Cohesion
American society is in trouble – from school failure to an opioid crisis to gun violence. We need horizontal solutions like Thread to mend our fragile neighborhoods
BALTIMORE, MD, USA
Cohesion
Chess activist Kineke Mulder shows us in Vienna how playing chess could help stem the tide of individualism and polarization in other cities too
VIENNA, AUSTRIA
Cohesion
The nonprofit KulturRaum München enables access to culture for low income residents in Munich – but cultural participation often requires more than a free ticket
MUNICH, GERMANY
Cohesion
Italian rapper ‘Real’ sings about what some Italians don’t really want to hear – and that’s part of the problem
NAPLES, ITALY
Cohesion
Storytelling has the ability to change our emotional and social behavior; the project “Libraries on Prescription” in Greece explores its healing power
ATHENS, GREECE
Cohesion
It began with schools, and spread to the streets. Parents in towns of the Basque Country spearheaded joint initiatives to fight a phone-based childhood
BILBAO, SPAIN
Cohesion
Guyanese Glenda Obermuller’s personal story led to the founding of the first Black Library in Cologne, Germany, the land of her great-grandfather
COLOGNE, GERMANY
Cohesion
In Berlin, the Israeli-Palestinian restaurant Kanaan achieves what currently seems impossible in its owners’ disputed homeland
BERLIN, GERMANY
Cohesion
The metal and rock community has the knack of making young people feel comfortable with themselves – and uses it to fight bullying in Oslo and beyond
OSLO, NORWAY
Cohesion
Born in Barcelona, Afro Brunch is filling venues with Afrobeats while elevating African culture with a new identity pride of a diverse society in Spain
BARCELONA, SPAIN
Cohesion
How the decentralizing "Uffizi Diffusi" initiative at the Florentine Gallery offers a healthier alternative to overtourism while reinvigorating the greater region
FLORENCE, METROPOLITAN CITY OF FLORENCE, ITALY
Cohesion
Our biggest urban challenges – environment, health, poverty – raise a key question: should manufacturing be brought back to the city?
LONDON, UK
Cohesion
Advocate Christoph Trautvetter has opened up a Pandora’s box of ownership structures in cities paving the way for policy on affordable housing.
BERLIN, GERMANY
Cohesion
As Russian bombs fall, Ukrainian artists have produced activist responses at the PinchukArtCentre Prize 2022 exhibition in Kyiv to stir pain empathy
KYIV, UKRAINE
Cohesion
Knife grinders withstand the disappearance of traditional workshops in Madrid and Barcelona — but craftsmanship could benefit cities and the planet.
BARCELONA, SPAIN
Cohesion
At this Museum nature and heritage are not explained to make us comfortable. Its honesty evokes active citizenship as people reckon with the exigencies of social justice and climate.
LONDON, UK
Cohesion
The director of the Museum Berlin-Karlshorst, formerly known as the Russian-German Museum, on its difficult task — and how neutrality no longer provides a refuge for Russian culture in Berlin.
BERLIN, GERMANY
Cohesion
Independent, online radio stations are finding ways to strengthen creative communities and promote unity from the grassroots in Amsterdam and in other Dutch cities.
AMSTERDAM, NETHERLANDS
Cohesion
‘Vollpension’ is a particular coffee shop in Vienna that weaves together older and younger generations through baking. It provides an insight into the situation of the elderly in the city.
VIENNA, AUSTRIA
Cohesion
LGBTQ activists in Kyiv have made great progress on their rights. Now at war, they say information is being weaponized to shut them down.
KYIV, UKRAINE
Cohesion
How Brussels prescribes its own cultural gifts, urban privileges we may often take for granted or may not be able to afford, for a healthy community, a healthy city.
BRUSSELS, BELGIUM
Cohesion
A Ukrainian curator, art historian and critic on how the Museum of Modern Art in Warsaw changes its strategies to the current evils. And how the question of neutrality restrains others.
WARSAW, POLAND
Cohesion
A unique collaboration between the Reina Sofía Museum in Madrid and its neighbourhood of Lavapiés questions the role of museums in relation to their physical environment.
MADRID, SPAIN
Cohesion
The filmmaker based in Barcelona, Erika Lust, advocates for equal pleasure, a desire that could create more sexually healthy cities if it finds its way into the public space.
BARCELONA, SPAIN
Cohesion
“Let us share a secret: even if you feel like grabbing an axe and breaking stuff - you will eventually get over it.” It’s time to walk through the Museum of Broken Relationships, to overcome emotional collapse.
ZAGREB, CROATIA
Cohesion
The Museum of Egyptian Art was built where a monumental building for the Nazi Party was supposed to stand in Munich. In this city, dealing with the past in public spaces is controversial but the museum hewed to its principle.
MUNICH, GERMANY
Cohesion
Bristol is a one-off city, host to many progressive ideas by environmental and social conscious residents. The development of their own payment method ‘Bristol Pay’ could be an alluring alternative to Bristolians to build a green and fair economy for the city.
BRISTOL, UK
Cohesion
A network of worker delivery collectives across cities are racing to compete with global platforms and humanize the business model. The solution relies on platform cooperativism.
PARIS, FRANCE
Cohesion
In Glasgow locals are opening their houses to non-profit for activists, scientists, or policymakers. The hosting platform called Human Hotel is expanding homesharing to unite people in cities for meaningful causes.
COPENHAGEN, DENMARK
Cohesion
Top Manta is a brand created by undocumented people off the streets of Barcelona. Its existence dignifies the immigrant community and challenges the image of a tolerant and inclusive city.
BARCELONA, SPAIN
Cohesion
Ulme35 is a space of encounters between refugees and locals, powered by a welcoming culture in their neighbourhood to be envied in Berlin. A new Integration Hub will ensue.
BERLIN, GERMANY
Cohesion
The policy change affected by Las Kellys to restore the rights of chambermaids in Barcelona opens the debate about ethical tourism to reduce inequality in the city.
BARCELONA, SPAIN
Cohesion
Three hours of our time a month in a grocery store would reduce labour costs to charge lower prices. Food cooperatives called it a ‘virtuous cycle’. This is not volunteering, pure noble business, the in-kind pay is health.
MADRID, SPAIN
Cohesion
A grassroots movement in Spanish cities is documenting and safeguarding commercial signs of the most unique mom-and-pop shops and bars. This Graphic Heritage captures a disappearing world.
MADRID, SPAIN
Cohesion
Creative non-profit housing projects, which focus on cohesive societies, benefit the long-term health of neighbourhoods while offering affordable housing for future generations.
MUNICH, GERMANY
Cohesion
The initiative ‘hey’ at cafes in Munich encourages people in need to participate in the daily life of the city through free coffee and meals. In Covid-19 time cafes are getting the support back by an attempt to increase their sales.
MUNICH, GERMANY
Cohesion
The initiative Tranquil City maps tranquil spaces together with simplified datasets, such as noise and air pollution, to integrate them into various applications and promote healthier lifestyles in citizens.
LONDON, UK
Cohesion
‘So lonely’ is a compendium of artistic interventions in public spaces, which intends to listen to how citizens go about loneliness in Munich. All leads to a closing participatory theater to advance action against social isolation.
MUNICH, GERMANY
Cohesion
Clärchens Ballhaus will reopen soon in Berlin. Privately owned, it embodies the challenge of future cultural institutions in cities to engage with a diverse crowd.
BERLIN, GERMANY
Cohesion
Via ‘kippa parties’ and ‘tolerance encounters’, a Munich-based association weaves a network of enthusiasm and participation – one strong enough to defuse Jewish fears of anti-Semitism.
MUNICH, GERMANY
Cohesion
Chris Hildrey realized that by giving homeless people a proxy address at an early stage, it helps avoid entrenchment and get them back on their feet.
LONDON, UK
Cohesion
Kisdiófa Kert is an urban garden in Erzsébetváros neighbourhood, where citizens connect to each other building trust and supportive relationships in Budapest.
BUDAPEST, HUNGARY
Cohesion
A remembrance photo project at public space in Weimar (Germany) confronts citizens with the city's history and invites them to pause and reflect.
WEIMAR, GERMANY
Cohesion
The Tucholsky bookstore in Berlin sells more than just books. Over the years, its owner, Jörg Braunsdorf, has created a community around culture for neighbours and regular customers who meet at the bookstore periodically. Culture has energized a collective force with the civil courage to face up to the far right in their neighbourhood towards ...
BERLIN, GERMANY
Cohesion
The K-Buurt or K-neighbourhood is located around Amsterdam-Zuidoost’s Kraaiennest subway station. This community in the suburbs of Amsterdam has demanded recognition from the city since they founded Hart voor de K-Buurt (Heart for the K-Neighbourhood), a local multicultural community network of neighbours who are finding consensus language to assert power over the future of its ...
AMSTERDAM, NETHERLANDS
Cohesion
A group of students with different faiths have come together on the streets of Munich. They have seduced passersby with free hummus ice cream to start an open conversation and answer questions about their faiths at public space. There are three tables with signs, which read: ask a Muslim, a Jew or a Christian. The ...
MUNICH, GERMANY
Cohesion
Wednesdays volunteers meet at the city centre to distribute food, hygiene products and clothes. How they are tackling drug addiction in Oslo.
OSLO, NORWAY
Cohesion
A Palestine Museum in American suburbia sends a message to the world: through art perhaps we could all agree
NEW HAVEN, CT, USA
Cohesion
Parental incarceration leaves a legacy and contributes to overflowing US jails; one group of girls in New Orleans may break the chain
NEW ORLEANS, LA, USA
Cohesion
If cities want to crack affordable housing, Scott Kratz, director of the 11th Street Bridge Park, is the go-to for taking an honest approach on a contentious issue
WASHINGTON D.C., DC, USA
Cohesion
Founder Kerry Brodie on running cafés to train asylees culinary skills — and why creating opportunities is crucial in the midst of a migrant crisis in New York
NEW YORK, NY, USA
Cohesion
While his camera captures life and race in Baltimore, Devin Allen puts cameras into kids’ hands against gun violence — both in pursuit of social justice
BALTIMORE, MD, USA
Cohesion
Byron Nash on the Warhol Museum and opening minds to a new creative industry in Pittsburgh with the engagement of savvy digital youngsters
PITTSBURGH, PA, USA
Cohesion
A sailing program on the Hudson River by a group of amateur sailors can reduce inequality for students in public schools in Manhattan
NEW YORK, NY, USA
Cohesion
While wealth inequality persists, the banking cooperative Brooklyn Coop has become a pillar for the local economy and prosperity of its community
NEW YORK, NY, USA
Cohesion
Lorelei Bandrovschi, founder of alcohol-free Listen Bar, on creating a space for sober curiosity and showing New Yorkers fun is still possible
NEW YORK, NY, USA
Cohesion
While some may feel a homeless person should be barred from possessing pets, the reality is far different
CARSON CITY, NV, USA
Cohesion
Tyde-Courtney Edwards’ mission to “repurpose ballet” for women and youth survivors strengthens community response to violence in Baltimore
BALTIMORE, MD, USA
Cohesion
Award-winning poet Chisara Asomugha on the creation of the first library of poetry in Los Angeles and how poetry spaces humanize us
LOS ANGELES, CA, USA
Cohesion
Filled with all sorts of ephemera, Interference Archive encourages social engagement through the cultural production of social movements.
NEW YORK, NY, USA
Cohesion
Transforming an old building could reverse years of environmental injustice. Would the city of Minneapolis rise to this “now or never” moment?
MINNEAPOLIS, MN, USA
Cohesion
Using the city as classroom, Revolution School intends to transform education and “break down the walls between learning and life.”
PHILADELPHIA, PA, USA
Cohesion
No longer feeling lost for being sober. Why joining the Boston Bulldogs Running Club can be a lifesaving decision in the drug addiction crisis.
BOSTON, MA, USA
Cohesion
Not far from Harvard, where a study on economic mobility suggests the rich and poor should socialise more, an unconventional gym is a living proof
BOSTON, MA, USA
Cohesion
How a Motel 6 in Oakland has become a progressive response to a homeless crisis.
OAKLAND, CA, USA
Cohesion
This museum’s work supports diversity of thought through art, including a re-thinking of the definition of what a museum is.
LOS ANGELES, CA, USA
Cohesion
A revolutionary show, curated by security staff, spotlights the commitment of the museum to be more representative of the community it serves.
BALTIMORE, MD, USA
Cohesion
The Cossitt Library in Memphis might be almost 130 years old; yet, it is one of the most innovative in the US. Its latest renovation will unite the city in ways beyond a dedication to the written word.
MEMPHIS, TN, USA
Cohesion
How a grassroots idea becomes a cultural institution and a community weaving a tapestry of untold and neglected histories the city prefers to keep private.
TULSA, OK, USA
Cohesion
How award-winning women in science and art have created a restorative platform for youth in custody through access to museums.
SALT LAKE CITY, UT, USA
Cohesion
Lee Mingwei has transgressed the walls of museums. His participatory art provokes human connectedness among strangers. These moments of change are evidence of how museums could embrace new approaches to advance social value.
NEW YORK, NY, USA
Cohesion
Peacebuilders Skye Roper-Moses and Michelle V. Jackson recognized the unique position that community gardens have to flourish deeply rooted urban conflicts in neighbourhoods. They support community gardener efforts by using their training in conflict resolution.
NEW YORK, NY, USA
Cohesion
Decades of housing shortage has submerged Los Angeles in a humanitarian and sustainability crisis in the midst of extreme weather. But a growing group of volunteer Angelenos are building the movement to house LA and reverse climate change.
LOS ANGELES, CA, USA
Cohesion
Black capitalism was born out of resilient African-Americans left with no other choice than to support each other to thrive. Years later it could be the answer to the troubles of some US cities. For the benefit of all.
TULSA, OK, USA
Cohesion
The struggle of Afro-Americans venting their stories in the white context of cities keeps feeding their trauma. The initiative “Witness to History” restores untold stories of slavery in its town as a precondition for healing.
GUILFORD, CT, USA
Cohesion
Mitchell Borden, founder of legendary Smalls and Fat Cat clubs, and his wife, jazz musician Rie Yamaguchi-Borden, hold on to the unifying power of music to revive the jazz community and local businesses of New York.
NEW YORK, NY, USA
Cohesion
The idea of a Social Club in New York’s subway recognises the mass transit system as much more of a comfortable public space rather than as a means of transport. A holistic approach can make passengers return.
NEW YORK, NY, USA
Cohesion
The first statue of real women at Central Park has been installed after 167 years of the park's history thanks to female activists. Another historical moment into untapped women’s history.
NEW YORK, NY, USA
Cohesion
Residents, local organizations and public spaces like Morningside park play a central role in creating a common ground for strong communities to reduce violence.
NEW YORK, NY, USA
Cohesion
The Mayor of Tulsa met community activists this week and agreed on specific steps to address police violence and social injustice in the black communities of the city.
TULSA, OK, USA
Cohesion
Not everything in Yemen is war; in the city of Ta’izz, writers and poets encourage dialogue, understanding and unity through arts
TAIZZ, YEMEN
Cohesion
In basements, community spaces, and online, some girls are finding safe places to continue their education in Kabul, Kandahar, and across Afghanistan
KABUL, AFGHANISTAN
Cohesion
Bookshop owner, Mahmoud Muna, on creating a safe place of discomfort invested in Palestinian culture as a way to define a new future in East Jerusalem
JERUSALEM, ISRAEL
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A new generation of literacy activists are decolonizing public libraries in Nairobi – from the space to the language represented on its shelves
NAIROBI, KENYA
Cohesion
Espacio Circulante is a place conjured up by women of various gender identities, who practice shamanism and urban healing in Valparaiso, Chile
VALPARAíSO, CHILE
Cohesion
How a group of women in Freetown refuses to be silenced after sunset and expands women’s rights to fully participate in society in Sierra Leone
FREETOWN, SIERRA LEONE
Cohesion
The misuse of religion is central to the practice of Claudia Barbera that is both artwork and a ritual against domestic violence in her city and beyond
VALPARAíSO, CHILE
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As the fight over women’s rights rages on in Mexico, the activist Cynthia Híjar draws upon feminist standup comedy in the big city
MEXICO CITY, CDMX, MEXICO
Cohesion
How delivery riders in Bangkok have ditched algorithms for the human touch of an alternative system.
BANGKOK, THAILAND
Cohesion
Salvador, Bahia’s cycling revolution is grounded in the empowerment of Black women riders. Mobility justice movements in the US take notice.
SALVADOR DE BAHíA - STATE OF BAHIA, BRAZIL
Cohesion
Banu Pekol’s devotion to peacebuilding takes a nontraditional approach: the safeguarding of multicultural heritage to mend historical wounds among urban communities. She believes the lack of respect towards heritage in urban development reveals the cities’ approach to individual freedoms.
İSTANBUL, TURKEY
Cohesion
In Rabat, Théâtre Aquarium creates a space to stimulate unprecedented public debates on female freedom and support a sexual revolution which is otherwise happening underground.
RABAT, MOROCCO
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2 friends, 200 volunteers, 817 homes restored in Beirut so far. The initiative Bebw’shebbek has found an alternative expression to unfold in a scarred urban landscape and induce hope.
BEIRUT, LEBANON
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Super Chefs are a group of women in Cairo, whose passion for cooking has found a way to stay employed while saving time for other working mothers. The idea is here to stay.
CAIRO, EGYPT
Cohesion
Over the years the jazz dancers of Santa Amalia have forged a dancing community in their neighbourhood that has become a philosophy of life in Havana.
HAVANA, CUBA
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In South African cities a long tradition of community-based paralegal offices operating from garages, churches, and schools provide equal access to justice and real hope to thrive in low-income neighbourhoods.
JOHANNESBURG, SOUTH AFRICA
Cohesion
A group of bold and strong women called the Cycling Geckos are on their bikes through Cairo to break social barriers, which prevent other women from achieving their full potential. They fight for a cultural change to redesign Cairo’s human landscape towards women.
CAIRO, EGYPT
Cohesion
The programming at Cinema Akil is meticulously chosen by a strong feminist voice, which uses the impact of media culture to raise awareness on Dubai’s society about worldwide critical issues and human values.
DUBAI - UNITED ARAB EMIRATES
Cohesion
Women in New Delhi are sharing their feelings of insecurity at particular public spaces. Key urban stakeholders are listening to improve safety conditions in the city.
NEW DELHI, DELHI, INDIA
Cohesion
Abdulmalik Sultan Al Maskari, one of Oman’s most recognisable graffiti artist, has been finding legal ways to pursue his passion for street art, which has always been prohibited in public spaces in Muscat. By painting in legal spaces like old busses and old houses he and other street artists are slowly unleashing the street art ...
MUSCAT, OMAN