About

The Co-City Framework was co-developed by legal scholars Sheila Foster and Christian Iaione through LabGov, a platform Iaione launched in 2011 to explore collaborative urban governance. Their early work in Bologna, Italy, led to the award-winning Co-Bologna project, a pioneering initiative where residents partnered with city officials to revitalize public spaces. This became the foundation for the Co-Cities Project, which has since mapped nearly 200 cities and analyzed hundreds of community-led initiatives worldwide.

LabGov designs and implements legal, financial, and digital tools that help cities build co-governance structures to manage shared resources. Led by Sheila Foster, Professor at Columbia Climate School, LabGov partners directly with U.S. cities on projects spanning housing, broadband access, and urban regeneration—applying the Co-City Framework to address local challenges through systematic co-governance approaches.

To learn more about the global LabGov network, visit labgov.city