“Think globally, act locally.’’ This isn’t just a slogan. It’s a deep conviction shared by a growing number of elected officials, experts and citizens around the world: Cities — especially the large ones — can and must play a leading role in solving the complex problems of our time. This new mission is driven by growing urbanization, which is happening world-wide; more than half of the world’s population now lives in urban areas.

City diplomacy luminary and Attorney Michael Shuman, a leader of the former Center for Innovative Diplomacy, reminds us that local government participation in foreign affairs is enumerated in and protected by the Constitution. Thus, when American local governments responded to the threat of nuclear annihilation vis-à-vis the U.S. arms race with the Soviet Union, to the federal government’s inadequate response to Apartheid, and to other problems from the federal-level, the resultant municipal activism was not only legal, it was defining of American federalism.

Designated car-free zones, intelligent traffic management system, wi-fi spots, 24X7 water supply, smart power system is what you can expect to get under the Smart City project. [...] As in foreign countries, Chandigarh would also have a public bicycle-sharing system. Recently an expression of interest was called from a company that can offer 10,000 cycles at 600 various points in the city.

If the idea of Brand Bengaluru conjures up images of glittering high-rises, a shining IT sector and bad traffic, think again! Brand expert Harish Bijoor, who runs a brand consulting outfit from Bengaluru, has a very different notion of the word ‘branding’. The image of a city, he maintains, is more than its infrastructure, causes and shortcomings

Museums across New York are waging a cultural war on prejudice in Donald Trump's America, flexing the soft power of art and photography to compound the city-wide climate of protest. From talks about Islamic art to a Muslim exhibition, swapping Picasso and Matisse for Iranian, Sudanese and Iraqi artists and extending a children's exhibition, museums have dreamt up multiple ways to promote art and education in the wake of Trump's short-lived travel ban.

The British Council in the Philippines and Metropolitan Manila Development Authority (MMDA) recently launched the ‘Art for Urban Change’ partnership. The tie-up  aims to contribute to more liveable and creative cities, and includes the creation of site-specific artworks on pumping stations found along Pasig River, a traveling art exhibition, and the creation of a public art advisory group.