Alex Smith
Alex Smith is a writer and Associate Teaching Professor in the English department at Seattle University. Her writing explores the intersections of race, gender, and class in urban spaces.
See more...We are an independent, nonprofit publication reporting on solution-driven urban activism to ignite networks of action in cities around the world.
A letter from the founder:
Why I started The Urban Activist
I never harbored a desire to write, yet at some point I felt the urgency. After almost 15 years working in the corporate finance world, I understood one thing: companies operate based on business strategies that affect a global citizenry, and yet do not act in the public’s best interest. And I was not (and am still not) convinced that even governments can fully compensate for that hard truth and solve the world’s most pressing issues. It is us – each of us – who must act. We all have agency, which bears gifts only if we use it.
Cities have always been magnets for immensely talented people whose humanity outshines even their ambitions. Many fascinating individuals in the most unexpected places have been waging battles on countless issues that affect us all. They have engaged in struggles as diverse as human rights, unfair wages, sexual discrimination, environmental justice, etc.
Often, these people do not fall into the profile of the advocate or the protester; rather, they come up with concrete solutions to the challenges on their doorstep–and they fight for them. These are the people the public needs to know about.
While there is extensive reporting on CEOs’ strategies, businesses’ solutions, governments’ decisions and politics, there is little reporting on these important actors in our midst.
I founded The Urban Activist to fill this void.
Reporting on local movements, grassroots groups, activists and advocates, narrows the disconnect amongst researchers, decision-makers, policy-makers, government officials, and the local citizens they ostensibly serve, among others. When diverse voices are excluded, it limits the discussion and reinforces the mainstream views. And this is true everywhere. I believe that a story out of New York can inspire action in Nairobi. What is effective in Buenos Aires could also work in Berlin.
I am also aware that Rome was not built in a day, and it takes time to build this new kind of journalism. Shifting the narrative of what Western cities are and can be, is an important part of our publication. We report on the boldness and innovation of people in far flung places, who are facing multifarious issues and taking them head on, in often remarkable ways.
As a publisher, I do my best to avoid any power imbalance between the journalist and the storyteller being interviewed. We want to do justice to any story we print, always with journalistic independence.
I am honored that some of our articles have so far contributed to many positive changes: activists’ work being supported by nonprofit organizations, harmful city decisions being reversed, and activists and organizations uniting to exercise more power with their causes, to name a few.
As the world gets increasingly urbanized, I believe using journalism to encourage civic engagement is crucial. It puts much of the power to make change in the hands of the people; it strengthens democracies.
OUR IMPACT
American architect, writer and philosopher, Buckminster Fuller, said: “You never change things by fighting the existing reality. To change something, build a new model that makes the existing model obsolete.” We produce impactful media stories that lead to action with tangible results.
We bridge the gap between people with solutions in hand and policymakers, city officials, and decision-makers.
In November 2024, The Urban Activist held an event at the WORLD URBAN FORUM by the UN-HABITAT in Cairo. We gave the podium to local grassroots activists from Cairo, Nairobi, and Ghana, who are remarkably taking on the problem of mounting waste while transforming their communities into green, resilient and thriving societies.
EDITORIAL INDEPENDENCE POLICY
We operate as a nonprofit retaining full authority over editorial content to protect the best journalistic interests of our organisation. To keep our publication free of ads, and to avoid charging you for our content, this growing platform relies on grants and partnerships with non-profit organisations for our funding. But we will cede no right of review, influence or unauthorised distribution of editorial content.
Funding has been made possible by The Puffin Foundation, Ltd.
