This presentation, for the Shared Assets '21st Century Commons' event in London on 5 December, explores current thinking about the commons and considers how it challenges conventional views of urban regeneration and development.

1. A 21st century commons:
from economic tragedy to reclaiming the streets
Julian Dobson, director, Urban Pollinators

2. “Commons” is becoming a charged word,
following a path similar to those taken by words
such as “sustainability” and “resilience”, raised
as a banner under which an increasing variety of
people and organisations which to place
themselves.
Dougald Hine, 2013

3. ‘THE COMMON’
A PLACE TO BE FREE, BUT NOT A FREE-FOR-ALL

4. THE REAL TRAGEDY OF THE COMMONS
...IS ENCLOSURE AND PRIVATISATION, NOT ACCESS AND AVAILABILITY

5. ‘The inherent logic of the commons
remorselessly generates tragedy...
Freedom in a commons brings ruin to all’
Garrett Hardin, The Tragedy of the Commons,
1968

6. ‘Commoning has always been local. It depends
on custom, memory and oral transmission for
the maintenance of its norms rather than law,
police and media.’
Peter Linebaugh, The Magna Carta Manifesto,
2008

7. THE ‘NEW COMMONS’ OF THE 21ST CENTURY
FROM PERMITTED ACCESS TO PRODUCTIVE VALUE

8. ‘We are seeing a growing number of people
discovering what individuals working together,
developing self-governing skills, can accomplish
independently of governments, corporations, or
private owners.’
Charlotte Hess, Mapping the New Commons,
2008

9. Education
Creative commons
Fashion
Internet
Knowledge commons
Indigenous culture
Music
Nonprofit organisations
Public art
Libraries
Peer production
Public domain
Cultural commons
Science
Sacred spaces
Sports activities and locations
Markets as commons
Tourism and travel
Medical budgets
Atmosphere
Health commons
Public healthcare
Biodiversity
MAPPING THE NEW
COMMONS
Community gardens
Electromagnetic spectrum
Global commons
Housing
Noise/ quiet
Pavements
Sharing economy
Antarctica
Gene pool
Hospitals
Gift economy
Food security
Knowledge, cultural and infrastructure commons
Oceans
Rivers
Neighbourhood commons
Waste management
Security
Water management
Streets
Agriculture
Electromagnetic spectrum
Fisheries
Internet infrastructure
Public radio
Forests
Infrastructure commons
Traditional commons
Wireless communication
Transport infrastructure
Grazing lands
Land tenure and use
Villages and social organisation
Water and irrigation
Wildlife
Based on
Charlotte Hess, 2008

10. The new commons are characterised by
economies of the small scale: many people
working together to create public goods, using
resources wisely and effectively, and increasing
a local and personal sense of agency and
influence.

11. ‘REGENERATION’: CREATING OR ERODING THE COMMONS?
REGENERATION HAS FOCUSED ON MARKET FAILURE INSTEAD OF RETHINKING MARKETS

12. ‘The route to a more productive, dynamic and
sustainable economy in the UK begins when
people can live lives that fulfil their potential and
sustain their wellbeing. This will not happen
when many are unable to contribute fully to the
public good.’
ResPublica, Responsible Recovery, 2013

13. ‘Only through a rethinking of the city commons
can we begin to take social capital seriously in
land use policy and law. Instead of
conceptualising the city as an aggregation of
private property rights, we should instead seek
to identify and protect common resources and
interests in the city commons.’
Sheila Foster, The City as an Ecological Space,
2006

14. A CHALLENGE: OUR STREETS AS THE NEW COMMONS
CAN COMMONS THINKING MOVE FROM NATURAL RESOURCES TO URBAN ASSETS?

15. ‘Within the community, the more persons who
participate in a dance, the higher its value to
each participant. Each added dancer brings new
opportunities to vary partners and share the
excitement.’
Carol Rose, The Comedy of the Commons, 1986

16. ‘The present decade has been marked by a
retreat from social concerns. Scientists bring to
our attention urgent but complex problems
bearing on our very survival... We respond by
demanding more details, and by assigning the
problems to institutions ill-equipped to cope
with them.’
Gro Harlem Brundtland,
Our Common Future, 1987

17. ‘It is through the performance of creative acts, in
art, in thought, in personal relationships, that the
city can be identified as something more than a
purely functional organisation of factories and
warehouses, barracks, courts, prisons and
control centres.’
Lewis Mumford, The City in History, 1961

18. Power without care creates blight. Care without
power fuels helplessness and frustration. This is
why a concept of stewardship must be at the
heart of any vision to reclaim the land in our
towns and cities for the people.

19. thank you
www.urbanpollinators.co.uk
Twitter: @juliandobson