The increasing influence of Bloomberg Philanthropies on cash-strapped city governments raises questions about the reliability of philanthropy over the long term – and its democratic legitimacy.

If New Zealand wants to see real improvement in community-level services and infrastructure, we need to finally make a decision on the true purpose of regional, city and district councils.

City deals are being touted as the answer to NZ’s local infrastructure problems. Lessons from the UK and Australia suggest greater transparency and more coherent planning should be on the table too.

New research shows giving women more resources to balance their competing work and domestic lives would help even gender disparity at all levels of political representation.

A study of cities around the world that are developing innovative solutions to their problems has identified three key elements of success.