The geo-constitution: Understanding the intersection of geography and political institutions

This is the author accepted manuscript. The final version is available from SAGE Publications via the DOI in this record.This paper draws on existing work in the discipline of human geography and cognate fields in order to develop the concept of the ‘geo-constitution’. This concept aims to: (1) highlight the importance of intersections between geography and political institutions in the constitution of government; (2) consider the path-dependent development of political institutions and their impact on statecraft and citizenship; (3) explore the implications of this for political reform. The paper provides an overview of current thinking in political geography and applies the concept of the geo-constitution to the example of devolution and localism in the United Kingdom

Citizenship in flux: The figure of the activist citizen

Throughout the twentieth century the figure of citizenship that has been dominant since the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries has begun to change. We have witnessed the emergence of new rights including ecological, sexual and indigenous rights as well as blurring of the boundaries between human and civil, political and social rights and the articulation of rights by (and to) cities, regions and across states. We have witnessed the birth of new ‘acts of citizenship’: both organized and spontaneous protests to include situationist and carnivalesque forms. We have also witnessed the emergence of ‘activist’ international courts (and judges), as well as new media and social networking as sites of struggles. How subjects act to become citizens and claim citizenship has thus substantially changed. This article interprets these developments as heralding a new figure of citizenship, and begins the important task of developing a new vocabulary by which it can be understood

A Tale of Two ObesCities: The Role of Municipal Governance in Reducing Childhood Obesity in New York City and London

As rates of childhood obesity and overweight rise around the world, researchers and policy makers seek new ways to reverse these trends. Given the concentration of the world’s population, income inequalities, unhealthy diets, and patterns of physical activity in cities, urban areas bear a disproportionate burden of obesity. To address these issues, in 2008, researchers from the City University of New York and London Metropolitan University created the Municipal Responses to Childhood Obesity Collaborative. The Collaborative examined three questions: What role has city government played in responding to childhood obesity in each jurisdiction? How have municipal governance structures in each city influenced its capacity to respond effectively? How can policy and programmatic interventions to reduce childhood obesity also reduce the growing socioeconomic and racial/ethnic inequities in its prevalence? Based on a review of existing initiatives in London and New York City, the Collaborative recommended 11 broad strategies by which each city could reduce childhood obesity. These recommendations were selected because they can be enacted at the municipal level; will reduce socioeconomic and racial/ethnic inequalities in obesity; are either well supported by research or are already being implemented in one city, demonstrating their feasibility; build on existing city assets; and are both green and healthy