Working with Strangers in Saturated Space: Reclaiming and Maintaining the Urban Commons. Issue 4 (30th January 2015)

• Record Type: Journal Article
• Authors: Huron, Amanda
• Is Part Of: Antipode. Volume 47:Issue 4(2015:Sep.)
• Page Start: 963
• Page End: 979
• Publication Date: 2015-01-30
• Subjects: Geography -- Periodicals; 910.5
• DOI: 10.1111/anti.12141
• Languages: English
• ISSNs: 0066-4812

Abstract

<abstract abstract-type="main"> <title>Abstract</title> <p>The commons is increasingly invoked as a way to envision new worlds. One strand of commons research focuses at the local scale, on small groups in "traditional", mostly rural societies; this research asks how commons are maintained over time. Another strand focuses on the commons at a global scale; this is political research that asks how commons can be reclaimed from a capitalist landscape. Here, I bridge these two approaches by theorizing the commons as reclaimed and maintained in the context of the city, through examining the experiences of limited‐equity housing cooperatives in Washington, DC. I argue that the urban commons is marked by two distinct traits: it emerges in space that is saturated with people, competing uses, and financial investment; and it is constituted by the collective work of strangers. The challenges of reclaiming and maintaining an urban commons are substantial, but the need for them is urgent.</p> </abstract>