The ‘zombie subdivision’ is a phenomenon identified by the Lincoln Institute as ‘once- promising projects’ now ‘distressed’, with the fulfilment of plans or visions for the site effectively stalled. Services such as water, electricity, and roads are often absent in these areas, leaving them partially- occupied, or more often, completely vacant.

To celebrate five years of Policy Forum, their special InFocus section is hearing back from the authors of some of the most popular articles on some crucial policy questions. In this article, Patrick Cooney reflects on what has and hasn’t changed since 2014, and on where policy needs to be headed in the five years...

Adequately designed and implemented public policies have the power to transform economies and improve the quality of life of citizens, writes Sandra Naranjo Bautista.

There is an increasing awareness that policies do not succeed or fail on their own merits. This article unpicks the key factors behind policy failure, explores different approaches to policy support, and identifies some key messages for policy practitioners.

Social-ecological systems are breaking down at local, regional, and global scales, and sustainability seems an increasingly distant aspiration. Social harmony and economic systems are connected to ecological systems and climate, in multiple complex ways, at many scales.