One of the ways we call functional cities is monotowns. They are part our history for a long long time, since the industrial revolution begun. Nowadays 20% of all Russians live and work in the monotowns. Some time ago monotowns as such were vital and beneficial for country’s economic system. But now, after the crisis,…
Month: January 2017

Youth Involvement in Urban Planning in Riga
Public space, is continuously overcrowded in urbanised cities, but in shrinking cities has been left to deteriorate by conjunction, privatization, bad urban planning and design and overall neglect. But, by neglecting the public space, we are neglecting the people in it. One of the most vulnerable groups in the society is youth, as they use…

The Dutch Green Party campaign in the City of Leiden
At the start of this semester I decided to take a gap year due to certain circumstances. I wanted to spend my time by getting involved in the election campaign of the Dutch Green Party. In Leiden, the local campaigners were still looking for a second volunteering coordinator. I became coordinator on short notice, and…

Rebuffing the Mediterranean Gem
Malta, dubbed over the years as the Mediterranean Gem, has over the past few decades been tricked into the hands of the elite who seem to be playing Minecraft with our land. The very limited countryside and public open spaces are being lost to relentless development. Urban sprawl is gnawing away at our green lungs,…