From ancient times to today, cities are spaces of co-creation
Many modern cities are focal points for escalating oppression. Since European colonisation, an idea that humans march one-way from simple egalitarian bands towards contemporary complexity has dominated. Cities are a rite of passage on this supposed metamorphosis. The story goes: civilisation is a package, with…
A Green Wave in Quebec Municipal Elections
Municipal politics in Quebec is not generally considered a hub of left-wing and municipal politics on the international stage. Nevertheless, the municipal elections of November 7, 2021 brought a wind of change in several major cities in Canada’s important French-speaking province. Quebec: between mobilization…
New municipalists in the UK must judge this moment correctly and calibrate accordingly
The writing of this piece was prompted by a recent article by Matthew Thompson: “The uses and abuses of municipalism on the British Left”. In his strident and finely written piece, Matt argues that the term “new municipalism” is too often conflated into general debates…
The uses and abuses of municipalism on the British Left
It’s becoming something of a well-worn joke amongst those of us thinking and writing about so-called ‘new municipalism’ (I can’t speak for those actually making it happen) that it so often gets conflated with ‘progressive politics happening in cities’ – or, worse, progressive policies enacted…