Blog

This blog is a space for knowledge-sharing, opinion, advocacy and debate, both between UCLG members and the wider international local and regional government community. Contributions and comments are welcome from anyone who is interested in how sub-national governments can make the world a better place for their citizens.

Read on to discover the most varied, up-to-date and innovative initiatives of local governments and their partners from across the globe.

Mexico City creates urban lab to test fresh city ideas
Blog
Urban Agenda, Urban innovation - 18/12/2013
Add Mexico City to the list of metropolises investing in the science of urban innovation. Under the direction of Mayor Miguel Ángel Mancera, who took office in 2012, the city has launched Laboratorio para la Ciudad (Laboratory for the City), Forbes reports. (+)
Is Data the key to Creating People-Centric Cities?
Blog
Smart Cities, Sustainability - 02/01/2014
This year's IBM 5 in 5 (5 predictions for the next 5 years) heralds a new era where systems will learn, reason and engage with us in a more natural and personalized way.  This is great news for cities, and indeed one of our 5 predictions is that within the next 5 years, cities will enter a... (+)
Leaders Around the World Move to Citizen-Based Services
Blog
Smart Cities - 27/11/2013
By Michael Dixon, General Manager, IBM Smarter Cities Cities have never been more attractive, with people all over the world migrating to them from near and far. However, with them comes a range of significant challenges that city leaders must tackle. A new report from Frost and Sullivan ... (+)
City, metropolis, region in the same trajectory 1913-2013
Blog
Urban Agenda, 100 years - 26/08/2013
By Josep Roig. Secretary General of United Cities and Local Governments (UCLG) 1913: In the summer of 1913, in Death Valley, temperatures of over 52°C were recorded over 10 consecutive days and on the 10th of July it reached 57°C, the highest temperature ever recorded. On the 27 of July... (+)
How Accra, Ghana, is Taking Steps to Become an African Success Story
Blog
Access to basic services - 19/08/2013
By Alfred Vanderpuije, Mayor of Accra, Ghana / Source: IBM As Mayor of Accra and Chief Executive of the Accra Metropolitan Assembly, I would say that there are few areas as crucial for infrastructure investment as cities. At the top of my agenda is Accra and the transformation of its existing systems... (+)
Kadir Topbaş, Mayor of Istanbul and President of UCLG
Interview: 3 questions with Kadir Topbaş, Mayor of Istanbul and President of UCLG
Blog
Millennium Development Goals (MDGs), Habitat III, Global Taskforce - 06/08/2013
1. What are your expectations for the Rabat 2013 World Summit? For us, 1996 (Habitat II in Istanbul) was an important milestone. This event marked the beginning of the unification process of the global movement that culminated in 2004 in the birth of UCLG becoming the unified voice of local and... (+)

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