We have a new role': mayors across the world increasingly taking on society's biggest challenges

"In Budapest, it was a call to flout the Hungarian government's ban on Pride that catapulted the city's mayor into the headlines. In Barcelona it was a bold plan to rid the city one of Europe's most visited of tourist flats by late 2028. And in Paris, it was a drastic makeover; one that included making the Seine swimmable and turning its car-clogged riverbanks into pedestrian-friendly areas."

"We've realised that the global problems we're all facing require local solutions. When he took the reins in Barcelona in 2023, Collboni noticed that one topic came up repeatedly in his discussions with other mayors: the soaring cost of housing. The observation swiftly snowballed into Mayors for Housing, an unprecedented alliance of 17 mayors across the continent seeking solutions to the crisis."

Mayors are taking bold local actions on issues previously seen as national or international, using city power to tackle rights, tourism, housing, and urban design. Budapest experienced a call to defy a government ban on Pride that raised its mayor's profile. Barcelona proposed eliminating tourist flats by late 2028 and launched Mayors for Housing, a 17-city alliance to confront soaring housing costs. Paris pursued large-scale reshaping, making the Seine swimmable and converting car-clogged riverbanks into pedestrian areas. These municipal initiatives provoke international attention, spark political backlash, and reposition mayors as frontline problem-solvers.

Read at www.theguardian.com