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 role of local authorities in improving amenities was a matter of importance and some controversy before 1914 in England. A Medical Officer of Health was first appointed in Liverpool in 1847 but other cities did not do so until the 1860s, for example Manchester...

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...

Over recent years there’s been a surge in European cities that, via public tendering, are using their spending power far more pro-actively and strategically to promote social justice and environmental goals. Leading this trend are city governments that define themselves as municipalist and are committed...

Over the past few generations, gentrification has emerged as a broadly familiar frame for understanding the explosive changes that are disfiguring cities across the planet. However,  the dominant languages being invoked to theorize gentrification today fall short: they are necessary but not sufficient. Understanding urban...

Progressive municipalist city governments in Europe have introduced important policies to promote citizen participation, public ownership of services, expanded affordable housing, and many more. But their radical democratic programmes face obstacles from both EU and national neoliberal legislation. Photo: Pixabay

The J – K Plan in its concrete form is the product of a self-generated organizing challenge that emerged from the 2008 Ideological Conference of MXGM and NAPO. The challenge was to test the strength of our organizing model and work in the South after...

Cities are called to play a decisive role in mitigating and adapting to climate change and these transformations require collaboration between all levels of society, including administrations, companies, universities, research institutions and citizens. EIT Climate-KIC’s CEO Kirsten Dunlop disclosed the organisation’s Transformation, In Time strategy...

Labor unions are losing political force in the US. Unless organized labor finds solutions to problems pervasive within its own organizations and structures, union membership numbers will continue to shrink. In order to revitalize labor unions, the lack of internal democracy is to be reversed....

While today’s crises require action on a big scale, fighting for local democracy is the best chance to address them. Given that capitalism works at scale, radical municipalism requires collaboration at higher level to be successful. Gatherings as the Fearless Cities Summit in New York...

Climate change is the most pressing issue of our time. Examining social ecology provides the missing link in understanding the radicalization of the environmental movement historically and in constructing a dual power climate strategy for the future. Photo: Public Domain Pictures

In 2015, a wave of social movements lifted left-wing mayors to power in Spain. Their experience in office shows the importance of linking institutional power to bottom-up mobilization. Fearless Cities, a recent book produced by BenComú activists, has sought to draw wider lessons from these...