In 2016 direct democracy mayoral candidates won elections in Rome and Turin as part of Italy’s 5 Star movement. “The transparency and political openness that helped the 5 Star Movement rise to power must now bring the party’s current and future proposals to the forefront if it hopes to achieve any lasting change.” Read more […]
With the United Kingdom now fully committed to Brexit, the European Union can finally revert to what was the secret plan all along. As prescribed in the secret addenda to the Treaties of Rome, Lisbon and Maastricht, the EU will be belgianised – in short: it will become a forced synthesis between north and south, […]
The economic clustering of cities often ignores the lines drawn on maps. Throughout this week, CityLab is running a series on borders—both real and imagined—and what draws so many of us to places on the edge. As Donald Trump continues to insist that Mexico will “reimburse” the U.S. for his wall, his reality-show antics accidentally […]
This article first published by GR in November 2006 is of particular relevance to an understanding of the ongoing process of destabilization and political fragmentation of Iraq, Syria and Yemen. Washington’s strategy consists in breaking up Syria and Iraq. * * * “Hegemony is as old as Mankind…” -Zbigniew Brzezinski, former U.S. National […]
The GOP scored 33 more seats in the House this election even though Democrats earned a million more votes in House races. Professor Jeremy Mayer says gerrymandering distorts democracy. (The Fold/The Washington Post) In his State of the Union speech, President Obama called on lawmakers and the public to take a number of steps “to […]
The state conservatives love to hate is beginning to reciprocate the feeling. Photo: YesCalifornia Like the talk of secession in conservative southern states after Barack Obama became president, the idea of a separate California Republic builds on long-standing separatist feelings amplified by a momentous national election. Since Donald Trump became president while securing less than […]
Every state has one governor and two senators, but, in almost every other way, each state’s human geography is different, often wildly so. New Jersey has 15 times more people than Wyoming, despite being one-tenth its size. You can divide the island of Manhattan in two and the top half would be more populous than […]
Across the planet, 2016 witnessed a dramatic rise of new, rightward-leaning political movements, challenging existing orders — and raising potentially serious challenges for cities. Now the electoral changes have begun to pose stark dilemmas for urbanists in many world cities. Perplexed about the shift and its implications, I turned to Bruce Katz, the inaugural Centennial […]
How has activism in Spain produced new political platforms that are victorious in municipal elections? Are there stories, lessons, methods or tools that can be shared or translated to other contexts? How might these support the growing movement in France? Source: Common space for exchange: cities in transition and citizen struggles | P2P Foundation CommonsPolis […]
Source: Rural Areas Lose People But Not Power This story is part of a special series on America’s rural/urban divide. Jim Wheeler represents Gardnerville, a little town of 5,600 people about a half-hour east of Lake Tahoe, in the Nevada Assembly. Last fall, he gained instant national notoriety when a video surfaced in which he […]