Peer2Politics

What would it be like if city governments, instead of relying chiefly on bureaucratic rules and programs, actually invited citizens to take their own initiatives to improve city life?  That’s what the city of Bologna, Italy, is doing, and it amounts to a landmark reconceptualization of how government might work in cooperation with citizens.  Ordinary people acting as commoners are invited to enter into a “co-design process” with the city to manage public spaces, urban green zones, abandoned buildings and other urban issues.

Spain’s recent municipal and regional elections have transformed the entire political scene. New citizen coalitions with roots in community groups allied with small progressive political parties won unexpected victories in several large cities. This, plus the fact that two new national political parties – Podemos and Ciudadanos – burst decisively onto the political stage in the regional elections, has blocked the bipartisan (PP-PSOE) system created with the 1975 democratic transition. Victorious in 7 major cities throughout the country, including the 3 largest ones (Madrid, Barcelona, Valencia), these coalitions open the door to a different sort of transition, questioning the dominant political culture and mentality, and in most cases putting in place minority governments, thus obliging various parties to negotiate joint platforms. It is interesting to note that Podemos, the young political party that made a surprise showing in the 2014 European elections and made strong gains on the regional level this year, decided not to present its own candidates in the municipal elections, but rather participated in or – more frequently – supported the new citizen coalitions in various cities.