Quarterly Round-up

Each week Global Local focuses on a different topic, highlighting innovative content and insights from LGIU and our members around the world.

Over the last quarter, we've continued to provide a local perspective on headline topics, such as the role of local government during periods of public mourning – in light of Queen Elizabeth II’s death – and an edition that explored the lively debate around short-term rentals.

On the other hand, we've also explored some often-overlooked topics, showcasing innovation and inspiration in areas like public toilet provisions and tackling the global addiction crisis. 

With every topic we address, we always aim to highlight best practice case studies and fresh thinking and research. If you’d like to get involved and share your story on a global platform, tell us all about your experiences here. And, as always, thank you for reading and supporting Global Local.

In July, we hosted a Global Local Executive Panel, with the Victorian Local Governance Association (VLGA), to discuss planning for biodiversity and creating green spaces in urban areas. Alongside the insights we gained from hearing from a range of global Chief Executive speakers, we wanted to explore this topic in-depth even further, particular focusing on case study examples.

As a result, we created a Global Local newsletter to highlight the various local strategies being implemented all around the world to support biodiversity. This edition included a new briefing which outlined the increasingly popular strategy of ‘mainstreaming biodiversity’ and explains what that actually looks like in practice.

Across the summer months, we touched on some exciting areas of technology, focusing on how it can be utilised to assist and improve some of the remits that fall under the umbrella of local government. 

First of all, we looked at the use of emerging technologies in the education field – think AI, learning analytics, virtual reality and robotics. In this newsletter, we reviewed a wide range of examples of how these technologies are implemented within educational settings while also investigating the policy and ethical implications that come from these types of technological developments. Asking the question, what does this really mean for the future of education in a post-pandemic world?

In August, we also turned our attention to the global addiction crisis, an escalating issue which has only been exacerbated by the Covid-19 pandemic. We highlighted the significant role local government has to play in organising, funding and facilitating addiction treatment.

In the newsletter, our featured briefing covers the creation and lasting legacy of the controversial (yet impactful) Iceland model for discouraging teen alcohol and drug use. We also closely examine the growing addiction crisis across Canada and the UK, while focusing on the inventive methods that are currently being used to tackle addiction issues on a local level.

This quarter, we’ve pinpointed some critical housing concerns in Global Local. First of all, we focused on how local authorities can better use housing and infrastructure to plan for inclusion by removing barriers for disabled people. Our featured article provides an overview of the global challenges of creating accessible housing while outlining target areas for local government to focus on in an endeavour to seek impactful change that closes the supply gap.

We explored two very different, but equally interesting issues on the topic of transport and infrastructure. In terms of transport, we decided to analyse how local policy can facilitate improved uptake and management of electric vehicles. Although the case for electric vehicles is increasingly evident, in light of global climate change commitments, making them the rule rather than the exception on our roads is another matter entirely – as we find out in our featured content which investigates the implications of the accelerating global shift to electric vehicles.

In the wake of Queen Elizabeth II’s death in mid-September, we altered our publication schedule to create a special edition which reflects on the role that local government plays during periods of public mourning.

In this newsletter, we address the global impact of the Queen of England’s death, including a round-up of tributes from local government all around the world that honoured her commitment to public service. We also shared resources from cities that are working to become more compassionate by supporting individuals and their loved ones through death and dying – a difficult but critical role for all community leaders.

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