Governing typically focuses on U.S. states and cities. But in an increasingly global world, there are issues and innovations from other countries that may help inform governance here at home. For our first-ever International Issue, we explore some of the best ideas and biggest challenges beyond America's borders.

FEATURES

• Singapore Strives to Become 'The Smartest City'
• By: David Hatch
• Singapore is using data to redefine what it means to be a 21st-century metropolis.

• Vienna Offers Affordable and Luxurious Housing
• By: Ryan Holeywell
• Vienna has figured out how to offer high-quality apartments with low-cost rent and renters' rights that would be unheard of in the United States. Advocates say it's a model worth examining.

• What China's Unique Urbanization Can Teach America
• By: Alan Greenblatt
• Nineteen of the 20 fastest-growing cities in the world last year were in China.

• Performance-Based College Funding is Coming Stateside
• By: Dylan Scott
• For years, states have dallied over pay-for-performance in higher education. In Britain, they've been doing it for decades.

• Why Isn't the U.S. Better at Public-Private Partnerships?
• By: Ryan Holeywell
• Few states have offices dedicated to examining increasingly popular P3 deals. Experts say it's time to copy Canada and change that.

• The $20 Eye Surgery That Could Save the World
• By: Dylan Scott
• At India's innovative Aravind hospitals, each doctor performs as many as 2,000 cataract surgeries annually.

POLITICS + POLICY

• Iceland Writes the World's 1st Crowdsourced Constitution
• By: Liz Farmer
• Some U.S. cities have dabbled in crowdsourcing -- asking citizens to help solve problems via the Internet -- but replicating Iceland’s approach on such a large scale may be hard.

• Mexico City's Recycling Incentive: More Food
• By: Mike Maciag
• Mexico City has a massive trash problem that's partially caused by citizens' resistance to recycle. To encourage them to do so, the city gives residents food vouchers in exchange for their recyclable waste.

• Post-Disaster New Zealand Finds Use for Vacant Spaces
• By: Liz Farmer
• A town destroyed by two earthquakes shows U.S. states and cities what they can do with areas decimated by natural disasters.

• Vancouver Offers Drug Users a Safe Place to Shoot Up
• By: Ryan Holeywell
• In an effort to reduce HIV rates that were approaching development-world levels, a government-run facility in the Canadian city welcomes people to use illegal substances under the supervision of medical professionals.

• What Privacy Means to Americans vs. Europeans
• By: Paul W. Taylor
• Experts are worried that disparate privacy rules between the two could pose a threat to future growth.

• Local Pot Laws Conflict with National Policies Worldwide
• By: Donald F. Kettl
• The United States isn't the only place where local pot policies clash with national laws. Even Amsterdam and the Dutch government have struggled with this tension.

• A Powerful Central Government Loosens the Reins
• By: Ryan Holeywell

• Can Iran's Health-House Model Help Mississippi Reduce Disparities?
• By: David Levine
• Health-care stakeholders are watching Mississippi's experience with a system created in Iran in the 1980s closely to see if it's worth promoting nationwide.

• Africa Shows the Power of Growing Trees from Seed
• By: Elizabeth Daigneau
• Storms, disease and the rigors of urban life have caused high mortality rates among trees in the United States. African countries found trees that sprout naturally are more resilient.

• U.S. Cities Consider Capping Parking Spots
• By: Tod Newcombe
• Cars are being kept out of popular pedestrian areas worldwide and the movement is coming stateside.

• Can Bigger Government Help America's Internet Issue?
• By: Alex Marshall
• Many foreign countries provide faster, cheaper and more widespread Internet access than the United States. In most of them, governments are much more involved with telecom policies and funding.

PROBLEM SOLVER

• How Do U.S. Health Costs Compare to Other Countries?
• By: Mike Maciag

• Cities Strengthening Bonds with Their International Sisters
• By: Katherine Barrett & Richard Greene
• There's a new push to get these 2,000 international partnerships working together on concrete development programs.

• The Emerging Power of China's Auditors
• By: Mark Funkhouser

• Government Technology Ideas Worth Importing
• By: Steve Towns
• These best e-government practices aren't from this side of the pond.

• Muni Bonds' Future May Lie in Foreign Investors' Hands
• By: Justin Marlowe
• Foreign investors matter to the municipal bond market for two reasons.

Training Opportunities

• Accelerating Economic Growth and Vitality
• This white paper describes how developing competencies in five key area can help public safety agencies more effectively do their jobs in the face of extremely important and difficult sets of issues.
• Crime Prediction and Prevention


• FutureStructure: A New Framework