When national governments stall, cities tend to carry on. A growing number of mayors and city officials now meet regularly with counterparts abroad, trading practical advice on flood defences, bus fleets and the management of public parks.
The meetings are low-key by design. Nobody signs a treaty. Delegations compare spreadsheets, visit each other’s depots and agree to share what worked.
Critics say the arrangement lacks democratic oversight. Supporters answer that most of the decisions involved are ones cities already make for themselves. What is new, they say, is the willingness to learn openly from one another.
Some of the quietest successes have been technical. Two river cities now share a flood-warning protocol, and a group of coastal towns has agreed a common standard for reporting beach water quality. Neither required a headline summit. Both required officials to trust the person at the other end of the phone.
