Contributions
Empowering Cities: Financing the Climate Transformation How can we finance the transformation to the zero carbon city?
Cities are a major cause of greenhouse gas pollution. However, they are also the places driving change: From modernizing buildings to making mobility sustainable, cities have plenty of tools at their disposal to become climate-neutral. But the ecological transformation is expensive. So where does the money come from?
Recap: New Urban Progress Explores Germany Our first of two New Urban Progress delegation trips took our fellows to Berlin, Leipzig and the Ruhr Valley
A capital shaped by competing visions, an east German city in the midst of a comeback, and a sprawling post-industrial metropolis tackling 21st-century transformations head-on: The first of two delegation trips brought our New Urban Progress fellows to Berlin, Leipzig, and the Ruhr Valley – urban spaces in Germany that are defining the future of the city.
Germany’s Political Turning Point: Just Change or Also Progress? New "Talking Progress" Podcast episode: Ricarda Lang and Tobias Dürr analyse the German election
The 2021 German Election brought a decisive vote for change: Merkel’s center-right party lost points, while the Social Democrats and the Greens made meaningful gains. But what are the implications? In this new episode of the „Talking Progress“ podcast, Ricarda Lang, Jeremy Cliffe, and Tobias Dürr discuss how a new social-green-liberal coalition can be successful.
Germany’s Political Turning Point: Just Change or Also Progress? Analysing progress and the post-Merkel political landscape
Under the shadow of the Covid-19 pandemic, the beginning of the 2020s has also been politically marked by generation-defining elections. Less than one year after Joe Biden’s historic victory in the United States and half a year before France heads to the polls, Germany voted for change: Merkel’s center-right party lost points, while the Social Democrats and the Greens made meaningful gains. Ricarda Lang, Jeremy Cliffe, and Tobias Dürr discuss the implications.
Germany has voted for change. But will the result from the 2021 German Election deliver progress? Join newly elected Green Member of Parliament Ricarda Lang, Jeremy Cliffe, and Tobias Dürr as they dissect the election results, explore the different coalition options, and what it all means for progressives in Germany, Europe and North America.
Europe’s Man on the Moon Project New "Talking Progress" Podcast episode: A Conversation between Robert Habeck and Margrethe Vestager
How can regulatory frameworks best serve people while also upholding democratic principles? Tune in to an exclusive one-on-one conversation between the Executive Vice President of the European Commission for the Digital Age and Competition, Margrethe Vestager, and the Co-Chairman of the German Green Party, Robert Habeck.
Join us for an online panel discussion with Elisabeth Niejahr, Thomas Kleine-Brockhoff and moderator Sumi Somaskanda on Wednesday, 15 September 2021, 6:00 p.m. (Berlin), 12:00 p.m. (D.C.).
How Can the Centre-Left Reinvent Itself? New "Talking Progress" Podcast episode with Tim Bale, André Krouwel and Ania Skrzypek
What does the future hold for social democratic parties and the centre-left? Political scientists Tim Bale and André Krouwel discuss how overarching narratives and a sharpened ideological compass can help progressive big-tent parties regain much-needed trust. Tune in as these experts debate and recommend paths forward for centre-left parties across Europe.
Progressives Against the Far-Right New "Talking Progress" Podcast episode with Catherine de Vries, Cas Mudde and Johannes Hillje
National lockdowns, vaccine rollout strategies, and the shutdown of international travel have introduced the national framework as a dominating force. Tune in to this episode to hear Catherine de Vries and Cas Mudde discuss what this all means for the electoral chances of right-wing populists and how progressives must respond right now.
Empowering Cities: The American Rescue Plan How are cities using Biden’s stimulus package to drive change?
The American Rescue Plan is pumping 1.9 trillion dollars into citizen’s pockets, the economy, and measures against the Covid-19 pandemic. What has this meant for cities and urban spaces? Two former mayors discuss how cities can use this funding to build back better.
From 9-11 June the progressive community came together for the 2021 Progressive Governance Digital Summit (PGS21) to debate how to make the 2020s a decade of progress. With the pandemic warranting bold action, speakers and participants focused on how to seize the current momentum to implement progressive change.
The online summit hosted more than 30 sessions and focused on transformation, democracy, progressive leadership, and Europe’s role in a multilateral world from 09 to 11 June 2021. Justin Trudeau, Olaf Scholz, Margrethe Vestager, Nadia Calviño, Ardalan Shekarabi, Robert Habeck, Jagmeet Singh, Leonore Gewessler and up to 75 other speakers from Europe and North America participated in the grand event.
At the beginning of 2021, the world waited in anticipation for Joe Biden to be inaugurated the 46th President of the United States and the first woman Vice-President, Kamala Harris. 100 days later, what is the state of democracy in the United States and the transatlantic partnership?
A Nation Seeking Redemption The Biden administration must atone for the past four years by delivering tangible relief, recovery, and reform.
Joe Biden is the 46th President of the United States. From the minute he is sworn in, his administration will begin working on reversing many of his predecessor’s legacies on climate change, immigration, and domestic policy. Underlying these efforts will be the challenge of unifying a country in an era of rampant disinformation. To guide the country through this fact-rejecting fog and towards social and economic justice, the new administration must deliver visible relief and recovery.
2020 started with the urgent challenges of mitigating climate change, soothing disaffection with democracy, and easing anxiety about jobs disappearing due to technological progress. Little did we know all these concerns would only become more pronounced with the emergence of the global pandemic of COVID19, affecting all, but not everybody equally.
Alongside every other nation in the world, both Germany and the United States have to deal with the challenges described. In a multilateral world, where cooperation is a key to success, these common difficulties can only be overcome by exchanging best practices and building enough political will and trust in order to tackle them together.
We believe that cities and metropolitan areas play an ever more important role in sustaining and further developing the close historical, cultural, economic and political ties between the United States and Germany.
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About the Paper
This working paper was written based on the results of two conferences held in 2020 in the United States and Germany, focusing on the most pressing issues ahead of cities today when it comes to inclusive growth, sustainability, democratic governance. We want to reflect upon the challenges that cities and metropolitan areas in both countries are facing today, look beyond their local level activity and identify these urban spaces as internationally relevant actors, capable of not only tackling global challenges at the local level but also strengthening the transatlantic alliance from the bottom up.
This working paper sets the scene for further activities within the New Urban Progress project, bringing together German and U.S. perspectives in a spirit of mutual understanding and the pursuit of a common goal: making German and U.S. cities transatlantic changemakers and trendsetters for a more prosperous future.
New Urban Progress is the joint metro initiative of Das Progressive Zentrum, Alfred Herrhausen Gesellschaft and the Progressive Policy Institute. The project is supported by the Transatlantic Program of the Federal Republic of Germany and funded by the European Recovery Program (ERP) of the Federal Ministry of Economics and Energy (BMWi).
2020 US Elections: Unpacking the Week Analysis and commentary on the 2020 US Election curated by our in-house Californian Diego Rivas.
November 3rd was a historic election day in the United States, which melted into a week of waiting and commentary. What political victories did the Democrats score and what is the future for them as a party? Diego Rivas unpacks the election week with a review of the stories that defined this historic vote.
The Democrats are locked in a head to head race under a unified, broad coalition on the national level – against Trump. However, winning the Senate and the House will determine if it is even possible to work towards a just normality that represents the people and reflects their hopes and desires. Diego Rivas analyses the US Elections and opportunities for progressive change.
In den letzten fünf Jahren sind viele politische Systeme rechtspopulistischen Parteien und Tendenzen zum Opfer gefallen. Die aktuelle globale Gesundheitslage und die Klimakrise verstärken diese Bedrohung. Mutige Antworten sind dringend gefordert. Progressive Akteure müssen jedoch Siege an der Wahlurne erreichen, bevor sie ihre Visionen umsetzen können. Larry Cohen und Bettina Martin diskutierten.
Bekanntgabe unserer New Urban Progress Projekt-Fellows
Am 1. Oktober startet der transatlantische Dialog der 20 VordenkerInnen aus Deutschland und den USA. Die Projekt-Fellows erden sich damit beschäftigen, wie Städte mit globalen Herausforderungen umgehen und dabei gleichzeitig urbane Räume demokratisieren können.
Vom 17. bis 20. August treffen sich knapp 4.000 Delegierte zum Parteitag der Demokratischen Partei der USA. Aufgrund der Corona-Pandemie findet die Veranstaltung dieses Jahr nur online statt. Diego Rivas, DPZ-Teammitglied und Vorsitzender der Democrats Abroad Berlin, ist einer der TeilnehmerInnen und Delegierter von Bernie Sanders.