News & Comment

In this interview from late November 2023, James Anderson, Bloomberg Philanthropies’ Government Innovation Lead, discusses the role of philanthropy in addressing urban research and problems.

Most of what I know of street art and graffiti, I learned by walking the streets of Bogotá, Colombia. Like most people, I initially did not notice that my hometown was saturated with murals and pieces, as well as hastily executed stencils, tags and throw-ups. But just like a gestalt image, once you shift your gaze towards the street, you start seeing them, and then there is no turning back. My fascination with these strange letters and images, done mostly by anonymous artists, led me to start thinking through the tensions and contradictions embedded in our public spaces and eventually to writing my master’s thesis on Bogotá’s street art and graffiti culture.

There are many definitions of what a city is, but most seem to stress the importance of density. However, whether it be the density of people, buildings, goods, services or species, the interactions among these factors are also key in determining this definition. Cities consist of more than cement and humans; they contain complex inter-relationships among different species living in close proximity, the proximity of which intensifies their interactions. How does nature influence cities and vice versa? And how do these influences inform our understanding of the nature of cities? The content in this issue illustrates these ideas with examples from around the world.

As urban challenges mount, community-driven placemaking is gaining traction, with cities empowering residents to shape public spaces like parks and plazas through informal partnerships and decentralized decision-making. This global shift toward a range of partnerships is reshaping urban governance from the ground up.

US cities are regulating private use of technology more actively than the federal government, but the likely effects of this phenomenon are unclear. City lawmaking could make up for national regulatory shortfalls, but only if cities can thread the needle of special interests and partisanship.

Leonie Sandercock’s five-decade career has been instrumental in shaping and shifting the field of urban planning to recognize and incorporate feminist, indigenous and intercultural worldviews and to pursue social, cultural and environmental justice. Her World View reflects on the importance of local, community-engaged action to grow ‘beloved community’ with an ethos of interconnectedness.

An early image in your mind’s eye can frame your view of a city. Poet Arundhathi Subramaniam leverages a literal window to consider lessons from her evolving relationship with Bombay.

In this interview, sociologist María José Álvarez-Rivadulla talks about her experience with urban research in Latin America and the USA. She also reflects on the Global South’s contributions to urban scholarship.

We are urbanizing Earth, drawing ever more people and supporting resources into cities. As we grapple with the varied but related implications, the time is ripe for an outlet focused integratively on this broad horizon.

Born in Colombia 50 years ago, a simple concept is providing the ground for new experiments in cities of the Global South.