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by Joanna Merwood-Salisbury, Professor of Architecture, Victoria University of Wellington Public space is an essential component of democratic cities. Modelled on the agora of ancient Greece, it is a marketplace for the exchange of goods and ideas, a place where public affairs are debated and disputes resolved. But historically, access was restricted. Famously, the classical agora was...

As the Citadel of Free Speech here in Cleveland, we work to protect and promote the basis of our democracy by sharing related stories, commentary, and opinions on free speech in the 21st century. Here's what's making the news – and what you should know about – in the past week. 1.) Blasphemy laws are quietly...

by Catesby Holmes, The Conversation Nearly 40,000 fires are incinerating Brazil’s Amazon rainforest, the latest outbreak in an overactive fire season that has charred 1,330 square miles of the rainforest this year. Don’t blame dry weather for the swift destruction of the world’s largest tropical forest, say environmentalists. These Amazonian wildfires are a human-made disaster, set by...

by Chris Berry, partner at Green Block Group We are now under 500 days until the general election, and the third Democratic presidential primary debate is less than a month away. Roughly two-dozen Democrats are running for their party's nomination to challenge President Donald Trump. This will be an election season like no other as the...