How the “15-minute city” will transform work
Even before the coronavirus crisis, a key topic of debate among town planners was how to create a sustainable, healthy urban environment that is easy to get around by either walking or cycling. The idea of the 15-minute city. A concept developed by Sorbonne Professor…
The pandemic will accelerate the evolution of our cities
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…
Taking back control: The future of public services
From Barcelona to Grenoble, towns, cities and regions are reclaiming democratic control over vital services like water and healthcare. We spoke to Transnational Institute researcher Lavinia Steinfort about how, contrary to decades of received wisdom, reversing privatisation results in more accessible, accountable and cost-effective public…
A municipalist response to COVID-19
Barcelona has been hard-hit by the pandemic, in terms of both health and the economy. But this impact hasn’t been evenly distributed across the city: the poorest residents of Barcelona have been hardest hit by the coronavirus. The city’s response to the COVID-19 has focused…
Homeless people mustn’t be abandoned to life on the streets again
Coronavirus has exposed the true numbers of those “hidden homeless” who were sofa-surfing and dependent on the generosity of family and friends. As the UK went into lockdown, close on 15,000 people in England who had been sleeping on the streets or in crowded night…
Portland just passed the best low-density zoning reform in US history
Portland’s city council has set a new bar for North American housing reform by legalizing up to four homes on almost any residential lot. It’s the most pro-housing reform to low-density zones in US history. Portland’s new rules will also offer a “deeper affordability” option:…
Democracy, participation & civil society
If we want to create a democratic culture that invites people in, though, we can’t restrict our thinking only to big-P “Politics” as represented by elections, Westminster, and political parties. Participatory and collaborative decision making happens in all sorts of settings and places.We need a…
Grassroots group eyes Belgrade on route to toppling Serbian President
A grassroots movement in the Serbian capital has its eye on 2022 local elections as the next turning point in a battle to bring down the country’s ruling Progressive Party and President Aleksandar Vucic. In power since 2012, the Progressives have been stung by an…
Reclaiming public health: the communalist healthcare model
While city and state government could do more to keep hospitals stable, by combining the latest practice and theory, we have the potential to develop a functional health system that serves the community and values healthcare workers. Yet this requires a reconstructive and radically democratic…