Les communs urbains. L’invention du commun

Abstract

From a law & geography perspective, this article explores the communing practices which have developed and expanded in Italy since 2011, within a context of neoliberal policies which have marked the last two decades. I analyze the practices involved in the occupation of cultural venues as well as processes developed by several activists’ networks in order to highlight the novelty of the Italian commons movement, in particular the relationship between the use of space and the reappropriation of the tool. As they generate connections to relational and inclusive places, these experiences of urban commons have contributed to challenging the property paradigm. On various scales, they have stimulated the invention of legal devices or forms of social institutions that are able – sometimes in contradictory ways – to take into account the demand for direct involvement and collective decision-making that appeared in Italy due to the acceleration of the economic and political crisis.

Keywords

• law
• property
• social movements
• common goods
• city