But that outcome is far from certain, given that voter registration, which was due to end this week, seems to have been marred by widespread irregularities in places like Brcko, a contested town in the Serb Republic which the Muslims hope to gain after international arbitrators report next March.

ECONOMIST: The disunited state of Bosnia

That chapter is being written in places like Korsun-Shevchenkovsky, a town with 25, 000 inhabitants on the rolling plains of central Ukraine.

ECONOMIST: The East European shtetl

The law was revised in 1960 to allow additional licenses for every 3, 000 in population growth in a town, but places like Flemington, a borough of 4, 600 about an hour's drive west of Manhattan, haven't grown enough to gain significant numbers of new licenses.

WSJ: Town Centers Seek Another Shot at a Bar

Vervoordt's work can also be experienced right in the center of town at a trio of places tucked into and under Vlaeykensgang, a narrow, easily missed alley just off the pedestrian Oude Koornmarkt.

CNN: Flanders: Europe's best-kept design secret

"There's plenty of places where this could happen - you could have a moveable garden in every town or city in the country, " said Ms Collomb.

BBC: WI gardeners grow vegetables on St Leonards building site

In a city that is bereft of old-fashioned meeting places, bookshops are becoming the new town squares.

ECONOMIST: Life in Los Angeles

Rising public transport fares, cuts to bus services and the access to out-of-town discount stores a car allows, now make your own four wheels a necessity in all places except London.

BBC: Do you live above the bread, butter and jam line?

The ministers said councils must not force residents to buy "official" rubbish sacks from the town hall in places where people had to purchase their own bags, warning that authorities should not create a monopoly.

BBC: Council rubbish bin collection fines to be scrapped