Left-wing populism and the feminization of politics are at the core of the debates among activists of the European left. The intellectual basis of while left-wing populism make it incompatible with the feminization of politics, since they reinforce patriarchy. Social transformation requires of a genuine...

On 7 May, a small Somerset town in UK voted against traditional party politics and gave a coalition of independents control of all 17 seats on its council. As the crucible of ‘flatpack democracy’, Frome is leading a small-scale political revolution. Moreover, this idea seems...

Public-Common Partnerships offer an alternative institutional design to achieve social transformation. The PCP model exceeds the market/state binary while involving co-ownership between state authorities and Commoners Associations, alongside co-combined governance with a third association of project specific relevant parties such as trade unions and relevant...

What this crisis has demonstrated is that grassroots, bottom-up organising can be so much more effective and so much more responsive to local needs than top-down government programmes. The principles of spontaneous, participatory, open organising are the foundation of groups such as those closing a...

The potential health impacts of COVID-19 are immense in informal settlements, but if control measures are poorly executed these could also have severe negative impacts. Public health interventions must be balanced with social and economic interventions, especially in relation to the informal economy upon which...

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...

Concerned by the transition their cities out of the crisis caused by COVID-19 looking for a social and solidarity way out, the mayors of Amsterdam, Milan, Barcelona and Paris speak out and share their considerations with the European institutions. Photo: Jp Valery

The author asks: how can local action further our goals for global transformation? First, there is a reflection on the limits of local action and local democracy. Then the author goes back to social ecology writings and other theoretical discussions to find some clues. Finally,...

The author presents ideas on an emerging mode of production based on information and digital data-what the critical theorist McKenzie Wark christens as ‘vectors’-which is arguably replacing capitalism. Vectors are lines of economic activity connecting producers and consumers extensively across space through intensive technologies of...

Care activities essential to city life, such as personal services or cleaning, are increasingly monopolised by large companies offering poverty wag- es and draconian working conditions. But their employees — women who are often discriminated against because of their origin, skin color or age —...

What defines social ecology as “social” is its recognition of the often overlooked fact that nearly all our present ecological problems arise from deep-seated social problems. Conversely, present ecological problems cannot be clearly understood, much less resolved, without resolutely dealing with problems within society. Photo:...

Since the beginning of the pandemic we have already witnessed dramatic increases in the mobility of people, goods and information while simultaneously confronting the realities of climate change and carbonisation. We are now seeing trends away from fossil fuel to cleaner electric propulsion, vehicles that...