Pathways into Sharing: From Space-Commoning to Collaborative Housing Practices

Regular session (Online)

The concept of sharing is gaining traction as a new paradigm to lead more socially inclusive urban transformations, particularly among civil society actors: from local urban initiatives to translocal social movements. Amid, and against, the widespread ‘urbanization of neoliberalism’—a form of soft authoritarianism and connected modes of urban governance that have led to growing socio-spatial inequalities, polarization, territorial competition, and social insecurities worldwide—the notion of sharing is increasingly being mobilized by non-state actors to shape non-commercial collaborative practices, expressions of solidarity and care. Space sharing practices are often therefore devised as decommodified forms of access to, and management of, spatial resources, ranging from urban commoning actions (e.g., community gardens, community kitchens, or tools libraries), to different forms of collaborative housing (e.g., self-organized or architect-driven private building groups, co-housing projects, housing cooperatives). However, entanglements of sharing within different socio-political and economic contexts are becoming increasingly complex. Along non-commercialized forms of sharing, necessity-driven sharing practices (such as room shares, sublets, or temporary shelter) are also expanding, so do market-driven co-living housing models which provide shared spaces as a service for an increasingly exclusive consumers group. Against this backdrop, in this session we call for theoretical and empirical research that explore the conditions and pitfalls underlying space sharing practices in the fields of housing and public space. We aim this way to engage critically with the potential and limitations of sharing for addressing and countering socio-spatial inequalities, the commodification of, and contestation over, urban resources across different geographical urban settings.