How often do we consider the availability of shared, public space in our daily lives? Governmental efforts in place-such as anti-homeless spikes, slanted bus benches, and timed sprinklers-are all designed to discourage use of already severely limited public areas. How we interact with space in a modern context, particularly in urban settings, can feel increasingly governed and blocked off from common everyday encounters.
With Common Space, activist and architect Stavros Stavrides calls for a reconceiving of public and private space in the modern age. Stavrides appeals for a new understanding of common space not only as something that can be governed and open to all, but as an essential aspect of our world that expresses, encourages, and exemplifies new forms of social relations and shared experiences. He shows how these spaces are created, through a fascinating global examination of social housing, self-built urban settlements, street peddlers, and public art and graffiti. The first book to explicitly tackle the notion of the city as commons, Common Space, offers an insightful study into the links between space and social relations, revealing the hidden emancipatory potential within our urban worlds.
Industry Reviews
How shall we understand the pulse and power of commoning, the subtle force that is constantly shaping the spaces and experiences of modern cities? Stavros Stavrides provides a rich, erudite exploration of this neglected topic and the potential for human emancipation. * David Bollier, author of Think Like a Commoner *
A fascinating and path-breaking book, which can inspire activists and theoreticians alike. It enriches the academic bibliography of geography, planning, sociology, cultural studies, social anthropology, political science and more disciplines focusing on the contemporary city.' * City: Analysis of Urban Trends, Culture, Theory, Policy, Action *
Stavrides escapes the Eurocentrism that often predominates in the literature on the urban commons ... The book will appeal not only to scholars across many disciplines, but also to activists who seek to engage with the significance of urban space for their political action.' * Urban Studies *
The Foreword hails Common Space as "the first theoretical book of its kind, the first book to problematise space as commons". And this is precisely where the value of Stavrides' contribution is found. * 3AM Magazine *
Common Space is the first of its kind ... an in-depth journey into the concept of common space ... relevant to students, academics and practitioners alike. * Environment and Urbanization *
Stavrides was one of the first to open my eyes to the importance of the urban commons. His writings are exciting, a valuable reference for urban activists around the world. He is right: the city is the place where we can and should truly reinvent the commons. * Lieven De Cauter, co-editor of Art and Activism in the Age of Globalization *
Stavros Stavrides has written a cutting-edge book on the commons and the city. A must read that inspires and challenges conventional thinking. Add it to your toolbox for the reinvention of the city through commoning. * Massimo De Angelis, author of Omnia Sunt Communia and The Beginning of History *
Stavrides provides a wonderful guide to how we can make urban space common. He draws from the history of social housing and the successes of contemporary protest movements to formulate an exciting political project. * Michael Hardt, co-author of Empire; Multitude; and Commonwealth *
The word from Athens is this: the commons is open not exclusionary; it perforates the walls of sovereignty, discipline, security, and their phantasmagoria. From Oaxaca to Nairobi, the ancient assemblies of the egalitarian agora of old rise again. Listen to the word from Athens! * Peter Linebaugh, author of The Magna Carta Manifesto *
An exceptionally thoughtful study of the process and procedures of commoning, investigating the major ways by which common spaces are created in the contemporary world ... [a] remarkable and immensely rewarding text.' * Political Geography *
A much-needed breath of fresh air. This is a book for all those interested in moving beyond the politics of enclosure, fear and individualism to a politics of hope, possibility and social inclusion in the contemporary city. * Sophie Watson, The Open University *
