How Paris’s participatory budget is reinvigorating democracy
Participatory budgeting allows residents to propose projects and vote on how they want to allocate a significant amount of municipal spending.
Government / Civic engagement
Civic engagement
Creating post-pandemic cities with speculative futures
To create more resilient, equitable urban spaces, all voices have to be at the table. An urban designer argues that planning for a future we can't yet see can help us get there.
The UK rediscovers its love of urban agriculture
As the country wrestles with renewed coronavirus restrictions, many are finding solace in allotment gardens. In some cities, applications for them have spiked an incredible 700%.
Building resiliency into the US’s front yard
Five landscape architecture firms present proposals designed to address the climate impacts facing Washington DC's Tidal Basin.
Will anyone want to host the next Olympics?
Over and over again, the conflicts between the short-term needs of mega-events and the long-term needs of the cities that host them result in the cities losing out.
After 2020, who even wants to run for mayor?
Several major US cities will hold mayoral elections in 2021, but in an era of overlapping crises, ambitious candidates might just opt out.
How Los Angeles County voters secured a budget for prison alternatives
Proponents see Measure J as a means of achieving racial and economic justice through fiscal policy and hope the model can be replicated in other cities.
Is innovation really making cities better?
For all the emphasis on world-changing advances, the fact remains that most city governments lack even 1990s-level technology. It doesn't have to be that way.
What it looks like for a small town to become an EcoDistrict
EcoDistricts are a hyper-local model of urban planning focused on equity and environmental justice. The certification process can take years, and it's not always obvious what's changed.
Using public space to support democracy
Outdoor phone-banking and voting booths are helping to foster civic engagement as US cities adapt to a Covid-19 election season.
A Singaporean firm has become the go-to master planner for African cities
Surbana Jurong has signed contracts to do city master plans in ten African countries. Why is the continent relying on outside firms to map its future?
Young Americans see local government as the future of democracy
Frustrated by the status quo, more and more young people are running for local government, where they believe they can effect progressive change.
A Brazilian favela is combating Covid through community
Distrustful of the government's pandemic response, residents took matters into their own hands.
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