‘Talk of the Town’ focuses on cities and their significance across Europe and beyond, both as the site of key transformations and new dynamics, but also as political actors in their own right.

Hailed as the new political centre and the battleground of our times, the role of cities today, across Europe and beyond, seems to have reached unprecedented significance. The dynamics of urbanisation, deindustrialisation, and globalisation are central in the transformations our cities are undergoing today. At the local level, campaigns and policies around urban planning, mobility, public services, and green spaces also have a defining impact. The gulf between rural and urban life, the critical threat of climate change, as well as the potential offered by European and international networks and alliances between cities, are also refashioning our conception of cities and their political agency. Constantly changing and adapting, the city seems to be universally distinguished by its vibrant, mercurial nature. In this edition, the Green European Journal contends that this open-endedness presents both a challenge and an opportunity to harness the city’s energy, and direct it towards a more human, just, and sustainable course.

This edition is dedicated to Erica Meijers, one of the founders of the Green European Journal and a member of its editorial board, and to Beatrice White, its deputy editor-in-chief, both of whom are moving on in 2017. The Journal thanks them for their endless support and wishes them all the best in their new life adventures.