dynamic interactions and transformations within and between political spaces that can foster (de)democratisation. At the heart of this dynamism lie (a) the processes through which top‐down “closed” spaces can create opportunities for rupture and democratic challenges and (b)...

For many years the left has struggled with the question of how to bring our ideas, of equality, economic justice and human rights, to fruition. Murray Bookchin’s political trajectory is instructive for the argument that Debbie Bookchin makes in this article: that municipalism isn’t just...