Fed up with being gouged by profit-driven corporations, let down by state neglect and under-investment, urban communities across the US are taking control of local services like public transport, energy, water, internet and telecoms, writes Max Holleran - bringing better service, lower prices and clean energy.
… American revolution: cities seize control of essential local … 2015 News Commons USA Corporations Politics Cities Energy Water Solar … of scale - not to mention profit - many cities have sold their electricity generation …
Ignoring cries of protest from impoverished communities and fierce international criticism, Detroit will begin to serve water shut-off notices on some 25,000 households tomorrow as it prepares to privatise its water department.
… in Detroit has set a precedent for other cities throughout the United States. Earlier …
Cuba is a global exemplar of organic, agroecological farming, taking place on broad swathes of land in and around its cities, write Julia Wright & Emily Morris. These farms cover 14% of the country's agricultural land, employ 350,000 people, and produce half the country's fruit and vegetables. But can they survive exposure to US agribusiness?
… 27th June 2015 News Cuba Food Farming Organic Cities USA Politics Trade … on broad swathes of land in and around its cities, write Julia Wright & Emily Morris. … of the early 1990s. People in towns and cities began to cultivate urban waste land and …
Following a monstrous spate of cyclist deaths in London, protestors are gathering outside the Bank of England tonight to demand: stop killing cyclists! The UK's peaceful cycling revolution is now under way, writes Donnachadh McCarthy, who invites us all to join the movement to make our cities safe for humans.
… | 29th June 2015 Comment Transport Cycling Cities Health UK bank skc flowers-cut.jpg … us all to join the movement to make our cities safe for humans. London has suffered …
With news that storms caused by smog from Asian cities over the Pacific Ocean will melt Artic ice, Christine Loh, the CEO of Civic Exchange, looks at Hong Kong, where worsening air pollution causes on average four deaths a day.
… news that storms caused by smog from Asian cities over the Pacific Ocean will melt Artic …
Local authorities around the world are going pesticide-free following an initiative by a small town in Canada 25 years ago, writes Keith Tyrell. Now the movement is coming to the UK, with campaign groups setting up in towns, cities and rural communities to keep pesticides out of our streets, parks, playgrounds and allotments.
… Pesticide-free towns and cities - citizen power in action Keith Tyrell … Action Network | 6th October 2015 Activism Cities Health Farming Toxics tractor-cut.jpg … UK, with campaign groups setting up in towns, cities and rural communities to keep …
The UK's nuclear deal with China makes no sense, writes Jeffrey Henderson - unless you factor in the simultaneous agreement to forge lucrative links between UK and Chinese financial markets. Lucrative, that is, for the City institutions whose interests the British government so assiduously represents. As for the rest of us, our task is simple: to bear the ever-growing cost.
UK's nuclear deal with China is a boon for bankers - and no one else Jeffrey Henderson University of Bristol | 6th November 2015 News Finance UK China Politics Nuclear Energy shanghai-pudong-cut.jpg …
Thanks to massive deforestation along Brazil's Atlantic coast and the Amazon, São Paulo's reservoirs are at just 6% of their capacity and water rationing is in place. But this is just the beginning of a long term drying process that could be recreated around the world as forests are laid waste and hydrology disrupted.
… 2015 Comment Forests Water Climate Change Cities Brazil South America …
Members of the London Assembly yesterday voted for the London Pension Fund Authority, worth £4.8 billion, to ditch all its fossil fuel investments over a 5-year period. The vote is non-binding, but the huge 15-3 margin puts strong pressure on London Mayor Boris Johnson to follow through.
… idea whose time has come. More than 39 other cities in five countries worldwide have …
Forests are the traditional refuge of rebels, dissidents and all who seek freedom from the strictures of civilization, writes Ken Worpole. But for all the idea lives on in our hearts and minds, that role has now been usurped by our cities. Now, just as our forests have been enclosed and subdued, so our cities face a similar fate - one we must resist to preserve our liberty.
… minds, that role has now been usurped by our cities. Now, just as our forests have been enclosed and subdued, so our cities face a similar fate - one we must … unruly youth do in Jerusalem . Our cities are the 'new forests' In the modern …
As Paris prepares for COP21 in Paris, Marc Brightman finds that the city is in the grip of a benign but ignorant authoritarianism that is ready to trample on much-loved green spaces like the Bois Dormoy, reclaimed from dereliction by the multicultural local community, which represent real solutions to the global problems of food, climate, the future of our cities, and our place in nature.
… at home Marc Brightman | 17th June 2015 News Cities Climate Change Unfccc Forests Commons … problems of food, climate, the future of our cities, and our place in nature. It was … of ordinary people, and goal 11 is to 'make cities and human settlements inclusive, safe, …
Following the accidental fire in a transformer at the troubled Indian Point nuclear site last weekend, and the unplanned release of oil into the Hudson River, calls are growing for the two remaining power plants to be shut down, writes Karl Grossman. The NRC is likely to extend its expiring licenses for another 20 years - but New York State could still refuse it a water use permit.
… Grossman | 12th May 2015 News Nuclear USA Cities Energy Health …
As temperatures soar in the Persian Gulf, modern buildings rely on energy-guzzling air-conditioning to maintain tolerable temperatures, writes Amin Al-Habaibeh. But traditional buildings stay cool passively using shade; wind and thermally driven ventilation; and naturally insulating, reflective materials. For a sustainable future, modern architects must revive the ancient knowledge.
… Trent University | 8th November 2015 Comment Cities Middle East Energy Efficiency Building … in the desert, or urban dwellers living in cities. Given the global trend toward … shade Traditional buildings in the gulf's cities and villages are designed to maximise …
At the heart of Poland's capital, Warsaw, farmers have founded a flourishing encampment known as the 'Green City', writes Julian Rose. It's a focus of protest against the sell-off of their land to agribusiness, the arrival of GMO crops, and the imposition of a failed 'Western' model of farming that's creating huge corporate profits while debasing food and bankrupting small farmers.
Occupy agriculture! Polish farmers sit in for land and freedom Julian Rose | 19th March 2015 News Poland Farming Food Corporations Politics Protest GMOs Land Grabs occupy-farming-adam_payne-cut.jpg …
Oxford Council's Executive Board meets today to decide whether to criminalise 'noncompliant' busking, pavement art, cycling and other activities in the City's vibrant public spaces, punishable with a £1,000 fine. Jonny Walker wrote them this Open Letter.
… art! Jonny Walker | 11th June 2015 Comment Cities Commons Music Transport Law UK Politics …
The single biggest energy service we all need is heat, writes Rob Raine - yet it's largely ignored in the energy policy discourse. By focusing on heat as well as power, we can accelerate the transition to renewable energy sources and - because heat stores are far cheaper than batteries - keep the costs down.
… reductions in local air pollution. Northern cities show the way In the UK, cities such as Sheffield and Nottingham have … and putting this energy to use helps the cities to tackle fuel poverty and reduce their …
Destruction of 76 square kilometres of forests, lakes and farmland is proceeding north of Istanbul for the city's third airport, writes Rosie Bridger. But the gigantic ‘aerotropolis' project is vigorously opposed by local farmers and residents, and an urban resistance fighting other ecologically destructive megaprojects across the beautiful, biodiverse region - both on the streets and in the courts.
Campaigners resist destruction of Istanbul forests and wetlands for airport megaproject Rose Bridger | 25th July 2015 News Turkey Resistance Transpaort Development Politics trucks in the airport …
Governments and corporations are driving a global wave of ecologically disastrous airport-centered mega-projects each destroying as much of 100 sq.km of farmland and forests - sucking water, resources and economic activity from surrounding areas, excluding host communities and locking in high-carbon infrastructure for decades to come.
… Rose Bridger | 8th May 2015 News Transport Cities Development Forests …
Air quality across the UK is currently monitored by just a few hundred fixed stations, writes Prashant Kumar. That leaves most of us ignorant about the pollution we are breathing. But tiny air quality sensors in our mobile phones could soon create a network of millions of data points - and spur much needed official action to clean our air.
… decisions, better planning and greener cities. It's not enough to simply try to … is clear. At present, many of the world's cities are unable to comply with air pollution … world are working to bring futuristic smart cities to life. Whether it's automatic …
The Port of Seattle is violating its shoreline permit in allowing Shell to set up a 'home port' for its Arctic oil drilling fleet, according to Seattle officials. The finding could nix Shell's oil drilling plans for the 2015 season.
Shell's Arctic oil setback - unlawful use of Seattle Port Oliver Tickell | 5th May 2015 News Transport Oil Arctic Law Corporations Energy polar-pioneer-cut.jpg The Port of Seattle is violating its …
Monsanto has a simple purpose, writes Pete Dolack: to control the world's food supply, monopolizing seeds and agrochemicals to extract profit from every bite of food we eat. Caring nothing for the disease, poverty and destruction that it causes, it has suborned politicians, governments and regulators to its will. But millions are determined to stop it.
… hundreds of thousands into the streets of cities around the world on May 23, the third … over the world's food. More than 200 US cities, 47 Canadian cities, 22 French cities and 13 Argentine …
As the world inexorably warms, Roger Kemp shows how we can help to keep our buildings cool with roof gardens - or just with white paint. And if enough people do it, entire cities will become more cooler, more pleasant places to be when hot weather hits ...
… Virk | 15th April 2015 Comment Climate Change Cities Design white-roof-bermuda.jpg As the … paint. And if enough people do it, entire cities will become more cooler, more pleasant … getting hot in the city, and our overheated cities are only going to get hotter still as …
Detroit is the site of a neoliberal experiment that's already being repeated elsewhere, writes Chris Grove, with unpayable debt used to force the privatization of public services and the terminate democratic power and accountability. But as the city's poor find themselves cur off from water, a new, wider conception of human rights is emerging from the wreckage.
… Chris Grove | 4th August 2015 News Water Cities USA Human Rights Politics Finance …
The idea of a 'good, or even great, Anthropocene' as promised in the Ecomodernist Manifesto is purely delusional, writes Derrick Jensen. Worse, it underlies a narrative in which the wholesale destruction of nature and of sustainable indigenous societies is repackaged as a noble mission - one whose ultimate purpose is the complete alienation of humans from the planet that spawned us.
… that sunlight never touched the ground into cities and deserts. The Egyptians and … farmers forced from their land and into cities would agree they're living in a time of … natural world as violence. He also said that cities could exist under such a society. I …