Issue 520 of New Internationalist
Reader-owned global journalism
July-August 2019
The right to the city
Cities can be equal parts seductive and threatening. Seductive in their promises to the individual of being part of something bigger; of upward mobility; of available sanctums of human creativity and culture; of a menu for varied appetites and a space for everyone (especially sexual minorities). Threatening in their usually elevated criminality; their dispersal of community; their naked expressions of rat race and money power as the baselines for survival; their lack of space for everyone (especially those on lower incomes).
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Included in this issue
Progress and its discontents
According to Bill Gates, Steven Pinker and the like, the world has never been better and global poverty is shrinking. Jason...
Spectacle and reality in Rio
Sporting mega-events purport to boost civic pride and economic growth. But their true legacy is one of rampant gentrification,...
How private equity eroded the right to housing
The UN expert on housing explains how, almost overnight, private equity firms became the biggest landlords in the world.
Mixed media: music
From Palestinian hip hop to the spoken word wizardry of South London, Malcolm Lewis and Louise Gray review sounds from around...
The architecture of cruelty
Architecture is never neutral, explains Laith Kharus Whitwham. But can it be made to truly serve the public?
The radical book review
Jo Lateu and Peter Whittaker weigh up the latest releases in radical publishing.
Small city, big dreams
India’s rapidly expanding cities attract young dreamers like magnets. Snigdha Poonam observes how the horizon of promise keeps...
The filmmaker bringing survivor stories to light
Leesa Gazi speaks to Subi Shah about Rising Silence — her film about the women sexually assaulted during the Bangladesh...
Am I doomed to become conservative?
Agony Uncle responds to a troubled 20-something-year-old who worries he’ll lose his radical commitments as he gets older.
The Saudi street artist speaking truth to power
Ms Saffaa talks to Alessio Perrone about the inspiration for her murals and why Saudi women need a different narrative.
Five paths to combatting climate breakdown
Climate breakdown is in the spotlight. Danny Chivers offers five ways to seize the moment.
Past issues
You can see our whole archive on the past magazines page.
A world to win
The cost of greed crisis
Take back the land
Whose railway is it anyway?
Rivers of life
How we stop Big Oil
Jailbreak: reimagining justice
Romani lives matter
Shifting horizons: the future of work
Who gets to eat?
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