Culture

Built from one man’s lifelong devotion to collecting, the museum at Heritage Village in Dammam stands as a testament to memory in a transforming Saudi Arabia

DAMMAM SAUDI ARABIA

Culture

Nearly 50% of New Yorkers speak a language other than English at home — and the Endangered Language Alliance is racing to preserve those at risk of extinction

NEW YORK, NY, USA

Public Space

Coffee dates, block parties, satirical plaques, and art — how Toronto artist and community organizer Jode Roberts brings joy to the everyday

TORONTO, ON, CANADA

Governance

Founded by Chef José Andrés in Washington, D.C., the Global Food Institute trains future leaders to rethink how the United States and the world produce and consume food

WASHINGTON D.C., DC, USA

Culture

Despite extraordinary adversity, audiences attended the Nablus premiere of Palestine 36 in the West Bank, while a Jerusalem screening was raided — an event that has only echoed the film’s central argument

NABLUS

Governance

A decade in, ‘Think Tanger’ has gained momentum as a bridge between youth aspirations and public institutions in the city’s urban development, amid rising demands for reform

TANGIER, MOROCCO

Culture

Inside the ancient stonemason workshop of Freiburg Cathedral, Germany, founded in the Middle Ages and still sustained by its citizens

FREIBURG IM BREISGAU, GERMANY

networks of action

This series explores and showcases individuals engaged in grassroots wildlife conservation in their cities to foster similar efforts in urban areas around the world

Step into the homes of writers, artists, and thinkers where discussions and debates nested democracy in our cities—and be part of today’s conversations at these historic locations

Culture

Despite risks and canceled public concerts, organizers, artists and DJs—from Iranian folk to Western techno—keep music alive at secluded events in Tehran

TEHRAN, TEHRAN PROVINCE, IRAN

Justice

Jewish-Israeli activist Noam Shuster Eliassi left the UN peace diplomacy program to become a standup comedian — now a film shows how she uses laughter to meet the pain

JERUSALEM, ISRAEL

Governance

Amid tighter EU visa rules for Russian nationals, the children of Ukrainian soldiers find a moment of peace in Paris before Christmas

PARIS, FRANCE

Governance

For a fragile peace to hold between Rwanda and the Democratic Republic of Congo, the focus must shift to those brokering reconciliation on the ground

BUKAVU, DEMOCRATIC REPUBLIC OF THE CONGO

Culture

Dubbed the “White House of Exile,” the Thomas Mann House in Los Angeles sparks the same kinds of debates that once defined Mann’s era

LOS ANGELES, CA, USA

Gender

Drag queen Ava Hangar and her troupe are shattering the form’s conventions, returning to its activist origins for a new era of social impact in Italy

FLORENCE, METROPOLITAN CITY OF FLORENCE, ITALY

Governance

Amid the increasing division of Jerusalem, the American Colony Hotel on the East side remains committed to a radical inclusivity envisioned by its founders

JERUSALEM, ISRAEL

Culture

Beyond its walls, the Prado lives in everyday moments — and the museum now seeks stories through El Prado Cotidiano

MADRID, SPAIN

Governance

From local schools to national governance, Simona Levi advocates digital sovereignty as a path to a better democracy

BARCELONA, SPAIN

Governance

From a visa odyssey to the One Young World Summit in Munich, these young women peacebuilders aren’t the future — they’re the present, and they need funding now

SOUTH SUDAN

Culture

Federica Parretti, co-owner of Villa Il Palmerino in Florence, discusses the intellectual circle linked to the house that her artist grandparents bought from writer Vernon Lee

FLORENCE, METROPOLITAN CITY OF FLORENCE, ITALY

Culture

Without the support of Friends of Florence, much of the city’s cultural heritage would be at serious risk of decay

FLORENCE, METROPOLITAN CITY OF FLORENCE, ITALY

Mobility

The rise of bike commuting in the Philippines began with a young woman in Manila, who improvised a bike lane with cones and ended up with a $22 million infrastructure

MANILA, PHILIPPINES

Public Space

In Munich and Berlin, two public art projects — seen only weeks apart — urge us to rethink the impossible and engage with art in everyday life

MUNICH, GERMANY

Health

In the town where Driscoll’s took root, residents urge the berry giant to grow a new legacy — without pesticides and organic, near homes and schools

WATSONVILLE, CA, USA

networks of action

A series of dialogues and debates among experts in various cities around the world that explore the intricacies and ways of tackling the affordable housing crisis.

Housing

In Cairo, it is easy to see the actual issue behind the global housing crisis: the need for fair distribution

CAIRO, EGYPT

Public Space

Before post-war rebuilding begins, women in Aleppo and other Syrian cities risk their lives dismantling landmines for a safe return

ALEPPO, SYRIA

Public Space

This year’s Open House festival in London not only highlighted exclusive spaces but also emphasized our collective power to shape the city

LONDON, UK

Health

Why Caron Morse and her South Portland, Maine, neighbors are giving their kids landlines instead of smartphones

PORTLAND, ME, USA

Mobility

Barcelona or Paris will be the cities where retired BMW engineers will market a new concept of personal urban mobility that takes on conventional cars

MUNICH, GERMANY

Climate

The GreenInCities project, funded in Europe, supports the renewal of the Besòs River in Barcelona by asking local wildlife experts for their advice

BARCELONA, SPAIN

En Español

En Phoenix, Maritza Félix apuesta por el periodismo local para reabrir el diálogo y reflejar las posturas divididas de los latinos ante las deportaciones

PHOENIX, AZ, USA

Cohesion

From Phoenix, Arizona, Maritza Félix uses local journalism to bring back dialogue, exposing the divided views of Latinos on deportation policy

PHOENIX, AZ, USA

Culture

Two years ago, I moved from Europe to Bethlehem, to support artists to stay and create — essential to resilience here in the West Bank

BETHLEHEM

Economy

As the UK unveils its Good Food Framework, “Growing Communities” in Hackney, London, offers a proven alternative to the current industrialised food system

LONDON, UK

Culture

Stepping into the home of minimalist artist Donald Judd in SoHo offers a reflection on why the house is preserved as it is — and the conversations it still sparks

NEW YORK CITY, NY, USA

En Español

En el campo de fútbol, el entrenador Hippolyte Boumlag comparte su visión sobre el debate de la inmigración a través del esfuerzo de futuras promesas

MADRID, SPAIN

Cohesion

On the football field, coach Hippolyte Boumlag discusses his perspective on the immigration debate through the hard work of future football stars

MADRID, SPAIN

Public Space

From the “Love Parade” to “Rave The Planet,” the ecstatic dance and music of this crowd have transformed Berlin—each time infusing its urban landscape with new meaning

BERLIN, GERMANY

Culture

Once a month, a cultural salon takes place at publisher Samuel Fischer’s historic house in Berlin, where the spirit of art and literary works can still be felt

BERLIN, GERMANY

Culture

After years of conflict, Juba’s youth take to the streets with theater to bridge ethnic divides — placing culture at the heart of nation-building in South Sudan

JUBA, SOUTH SUDAN

Governance

As civic freedoms rapidly decline, Mandeep Singh Tiwana steps into leadership at CIVICUS with a message of resistance — and argues civil society activism won’t back down

NEW YORK, NY, USA

En Español

Durante una conversación con The Urban Activist, expertos del sector privado, la academia y el activismo en Barcelona exponen las raíces de la crisis de la vivienda para buscar soluciones

BARCELONA, SPAIN

Housing

During a conversation with The Urban Activist, experts from the private sector, academia, and activism in Barcelona expose the roots of the housing crisis to seek solutions

BARCELONA, SPAIN

Cohesion

Meron Mendel and Saba-Nur Cheema have long fought racism against Muslims and Jews in German cities — with the war in Gaza and debate over Israel, they began confounding both sides

FRANKFURT AM MAIN, GERMANY

Public Space

The fight over a summer festival series at Brockwell Park in London highlights broader questions about the creeping commercialisation of public parks

LONDON, UK

Justice

Local voices around Elmina Castle and its Door of No Return have long-preserved stories that are now reshaping slave trade history

ELMINA, GHANA

Cohesion

Lea Baroudi, founder of March Lebanon, unites former rival fighters to rebuild their lives—showing how governments could prevent conflict rooted in identity

TRIPOLI, LEBANON

Climate

Over 200 species of birds visit New York City each year. Grassroots conservation efforts make their migratory stopovers possible—and bring joy to all New Yorkers

NEW YORK, NY, USA

Culture

A longing music scene has risen from the underground in Saudi cities, poised to create noise for Saudis to be themselves and inspire future generations

RIYADH SAUDI ARABIA

Economy

As Los Angeles confronts inequality, extreme weather, and a housing crisis, activist Trinity Tran leads Public Bank LA to replace Wall Street finance and transform the city’s future

LOS ANGELES, CA, USA

Housing

While the US administration cuts funding for museums that tell the full American story, advocates in Brooklyn ask, “Can preserving Black histories end gentrification in their neighborhoods?”

NEW YORK, NY, USA

Culture

Monacensia Hildebrand’s house in Munich was a place for intellectuals, later swept out by the Nazis — it rebounded as the literary memory of the city and a refuge for writers

MUNICH, GERMANY

Culture

Restorers and volunteers have united forces to rescue the An-Nasr Mosque in Nablus in the occupied West Bank, where the destruction of cultural heritage goes with impunity

NABLUS

Housing

During an insightful roundtable with The Urban Activist, some voices in London spoke about council housing and delivered a clear message to solve the housing crisis

LONDON, UK

En Español

La directora de cine Lara Izagirre trabaja con mujeres gitanas en un documental que difumina la línea entre el realismo y el entretenimiento como parte de una misión más amplia de cambio social

BILBAO, SPAIN

Cohesion

Film director Lara Izagirre engages with Roma women in a documentary blurring the line between realism and entertainment as part of a broader mission for social change

BILBAO, SPAIN

Justice

Many young African talents fall victim to human trafficking in football; however, ‘the beautiful game’ could be a real game-changer in African cities

LAGOS, NIGERIA

Health

The ImperfectCity initiative uses the psychology of brutalist architecture to free young people from an unrealistic “culture of perfection” and help them thrive

AARHUS, DENMARK

Gender

London-based artist Hanna Benihoud seeks meaning in the mundane to elevate women in public space — transcending all boundaries

LONDON, UK

Governance

Maha Al-Dhabhani established a shelter for stray dogs and cats in her city, Sanaa, Yemen, despite being comforted by criticism that aid should prioritize people

SANAA, YEMEN

Governance

The Council of Good Men has the legal authority to resolve disputes inside the Huerta de Murcia, a vast urban ecosystem that feeds Spain and Europe — but now it is time to use its power to protect it

MURCIA, SPAIN

Climate

As cities expand in Ghana, farmlands in their outskirts clash with elephant corridors. However, female farmers find ways of coexistence with wildlife while feeding urban dwellers

ZEBILLA, GHANA

Culture

The Philharmonie de Paris has reached places and audiences where other concert halls in their temples have never been before — music is its language for social change

PARIS, FRANCE

Cohesion

While anti-Semitism permeates social networks, Munich Jews “ask people to talk to us, not about us” at daylight to dispel prejudice about Jewish life

MUNICH, GERMANY

Climate

On the rooftops of mud-brick high-rises in Sanaa, urban farming that uses 90% less water than traditional agriculture offers a viable solution to combat food insecurity in Yemen

SANAA, YEMEN

Housing

There’s a personal dimension to Munich’s property ownership transformation that is crucial to providing affordable housing — yet mostly hidden behind the public anger

MUNICH, GERMANY

Culture

In the town of Bolgatanga in northern Ghana, its local museum is part of the curriculum at schools, and students are cultural ambassadors

BOLGATANGA, GHANA

Public Space

As people become increasingly disheartened by sex and dating apps, House of ERIKA LUST in Barcelona invites to explore sexuality through virtual reality, art, and storytelling

BARCELONA, SPAIN

Public Space

After Assad's fall, residents in Damascus took to the streets to clean up, assist, and rebuild—early signs of a democratic society self-organizing without fear

DAMASCUS, SYRIA

Health

People living longer is a success of humanity, and as such, society should recognize the unique and significant value of old age

BARCELONA, SPAIN

Climate

Seattle's whale guardians network showcases the power of grassroots wildlife conservation in urban areas—proving city dwellers worldwide could start their own

SEATTLE, WA, USA

Economy

In a male-dominated profession, Rania Moualla is the female force behind the first Saudi Culinary Arts Academy, training male and female chefs and using food as a vehicle for change

AL KHOBAR SAUDI ARABIA

Public Space

Jeff Friedman, the owner of Let There Be Neon, speaks about restoring iconic neon lights in New York – and people’s love for cities’ neon heritage

NEW YORK, NY, USA

Economy

Social entrepreneur Leila Ben Gacem runs two boutique hotels in the Medina of Tunis, supporting young Tunisians and restoring the old city to its past glory

TUNIS, TUNISIA

Governance

The Legislative Youth Advisory Council in Washington State illustrates the importance of trusting nonpartisan viewpoints to legislate and find solutions at the local level

OLYMPIA, WA, USA

Housing

A revolution in city planning that gives an address to households in informal settlements could unlock the potential of their residents and create employment

JOHANNESBURG, SOUTH AFRICA

Culture

Volunteers in Cairo are racing against time to preserve the city's historical memory while bulldozers demolish parts of the City of the Dead to construct new highways

CAIRO, EGYPT

Climate

In August 2024, the General Medical Council in the UK suspended the licenses of two health professionals for participating in peaceful climate change protests; that move has backfired

LONDON, UK

Health

Ramallah, under occupation in the West Bank, faces the same challenges of an aging population as other cities – but has a different solution that transcends generations

RAMALLAH

Climate

The informal work of the Zabaleen in Cairo has been a landmark of waste infrastructure, but the city needs to be more ambitious to further boost a local green economy while empowering its people

CAIRO, EGYPT

Housing

Artist Tonika Johnson’s work about racist housing practices in South Side Chicago has bridged the intellectual divide between art and urban policy – and found that home repairs can offset gentrification

CHICAGO, IL, USA

Cohesion

Claudia Saam and Wolf-Rüdiger Baumann extensively researched their building’s former residents, most of them German Jews, and found their descendants abroad.

BERLIN, GERMANY

Governance

The Documenters program creates new public records, providing city dwellers full transparency at the local government level and the best that democracy can offer

CHICAGO, IL, USA

Justice

This is a story of how two young men, born into occupation and poverty, were able to use their own bodies as tools of liberation – and how, through my work, I was privileged to help them speak to the world.

KHAN YOUNIS

Climate

Oil and gas giants are capable of single-handedly turning the Paris Agreement into just a pipe dream – banks should tighten up the loose screws that finance fossil fuel operations

PARIS, FRANCE

Public Space

Artist Françoise Schein reflects on her lifelong mission to raise consciousness about human rights – in the subway, at parks, and on walls in cities worldwide

PARIS, FRANCE

Governance

Forty years after Mini-München was created, it continues to inspire children to engage in and shape the city they want

MUNICH, GERMANY

Culture

Without having to step foot inside, award-winning artist Sonya Clark’s new exhibit at Declaration House in Philadelphia engages passers-by with the entangled legacies of the United States’ founding

PHILADELPHIA, PA, USA

Public Space

Alice Chauchat’s dance repertoire for strangers in the public space creates a sense of togetherness – and suggests a future society that we can imagine and practice

BERLIN, GERMANY

Governance

Activist and academic Fabrice Rizzoli, and victims’ families in cities like Marseille, speak out to halt drug-related violence. Meanwhile, governments seize and repurpose gang members’ assets

MARSEILLE, FRANCE

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

Culture

Not everything in Yemen is war; in the city of Ta’izz, writers and poets encourage dialogue, understanding and unity through arts

TAIZZ, YEMEN

Public Space

Gretta Louw’s “Conscious Commons” questions the use of public spaces for commercial purposes, arguing that it should draw people’s attention for a better world instead

MUNICH, GERMANY

Culture

A Palestine Museum in American suburbia sends a message to the world: through art perhaps we could all agree

NEW HAVEN, CT, USA

Climate

While the West is giving lectures about climate action, in Mexico a new paradigm to combat the crisis could emerge from projects like Roma Verde Garden

MEXICO CITY, MEXICO

Gender

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

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

Governance

Thanks to an army of volunteers, citizens in Turkmenistan circumvent internet censorship under The Tor Project

ASHGABAT, TURKMENISTAN

Public Space

Lenore Skenazy, co-founder of Let Grow, reflects on childhood independence and why adults have decided that all children are in constant danger

NEW YORK, NY, USA

Culture

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

Public Space

Redevelopment efforts by private landowners in London’s edgy Soho are so damaging that the survival of a Tesco chain supermarket has become activists’ latest cause

LONDON, UK

Health

Storytelling has the ability to change our emotional and social behavior; the project “Libraries on Prescription” in Greece explores its healing power

ATHENS, GREECE

Governance

In one Dutch city, tracking lobbying that would otherwise remain mostly undisclosed shows how much better policies could be in the whole country

THE HAGUE, NETHERLANDS

Climate

Activist J.K. Canepa explains how New York residents want to prevent the expansion of fossil fuels – and use the upheaval to kick off thermal energy networks

NEW YORK, NY, USA

Health

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

Culture

Culture in Munich is mutating into new perspectives at Habibi Kiosk ; the success at its privileged location addresses difficult questions about the city

MUNICH, GERMANY

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

Climate

Why environmental justice activists are fighting carbon capture and storage; and why many companies and governments are so desperate to stop it

NEW ORLEANS, LA, USA

Governance

Sexual violence is a weapon of war – yet the unarmed response of Yazidi women in Duhok could change security and peace strategies forever

DUHOK, IRAQ

Public Space

Despite urban renewal becoming an unbeatable adversary, artist Ed Gray’s work succeeds in helping communities to uphold their local value in London

LONDON, UK

Mobility

In Irkutsk, he mobilized people to influence local road-safety policies; now based in Leipzig, his urban activism has shifted to bring him back to Russia

IRKUTSK, RUSSIA

Governance

Online fakes are creating real-world divisions on the ground. But grassroots approaches seek to combat the ways that disinformation exploits our minds

SEATTLE, WA, USA

Public Space

What Michael Clinkett’s sobering journey to save his local business from displacement in London teaches us about our future cities

LONDON, UK

Justice

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

In Berlin, the Israeli-Palestinian restaurant Kanaan achieves what currently seems impossible in its owners’ disputed homeland

BERLIN, GERMANY

Governance

“Religious property is actually working against our religious objectives,” says priest activist Graham Singh on his plan for repurposed churches

MONTREAL, QC, CANADA

En Español

Tras décadas de un sistema alimentario nocivo para el planeta, el activismo de la agroecología está cada vez más presente para exigir cambios estructurales

BARCELONA, SPAIN

Climate

After decades of a vicious food system for our planet, agroecology is becoming a popular form of activism to wield clout for longing structural changes

BARCELONA, SPAIN

Climate

Seven years after founding Cataki, artivist Mundano discusses informal waste collection, largely disregarded, yet indispensable to boost recycling

SãO PAULO, STATE OF SãO PAULO, BRAZIL

Public Space

Thomas Heatherwick’s campaign ‘Humanise’ urges a public conversation on boring buildings that are “inhuman” and so depressing that they “make us malfunction”

LONDON, UK

Health

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

Public Space

How neglected kiosks in Munich’s subway mezzanines became vibrant art spaces that can be an eye-opening experience in people’s everyday life

MUNICH, GERMANY

Mobility

Winter cycling veteran star Pekka Tahkola on why his fellow residents in Oulu, Finland, don’t give up urban cycling even with snow for five months

OULU, FINLAND

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

Housing

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

Public Space

Incredibly inclusive and rebellious, the takeover of 14th Street in Manhattan by ‘Art in Odd Places’ embraces misfits, free thinkers, and strangers alike to celebrate public space

NEW YORK, NY, USA

Governance

The savvy use of a current bottom-up governance model galvanize people to replant urban gardens in the informal settlements of Kampala

KAMPALA, UGANDA

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

Governance

Wayne Liebman, founder of Public Access Democracy in LA, explains citizens’ assemblies and why they "need to be an arrow in democracies’ quiver.”

LOS ANGELES, CA, USA

Public Space

Tamiko Thiel is one of the pioneers of the augmented reality art scene of this century and has captured artists’ imagination as harbinger of a new activism

MUNICH, GERMANY

Culture

A new generation of literacy activists are decolonizing public libraries in Nairobi – from the space to the language represented on its shelves

NAIROBI, KENYA

Public Space

A community-led initiative revives a contemporary ruin in its quest to fight against the excessive privatization of public space in Bangkok

BANGKOK, THAILAND

Climate

Young Africans cleaning urban rivers and preventing dumping remain in the shadows but they are on the front line of the fight against ocean pollution

NAIROBI, KENYA

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

Culture

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

Economy

Instead of a Silicon Valley culture, Bologna has opted for a Mediterranean model for its innovation ecosystem with a strong social and environmental vocation

BOLOGNA, METROPOLITAN CITY OF BOLOGNA, ITALY

Public Space

As productivity-free conversations in cities are dwindling, people need ‘third places’ for communication and listening, like the Zuhörraum in Munich

MUNICH, GERMANY

En Español

En Valparaíso, Chile, se encuentra Espacio Circulante, un lugar conjurado por diversas mujeres y disidencias que practican el chamanismo urbano y la curandería

VALPARAíSO, CHILE

Health

Espacio Circulante is a place conjured up by women of various gender identities, who practice shamanism and urban healing in Valparaiso, Chile

VALPARAíSO, CHILE

Climate

How an unconventional form of philanthropy turns a prestigious event in London into a powerful platform to support urban gardens and good causes across the UK

LONDON, UK

Justice

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

Climate

How the community-led initiative THE REVIVAL is rescuing textile waste from the landfills of Accra in Ghana and exposing fashion’s waste crisis

ACCRA, GHANA

Economy

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

Justice

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

Gender

How a group of women in Freetown refuses to be silenced after sunset and expands women’s rights to participate in society in Sierra Leone fully

FREETOWN, SIERRA LEONE

Climate

After a great start, artist Samira Benini Allaouat hopes to bring sustainable public lighting to a new level while decontaminating the urban soil

BARCELONA, SPAIN

Gender

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

Economy

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

Public Space

A group of researchers navigating city archives is opening a more inclusive past to a broader public to build the cities of the future

PARIS, FRANCE

Economy

Our biggest urban challenges – environment, health, poverty – raise a key question: should manufacturing be brought back to the city?

LONDON, UK

Public Space

Instead of falling into despair, a newspaper kiosk has been turned into a cultural space to make diverse sources of information accessible to the public

VALPARAíSO, CHILE

Health

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

Climate

How Solarbakery in African cities restore bread-making practices, wiped out by a colonialist legacy that hinders sustainability in Africa

KINSHASA, DEMOCRATIC REPUBLIC OF THE CONGO

Public Space

‘Segregation by Design’ offers images and maps of racist “urban renewal” in US cities to thousands of followers — but that’s only part of a bigger mission

NEW YORK, NY, USA

Housing

While some may feel a homeless person should be barred from possessing pets, the reality is far different

CARSON CITY, NV, USA

Public Space

Nicholas Okwulu on urban regeneration and “giving local people an opportunity to be part of something that they thought was too far away”

LONDON, UK

Health

Tyde-Courtney Edwards’ mission to “repurpose ballet” for women and youth survivors strengthens community response to violence in Baltimore

BALTIMORE, MD, USA

Mobility

How Tim Fendley has been advocating for walkable cities behind the scenes while cracking human behaviour in wayfinding to boost walking

LONDON, UK

Culture

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

Justice

Filled with all sorts of ephemera, Interference Archive encourages social engagement through the cultural production of social movements

NEW YORK, NY, USA

Housing

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

Climate

Extreme weather makes the case for the renaissance of an urban nature-based solution built a century ago, which many cities would envy

ELCHE, SPAIN

Justice

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

Mobility

How this advocate uses a brilliant form of attracting attention to bicycle safety in Los Angeles at this moment of cycling revival across US cities.

LOS ANGELES, CA, USA

Culture

As Russian bombs fall, Ukrainian artists have produced activist responses at the PinchukArtCentre Prize 2022 exhibition in Kyiv to stir pain empathy

KYIV, UKRAINE

Governance

Using the city as classroom, Revolution School intends to transform education and “break down the walls between learning and life.”

PHILADELPHIA, PA, USA

Health

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

Public Space

Jo Muñoz and Diego Peris’ work has been crucial to citizen activism in Madrid – their last intervention stirs consciousness about migration.

MADRID, SPAIN

Climate

Sophie Leguil, founder of “More Than Weeds”, on stopping our endless weeding of wild plants on the streets and ending our alienation from nature

LONDON, UK

Climate

Environmental pollution in the post-Soviet city of Rustavi is complex, but it should be read not as an act of despair but as a rallying call with concrete solutions

RUSTAVI, GEORGIA

Gender

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

Public Space

Interventions in the public space by Peshcom are without permissions and fewer repercussions. Is this a sign of progress in the post-Soviet city of Bishkek?

BISHKEK, KYRGYZSTAN

Public Space

How artist Mercedes Dorame challenges traditional monuments in Los Angeles and demands the return of indigenous land

LOS ANGELES, CA, 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

Climate

From a little island in Cairo, the Nile is getting free of plastic pollution with the urgency to develop local economies along the river

CAIRO, EGYPT

Housing

How a Motel 6 in Oakland has become a progressive response to a homeless crisis.

OAKLAND, CA, USA

Culture

This museum’s work supports a diversity of thought through art, including a rethinking of the definition of a museum

LOS ANGELES, CA, USA

Economy

Knife grinders withstand the disappearance of traditional workshops in Madrid and Barcelona — but craftsmanship could benefit cities and the planet.

BARCELONA, SPAIN

Public Space

Residents in Northern Paris are fighting to prevent an ‘Olympic Legacy’ that has repeatedly failed people in cities. Will the city's 2024 Games be any different?

PARIS, FRANCE

Justice

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

Climate

Located in Mid-Manhattan, the New York Public Library has taken over a century-old practice of seed saving and distribution. Could seed libraries one day prevent a food crisis in our cities?

NEW YORK, NY, USA

Justice

The director of the Berlin-Karlshorst Museum, formerly known as the Russian-German Museum, on its difficult task — and how neutrality no longer provides refuge for Russian culture in Berlin

BERLIN, GERMANY

Governance

In Kasserine, Tunisia, democracy is flourishing in public space. How is the city of Munich involved?

KASSERINE, TUNISIA

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

Climate

An experimental collection of objects and stories of ordinary people, hosted by two natural history museums, takes on our changing planet. Could storytelling spark action?

BERLIN, GERMANY

Economy

How delivery riders in Bangkok have ditched algorithms for the human touch of an alternative system.

BANGKOK, THAILAND

Public Space

Could a museum change a city? This museum of contemporary art invites urban dwellers to rediscover their city together, break barriers and reconnect outside the institution.

ESSEN, GERMANY

Climate

Some consider energy cooperatives in cities a quixotic adventure, but one worth trying to decarbonize the energy system at this moment in history.

PARIS, FRANCE

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

Climate

Our planet suffers the problem of littering in cities. Apparently easy, why can’t cities solve this impossible task? Across the ocean activists explain the invidious choices to tackle the issue at its core.

PHILADELPHIA, PA, USA

Gender

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

Health

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

Public Space

A human-scale city or stratospheric urban planning? Such is the ongoing conflict among New Yorkers over the plans for Penn Station. But this fight, claim activists, is another one.

NEW YORK, NY, USA

Culture

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

Public Space

The revitalization of the river in Berlin challenges the top-down creation and interpretation of urban heritage in the city's historical centre.

BERLIN, GERMANY

Culture

A unique collaboration between the Reina Sofía Museum in Madrid and its neighborhood, Lavapiés, questions the role of museums in relation to their surroundings

MADRID, SPAIN

Public Space

Zoning laws in cities that prevent high-density buildings are controversial. In Athens, the battle of its residents and the Acropolis set the tone.

ATHENS, GREECE

Culture

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

Gender

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

Health

“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

Justice

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

Mobility

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

Justice

The Museum of Egyptian Art was built where a monumental building for the Nazi Party was supposed to stand in Munich. Dealing with the past in public spaces is controversial in this city, but the museum hewed to its principles

MUNICH, GERMANY

Governance

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

Economy

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

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

Public Space

The initiative Signal Station North has put together a unique collaboration of neighbours, local artists, designers and nonprofits for street lighting advocacy in Central Baltimore. Exhaustive urban analysis and lighting interventions reveal how to support wellbeing.

BALTIMORE, MD, USA

Mobility

At first glance, a car-free city is a great idea but it is contradicting itself. While more women walk and use public transportation for multiple destinations, they are also the ones more dependent on driving. How does it all fit together?

BONN, GERMANY

Gender

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

Governance

We Build The Block, a community-led movement co-founded by Michael K. Williams, Dana Rachlin and Shani Kulture, creates opportunities for youth to hold positions of power and reimagine how public safety is achieved in their neighbourhood.

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

Public Space

The urban intervention Parasite Parking occupied parking spaces in Chicago and tested the limits of their use. Their privatization years ago led to a loss of agency in the city. What will happen when parking spaces are no longer needed?

CHICAGO, IL, USA

Economy

A network of worker delivery collectives across cities is racing to compete with global platforms and humanize the business model. The solution relies on platform cooperativism

PARIS, FRANCE

Public Space

The initiative 'De BuurtBankjes' is shaping the sidewalk experience. Chatty couples to street kids, refugees to yuppies and expats to bubbly grannys. These connections happen on couches outside homes in Amsterdam. In New York in stoops.

AMSTERDAM, NETHERLANDS

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

Climate

Berliners are making watering trees more sexy than announcing new planting. The citizen-led initiative ‘Gieß den Kiez’ coordinates watering efforts to prioritize aftercare of street trees to outlive multiple generations of people.

BERLIN, GERMANY

Housing

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

Public Space

Increasingly, more activist voices are advocating to reconsider the superblocks in Barcelona. Initially planned as a project of great urban transformation, it threatens to result in a giant greenwashing operation.

BARCELONA, SPAIN

Climate

With a science-led approach, ‘Dream for Trees’ has started to plant mini urban forests in London to efficiently store carbon and create local balanced ecosystems. Can they save us from human-caused climate change?

LONDON, UK

Climate

‘Radical acts of gardening’ more than 40 years ago were visionary actions to reconnect with nature, which anticipated the challenges facing our cities today to fight climate change.

NEW YORK, NY, USA

Health

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

Climate

In Los Angeles, a guerrilla garden proved that cultivating collective healing is possible where hardship prevails. Gardening is where healing the body and healing the planet meet and paves decentralized ways for ecosocial renewal in cities.

LOS ANGELES, CA, USA

Public Space

In Berlin grassroots initiatives and municipality are masterminding a town hall of the future in a pioneer quarter to decouple the city's economic growth from environmental impacts, in addition to an avant-garde cultural approach.

BERLIN, GERMANY

Public Space

In Berlin urban garden pioneers have spotted the potential of increasing idle space at cemeteries to foster sustainability and fulfill the purpose of remembrance.

BERLIN, GERMANY

Climate

In Canadian cities, a neighbour-led movement is unfolding the potential of backyards to provide pollination routes for monarch butterflies. Also, it is a call on locals to become Beebnb hosts — the Airbnb for wild bees

TORONTO, ON, CANADA

Economy

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

Climate

Now that Venice is back for its residents, culture and science are stimulating an urgent debate on its future. Some answers might already lie in the natural capital of the lagoon. If we can't save Venice, what does that mean for the rest of humanity?

VENICE, ITALY

Justice

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

Climate

Natalie Fee, co-founder of Refill in Bristol, has put the power to disrupt the vicious circle of bottled water at people’s fingertips to protect our water sources and the environment.

BRISTOL, UK

Public Space

The Museum of Reclaimed Urban Space in New York offers an empowering alternative approach to the way museums are typically run, through activism, transparency, and direct action that expands beyond conventional exhibitions.

NEW YORK, NY, USA

Public Space

Luca Ballarini, and the collective Torino Stratosferica, turned an abandoned tramway into a park to demonstrate the potential of Turin and project the city into a sustainable future.

TURIN, ITALY

Climate

Waste is a huge problem. By the day. Here are some community-led ideas bred in Brooklyn which are a successful approach for radical change in waste reduction.

NEW YORK, NY, USA

Gender

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

Climate

To embrace sustainability, cities ably need to reduce the social divide between the public and science by building data literacy and democratizing the use of open data.

NEW YORK, NY, USA

Climate

The founders of the first plant-based community fridge in New York unlock fresh food for everyone and its value to combat diseases and heal the planet.

NEW YORK, NY, USA

Governance

The Night Mayor in Amsterdam is leading nightclubs through change against homophobic, sexist and racist overtones to advance diversity and inclusivity in the city.

AMSTERDAM, NETHERLANDS

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

Culture

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

Health

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

Justice

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

Mobility

Born in London, a coalition of running enthusiasts is growing by the day to inspire more of us to run everyday journeys, errands and commute. Running mayors will advocate in their cities to legitimize it as an active travel.

LONDON, UK

Governance

Haifa Subay is a Yemeni street artist putting her own life on the line to inspire a culture of peace in her city. Her artwork instigates fellow citizens to immerse themselves in the meaning of social change for peace.

ADEN, YEMEN

Culture

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

Climate

Deforestation is threatening citizen's life in Freetown, but its environmental impact goes beyond the city's borders. Collective and bold actions around the world put cities at peace with nature.

FREETOWN, SIERRA LEONE

Public Space

A small city in Northern Spain has helped citizens to overcome their reluctance to talk about dying and heal a disconnected society from the end of life. Can death revitalize the city?

LOGROñO, SPAIN

Public Space

Last week artworks from over eighty artists worldwide were distributed randomly to people on the streets of New York. It was the culmination of an unconventional public art project to create social engagement and change.

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

Justice

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

Economy

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

Public Space

‘Bankerl’ is a film project for the public, which praises conversations between strangers. Interviews with passers-by provide insights into individual life situations and reveal the overall mood across the city.

MUNICH, GERMANY

Public Space

A poetic and provocative campaign by Gretta Louw challenges urban dwellers to reflect on the nature of the public sphere. A reflection of how the health of our democracies is linked to the health of our public spaces.

MUNICH, GERMANY

Gender

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

Culture

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

Gender

Chiene Jones, awarded 2020 Jr. Knicks Coach of the Year, is determined to use basketball to create powerful future women, specially in underserved urban communities.

NEW YORK, NY, USA

Public Space

In New York the combination of roads closed off to traffic and the need to reduce tensions on the street has a name, Play Streets. Now it's time to revive them.

NEW YORK, NY, USA

Climate

Lebanon’s economic crisis has created a guerrilla of urban gardeners growing their own food to curb hunger and build an agriculture culture in the country.

BEIRUT, LEBANON

Housing

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

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

Justice

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

Climate

The organization Árboles Mágicos in San José, Costa Rica, combines head and heart to regenerate biological corridors and the wellbeing of citizens.

SAN JOSé, COSTA RICA

Gender

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

Climate

Jyoti Pande Lavakare, co-founder of Care for Air, has been raising awareness on deadly air pollution in Delhi for the past six years. Due to the Covid-19 lockdown, she finds herself under clear blue skies, an unprecedented time to demand more civic action

NEW DELHI, DELHI, INDIA

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

Health

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

Public Space

Breakdance kept Aloun Phetnoi Ferzandis out of trouble. But not off the streets, rather breakdance granted him an identity and sense of belonging to the city.

MUNICH, GERMANY

Health

‘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

Climate

The social startup ‘Urban Greens’ spearheads a resilient food movement in Cairo through urban agriculture, which provides self-reliant fresh produce and guarantees food security to households, especially in times of crisis like water scarcity.

CAIRO, EGYPT

Culture

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

Culture

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

Public Space

The city of Munich is challenging the ways in which children could connect with the streets independently. The interactive game kreuz & quer is reclaiming the lost art of playing outside.

MUNICH, 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

Mobility

Mobility advocates are spearheading a new discourse that focuses on social justice rather than infrastructure and car-free cities

CHICAGO, IL, USA

Climate

Mariellé Anzelone is growing an urban movement for nature and biodiversity in the cities of the future.

NEW YORK, NY, USA

Housing

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

Public Space

The role of religious buildings can’t be underestimated in our urban landscape. The connections between them and the city are undeniable.

MUNICH, GERMANY

Climate

The grass-root association Green city e.V. has been at the vanguard of spreading global climate action among citizens in Munich.

MUNICH, GERMANY

Gender

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

Public Space

Urban planning often underestimates sunlight in cities. Two students in Munich fought for their right to light.

MUNICH, GERMANY

Governance

BCN Helpers is a twitter account for citizen collaboration in Barcelona, which maps in real time criminal offences on the streets to make the city safe.

BARCELONA, SPAIN

Public Space

Two brothers, one dream. Julian and Daniel Hahn are the masterminds behind the transformation of unused public space in Munich into dreamy places.

MUNICH, GERMANY

Climate

Kisdiófa Kert is an urban garden in Erzsébetváros neighbourhood, where citizens connect to each other building trust and supportive relationships in Budapest.

BUDAPEST, HUNGARY

Public Space

In diverse neighbourhoods lies a wellspring of creativity and urban identity that make cities thrive. At Portobello Road silent technology is an effective way to content all citizens.

LONDON, UK

Public Space

You have an obligation to feel good at Nomadic Gardens. People grow food, create art and share skills. It is quite a community space out of the straightjacket of conventional urbanism.

LONDON, UK

Mobility

If you google the question ‘How can I ride my bike to work without getting sweaty?’, you will get almost 19 million results just for the last month. For all the urban mobility talk about how to encourage walking and cycling in the city, the fact is that they mean a higher factor of perspiration. ...

LONDON, UK

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

Culture

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

Culture

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

Health

Wednesdays volunteers meet at the city centre to distribute food, hygiene products and clothes. How they are tackling drug addiction in Oslo.

OSLO, NORWAY

Climate

Magnus Gommerud Nielsen is called the Electric Gardener by the city of Oslo. He has worked as a gardener at Vestre Cemetery for the past 12 years and from there he has driven change with a simple but revolutionary idea: the maintenance operations of cemeteries in Oslo has to be electrified towards a greener city. ...

OSLO, NORWAY

Health

It is 7:30 in the morning in Oslo. A strong wind and an intensive sun reflected on the white granite and Italian Carrara marble walls invade the roof of the Opera House. Energy concentrates in one space where a group of people practises Taijiquan thanks to Pamela Hiley. During the spring and summer months she ...

OSLO, NORWAY

Culture

‘Not all who wander are lost’, reads the display with the maps of the Alserkal Avenue located in Al Quoz neighbourhood in Dubai. Alserkal Avenue was an industrial area that has been converted in 2007 into a cultural district of contemporary art galleries, creative businesses and non-profit organizations spread across 500,000 square feet. Here you ...

DUBAI - UNITED ARAB EMIRATES

Public Space

What is all the fuss about performing tricks? ‘The desire of self-improvement makes you fearless, assertive and self-confident’, explains one of the skaters involved in the ‘Skatepark Mobil’ initiative. Loaded with skateboards and BMX bikes in an Italian Piaggio, they visit skate parks in Munich and offer youngsters an easier start to skateboarding for free. ...

MUNICH, GERMANY

Mobility

The streets of Mexico City haven’t seen their superhero in 3 years. Jorge Cáñez, a political scientist, called himself Peatónito. He used to wear a Mexican wrestler mask, a cape and proclaim himself to be a superhero for pedestrian safety in Mexico City. Since wrestling is a big thing in his country, he thought creativity ...

MEXICO CITY, CDMX, MEXICO

Mobility

Street names do matter. A street in the city of Muscat, the capital of the Sultanate of Oman, is called ‘The Walk’. It sounds obvious. But are streets in cities always walkable? This beautiful piece of road is closed to cars supporting a vision towards a more walkable city and a sustainable urbanisation of Muscat. ...

MUSCAT, OMAN

Climate

An idle space at the heart of the city and easy for anybody to access. These two great conditions make Michael Faltenbacher and Thomas Manglkammer follow the unwritten rules in the best interest of the city. They wanted to offer citizens an open-minded green space outside of the straitjacket of convention in Munich. They have ...

MUNICH, GERMANY

Cohesion

Eugene Quinn, a British national living in Vienna, thinks it is the best city in the world to live in. In a city with many international institutions and a mixed crowd, Eugene experienced, however, the difficulties of mingling with locals. As a rebellious optimist, he started to organize Vienna coffeehouse conversations to disrupt the social ...

VIENNA, AUSTRIA

Cohesion

Remembering a city’s history can greatly empower its citizen’s commitment to mindfulness; because had at any one time a slightly different path been taken, had a decision swung a slightly different way, the entire course of history would have been different. Signs along the former Jewish neighbourhood of West Berlin known as the Bavarian Quarter ...

BERLIN, GERMANY

Gender

The street art world is dominated by men. ‘Hands Off The Wall’ endeavours to change that, at least in Vienna. Female street artists have gathered around a street art festival to show their work, praise other women’s achievements and inspire girls to succeed. ‘Hands Off The Wall’ is Austria’s first street art and graffiti festival ...

VIENNA, AUSTRIA

Public Space

The initiative ‘WIEN LEBT…auf der Wohnstrasse’ is unique. We’ve been living in the city for years, however it wasn’t until recently that we discover the potential that some streets in Vienna have to offer. They are called Wohnstrassen; literally translated in English ‘residential streets’. They are not regular streets, they are considered by law a ...

VIENNA, AUSTRIA

Public Space

What is more urban than a city’s train station? The skateboarding association High Five has partnered with the organisation ‘Meine Einkaufsbahnhof’ in Munich to offer free skateboarding right in the middle of the train station’s entrance; a busy space where crowds pass by every day. The idea of skating inside the train station is to ...

MUNICH, GERMANY

Climate

#WeloveWater is an urban action born in Barcelona that uses the power of street art to raise awareness about the problem of flushing wet wipes into the cities’ sewer system. The graffitis convert drains and sewage covers into marine species to remind people that the sewer system is an open window to the ocean. Urban ...

BARCELONA, SPAIN

Housing

Sabine Herrmann is a pioneer in Munich. She founded, together with seven friends, the Ligsalz house 8, the only self-governing residential project in Munich within the framework of a ‘Syndikat house’ model. In total there are twelve housemates living in the house. Their monthly rent is paying off the house, however they don’t own it. ...

MUNICH, GERMANY

Cohesion

‘The magdas Hotel brings people from all over the world together’. But this slogan is not referring to the guests. People from 14 different nations, who found asylum in Vienna, work at the magdas Hotel. Each and every one of them makes this place unique. An open-minded and positive atmosphere at the hotel makes it ...

VIENNA, AUSTRIA

Cohesion

Chicago artist Matthew Hoffman’s public installations that simply read “You Are Beautiful” beautify neighbourhoods around Chicago and beyond. According to ‘You Are Beautiful’ team, the public reaction to the installations have been very positive: ‘Once you put something out in the world, it is fascinating to see what happens. When the phrase You Are Beautiful ...

CHICAGO, IL, USA

Governance

Backed by the willingness of conscious consumers Addiopizzo supports shopkeepers who don't pay extortion money to the Mafia in Palermo.

PALERMO, ITALY

Public Space

At the Parque del Retiro in Madrid I have witnessed a very interesting example of an age-friendly and health-friendly public space: pedals have been annexed to public benches as to allow old (and young!) people to do exercise while talking to each other! Public parks are an important public health resource in cities, connecting citizens ...

MADRID, SPAIN

Mobility

Free Fares – Transit takes on Snowpocalypse! In times when cities are considering the pros and cons of offering free public transport, a step made by the bus service @Cotabus in the city of Columbus (Ohio) seems to go in the right direction. It has offered FREE rides all day on their citywide bus service ...

COLUMBUS, OH, USA

Culture

In a city like Munich with rampant population and so little vacant space, every slot available in terms of empty buildings matters. In the absence of the public and hidden behind the façade of an old office building, artists of urban and contemporary art have been working for several months in Munich on their individual ...

MUNICH, GERMANY

Public Space

We are Natalia Bazaiou and Anastasia Noukaki, architects and also mothers working and living in Athens. Our experience of being mothers with small children in our city is of a place offering perfect weather conditions of living outdoors but extremely limited possibilities to walk without being threatened by traffic. In Athens, due to the sprawling ...

ATHENS, GREECE

Public Space

At the Harbor industrial area in the city of Linz (Austria) you see gratifying faces working hard on the storage and container facilities. Street art has turned them into an outdoor museum. ‘Mural Harbor’ is not the kind of project to transform a post-industrial urban area to new use in a way that contributes to ...

LINZ, AUSTRIA

Cohesion

German thinking is on board an Italian Piaggio Ape 50 to hit the streets of Munich. It is called ‘Lighthouse Mobil’ and it is driven by volunteers, who give assistance to refugees about how things work in the city and help them settle in. They also aim at opening a dialogue with local citizens about ...

MUNICH, GERMANY

Climate

In Leipzig the city administration has found a creative way to reforest its streets. It is called ‘Baumstarke Stadt’. They offer citizens to plant a tree in public parks, on streets, in squares and in urban cemeteries to honour their friends and loved ones in celebration of birthdays, anniversaries, new births, or any special occasion. ...

LEIPZIG, GERMANY

Housing

Ariane Jedlitscha doesn’t give much for a fixed definition to her project ‘Honorary Hotel’. ‘We don’t want to be straitjacket by one definition. It has to enjoy the freedom to evolve with any kind of possibilities’, explains Ariane. Maybe this approach is what makes the Honorary Hotel so special. The project is using art and culture ...

LEIPZIG, GERMANY

Cohesion

‘The Rebel Riot’ is not just a local punk band with politically charged songs, dealing with human right violations. Expressing themselves through music is not enough. This band mobilizes a whole punk community to cook fresh food and distribute it to homeless people every week in Yangon (Myanmar), a movement called ‘Food Not Bombs’. They ...

YANGON, MYANMAR (BURMA)

Public Space

The WESTWERK is an art quarter and off space located in the creative neighbourhood of Plagwitz in Leipzig (Germany), between the Karl-Heine-Straße and the Weißenfelser Straße directly at the King Albert Bridge on the Karl-Heine-Canal. The Westwerk is an important place for many people in the West of Leipzig. It is a symbolic place for ...

LEIPZIG, GERMANY

Public Space

As more citizens give up car ownership in favour of car sharing, cities are winning back public spaces for citizens, a precious and scarce commodity in cities. One car less in the city, means potentially freeing up 11,5 square meters of public space from idle parking spaces. This equation creates a great opportunity to the rise ...

MUNICH, GERMANY

Public Space

“Reading is the world in the head” is Sebastian Mettler’s motto. He has founded StadtLesen 10 years ago in Austria. Every year StadtLesen travels to many different cities in Austria, Germany and Switzerland. His initiative has given citizens reading enjoyment al fresco in cities with free admission. More than 100 publishers are involved in this ...

MUNICH, GERMANY

Public Space

It could have been another city around the world but it happened in Munich. I first encountered Davide Martello in Odeonsplatz, one of the main and crowded squares in Munich. His music turned this public space, once used to spread hate in one of the worst chapters in European history, into a stimulating cultural climate ...

MUNICH, GERMANY

Public Space

If you could experience a city from 95cm – the height of a 3-year-old – what would you change? Urban 95 Challenge for a child-friendly city asks this bold but simple question of the world’s city leaders, planners, architects, and innovators. But what about asking kids in the city that very same question? Aminah Ricks, an ...

NEW YORK, NY, USA

Cohesion

When you look at the astonishing view of the Douro River in Porto from the terrace of the ‘Guindalense Futebol Clube’ bar, it makes you wonder why this local bar has not become a pretentious gastro. Its trajectory tells the history of its neighbourhood and how local bars can contribute to community cohesion, happiness and ...

PORTO, PORTUGAL

Mobility

It happens in Munich, Madrid, Houston and many other cities around the world. White bikes pop up in cities as memorials for cyclists who are killed or hit on the street. They are called Ghost bikes and they are on a mission to keep cycling safe in cities. It was Patrick van der Tuin who ...

MUNICH, GERMANY

Climate

Many neighbourhoods in cities have libraries but not many have an urban garden as part of the library. In Berlin-Mitte, right in the centre of the city, an urban garden has been developed within the library of the neighbourhood. Numerous urban gardens are sprouting in the city for a reason. Berlin, one of the best ...

BERLIN, GERMANY

Climate

The 'Beyond a Construction Site' urban gardening initiative in Ljubljana (Slovenia) connects people with nature in the centre of the city.

LJUBLJANA, SLOVENIA

Cohesion

Hip Hop is not just a musical genre, but a cultural movement which originated in the Bronx district of the city of New York in the 1970s and came with the Americans to Berlin. Ibo Omari, a citizen of Berlin, is a firm advocator of the Hip Hop culture, which he embraces in all social ...

BERLIN, GERMANY

Cohesion

What started as saving a sports ground, became one of the most inspiring projects to welcome refugees in the city centre of Munich. It is a great example of how to address the challenge of urban migration and how integration can actually work. Munich has been welcoming a significant number of refugees since the Syria ...

MUNICH, GERMANY

Public Space

Cities create encounters. Public spaces play a vital role in fostering interaction in cities. Jose Subero and Paula Colchero, two residents of Amsterdam and the creatives behind Ruilbank, have combined design and reading to promote social interaction at benches in public spaces. Ruilbank is an intervention on Amsterdam public benches meant to create sharing public ...

AMSTERDAM, NETHERLANDS

Cohesion

Marie Rolshoven, a cultural scientist, lives in Berlin in Schöneberg neighbourhood, which was once home to Jewish artists and intellectuals such as Albert Einstein. Moved by the fact that, twenty three former Jewish residents of her whole building were deported during the Nazi era, she wanted to keep the history of her neighbours alive. Inspired by the ...

BERLIN, GERMANY

Climate

If you are walking through the city enjoying a chewing gum, you have probably experienced that moment when you are left looking for an old tissue or receipt to wrap the used gum in so that it doesn’t end up on the pavement. Chewing gums have become one of the toughest challenges when it comes ...

ROTTERDAM, NETHERLANDS

Climate

Tamara Sancho, a primary care physician in Barcelona, and her neighbours have been converting the small spaces around trees into small lush gardens in their neighbourhood called ‘Poble Sec’ since 2015. Tamara was fed up with the amount of rubbish accumulated around those tiny tree islands and decided to do something about it. She started ...

BARCELONA, SPAIN

Climate

Chris Anaekwe is a graduate of the University of Nigeria in Nsukka which has organized an impressive clean up in his hometown, Onitsha (Nigeria), to raise awareness about waste disposal in the city. It is hard to believe that in a city like Onitsha rubbish containers are a rare thing. What do you do with ...

ONITSHA, NIGERIA

Climate

Hi, my name is Power Drill and my average useful life is 12 minutes. If tools, gear and equipment could speak, you would be horrified about their short useful lives. The tool sharing initiative called The Toronto Tool Library offers an alternative to ownership to use resources much more efficiently in the city. Inspired by ...

TORONTO, ON, CANADA

Culture

Ali Al-Moussawi’s passion for books goes beyond reading. He has developed the first city library on wheels in Baghdad. His main goal is to revive a love for books and to encourage the culture of reading in the city. Baghdad, once the literary and cultural capital of the Muslim world, is now better known for bombs than poems: “With ...

BAGHDAD, IRAQ

Public Space

Jorge Carrillo not only wants to save Bangkok’s street food, but a well-functioning city where street food vendors play a vital role. This is why he came up with the Beyond Food Initiative. The decision by the Bangkok Metropolitan Authority to remove street food vendors from many city locations has recently caught the imagination of journalists, ...

BANGKOK, THAILAND