Amsterdam – Together with Clima e Mobilidade[1] and the Urban Movement Innovation Fund[2], Greenpeace International launched today a global Urban Movements Map, an interactive and crowdsourced platform offering information about grassroots groups, organisations and movements working on topics related to climate justice in cities across the world. This first edition of the map was launched to mark World Cities Day (31 October)[3].
A recent opinion poll commissioned by Greenpeace International in seven major cities in the Global South showed that governments are not perceived as the only ones capable of transforming cities. In fact, urban residents consider urban and social movements, along with their own communities, to have the greatest role in improving their quality of life. The poll also reveals that expectations around governments' roles are lower among people with low incomes, compared to wealthier urban residents.
"People know that the only way out of the climate crisis is through collective action. Cities come to life when communities come together to resist, dream and transform spaces into territories of social and climate justice, but this doesn't mean letting governments off the hook. On the contrary, organising communities and strengthening urban movements are crucial ways to make the voices of the most marginalised heard and to make sure decision-makers are held accountable," said Gabriela Vuolo, Urban Justice Global Campaign Leader, Greenpeace International.
From cycling groups in Manilla (Philippines) to the wastepickers' movements in Bogota (Colombia) and right to land organisations in Nairobi (Kenya), the map offers information about current urban movements to activists, media and communities who want to take part in local initiatives and spark collaboration between the existing groups, either geographically or issue-based. The map can also help to identify success stories which can serve as inspirations for other movements and communities around the world.
"It is in the collective that the most vulnerable territories today are finding ways out of the multiple crises we are experiencing: social, economic, health, security, housing, environmental and climate. It's time to strengthen more and more initiatives and shed light on the fact that there are millions of us, mainly in the global south and on the periphery of the capitalist system, acting in very creative ways and demanding immediate solutions from our local governments", said Aline Cavalcante, Director of Clima e Mobilidade.
"The challenges and barriers faced by activists and movements are often similar from one city to the other, and the same is true for the solutions and inspiration coming from these urban initiatives. There are examples of how our cities could be greener, safer, fairer, and more inclusive. This map can be a powerful tool to help us to join forces and learn from each other, while replicating and scaling up ideas that are already out there, transforming urban lives," added Vuolo.
The map is a part of the Urban October initiatives carried out by Greenpeace International and will be updated with information about featured groups, as well as the addition of new movements and organisations.
