When Matúš Vallo attended CityLab in 2015, he didn’t just pick up a few business cards and ideas to take back home. He got career advice that changed his life’s trajectory. At the time, Vallo was an architect and activist in Bratislava, advocating for better public spaces in Slovakia's capital city. At CityLab, held in London that year, he spoke with a couple of mayors who had also previously been activists. “There’s nothing bad about being an activist,” Vallo recalls them saying. “But to achieve what you really want, to change the city for good, you have to go into politics.” That’s when Vallo decided to run for mayor. He went on to win election last November, and true to his hopes as an activist, has already added seating to public squares and reclaimed street space for pedestrians. “I really believe cities are the future,” Vallo said. “They’re where we're going to make government responsive to the people.”
|