Spaces of Commoning, in Berlin and Other Cities, and Their Potential for the Building of Sustainable Social Communities and Educational Cultures

Abstract

As educators, we strive for accessible, just and inclusive educational options for all children and youth, including those from vulnerable social strata. We reflect the processes inside of educational institutions, and examine the social, cultural and economic processes surrounding and overarching these institutional spaces. Guided by a growing literature about the `creative city´ in the social sciences, we started extended field studies in Berlin. The driving motivation behind this endeavour is an educational one and hopes to collect ideas for the building of innovative school cultures. Cities increasingly have become focal points for negotiating rights, living space, and access, with many cities balancing the coexistence of privilege with the lack of opportunity. Innovative projects which explore new forms of ownership and access, collective production and reproduction, right and solidarity, provide valuable impetus for more sustainable forms of community development and public education. To cite as an example: The ifa-touring exhibition `An Atlas of Commoning: Places of Collective Production´, made in collaboration with ARCH+ in 2018. In the sense of true solidarity and togetherness, the project seeks to revitalize the emancipatory concept of `us´. In this endeavor, Aby Warburg´s concept of the atlas is used, as a form of cultural mapping. This `atlas´ documents trendsetting urban projects related to `commoning´ - a set of practices dealing with the production and management of collective resources and spaces. These include a process in which networks of solidarity are created, and individual and collective rights are redefined. Inspired by `An Atlas of Commoning´ the poster provides a review of selected projects shown in the exhibition and discusses the potential of the concept of commoning from an educational perspective. It offers a theoretical framework for connecting urban studies and education science, with a strong focus on redefining the collective rights of children and youth who are vulnerable in their development and learning.

Full text

Spaces of Commoning, in Berlin and
Other Cities, and Their Potential for the
Building of Sustainable Social Communities and
Educational Cultures
49th Annual Conference of the Urban Affairs Association (UAA)
April 24 – 27, 2019, Los Angeles, California, Luskin Conference Center
Claiming Rights to the City:
Community, Capital, and the State
Joachim Broecher, University of Flensburg, Flensburg, Germany
Janet F. Painter, Lenoir-Rhyne University, Hickory, NC, USA
Study Abstract
As educators, we strive for accessible, just and inclusive educational options for all children and youth, including
those from vulnerable social strata.
We reflect the processes inside of educational institutions, and examine the social, cultural and economic processes
surrounding and overarching these institutional spaces.
Guided by a growing literature about the `creative city´ in the social sciences, we started extended field studies in
Berlin.
The driving motivation behind this endeavour is an educational one and hopes to collect ideas for the building of in-
novative school cultures.
Cities increasingly have become focal points for negotiating rights, living space, and access, with many cities balan-
cing the coexistence of privilege with the lack of opportunity.
Innovative projects which explore new forms of ownership and access, collective production and reproduction,
right and solidarity, provide valuable impetus for more sustainable forms of community development and public
education.
To cite as an example: The ifa-touring exhibition `An Atlas of Commoning: Places of Collective Production´, made
in collaboration with ARCH+ in 2018.
In the sense of true solidarity and togetherness, the project seeks to revitalize the emancipatory concept of `us´.
In this endeavor, Aby Warburg´s concept of the atlas is used, as a form of cultural mapping.
This `atlas´ documents trendsetting urban projects related to `commoning´ - a set of practices dealing with the pro-
duction and management of collective resources and spaces.
These include a process in which networks of solidarity are created, and individual and collective rights are redefi-
ned.
Inspired by `An Atlas of Commoning´ the poster provides a review of selected projects shown in the exhibition and
discusses the potential of the concept of commoning from an educational perspective.
It offers a theoretical framework for connecting urban studies and education science, with a strong focus on redefi-
ning the collective rights of children and youth who are vulnerable in their development and learning.
Figure 1: Exhibition view `Rights on Carpet´(traveling); car-
pet, Manuel Herz; curator Anh-Linh Ngo with visitors during
a guided tour
Figure 2: Exhibition view `Die Laube´ (Berlin); architecture
model, Quest; film, Diego Aracil und Laura Ordoñez
Figure 3: Exhibition view `House of One´ (Berlin); architec-
ture model: ifa
Figure 4: Exhibition view `Torre David´ (Caracas), architec-
ture model: TU Berlin (left), `The Property Drama´ (Berlin),
film, Brandlhuber + Christopher Roth (right); `Die Laube´
(Berlin), architecture model, Quest (background)
Figure 5: Exhibition view `Auroville´ (Puducherry, India); ar-
chitecture model, TU Berlin
Figures 1-5: Exhibion views from `An Atlas of Commoning: Places of Collecve Producon´, Kunstraum
Kreuzberg/Bethanien, Berlin, 2018. Copyrights: ifa (instut für Auslandsbeziehungen); Photos: Simone
Gilges; short project descripons (see below) taken from Gruber, S., Ngo, A.-L., and Instut für Auslands-
beziehungen e.V. (Eds.) (2018). An Atlas of Commoning. Places of Collecve Producon. Aachen: ARCH+;
photos of projects reproduced with friendly permission of Instut für Auslandsbeziehungen, Stugart;
the authors thank Sabina Klemm, ifa Stugart, for her support and advice.
Introduction
As educators, we strive for accessible educational options for
all
children and youth, including
those from vulnerable social strata (Adams & Bell, 2016; Gannon et al., 2018; Martusewicz et
al., 2015).
For this purpose processes inside of educational institutions, and the social, cultural and econo-
mic processes surrounding and overarching these institutional spaces must be examined and re-
flected.
The driving motivation behind this endeavour is an educational one and hopes to collect ideas
for the building of innovative school cultures.
Theoretical Framework
Guided by cultural geography which investigates environments, landscapes, identities, and ine-
qualities (Mitchell 2000; Norton 2006) and by a growing literature about the `creative city´ in
the social sciences (e.g., Florida 2005), the authors started extended field studies in Berlin.
Cities increasingly have become focal points for negotiating rights, living space, and access,
with many cities balancing the coexistence of privilege with the lack of opportunity,
The creative city development often came with hyper-gentrification, it deepened already exis-
ting social segregation and thus produced new social inequalities (Florida 2017).
With the goal of developing alternative futures for
all
populations, including those who are vul-
nerable, a worldwide debate on `commons´ and `commoning´ has started, through fostering the
people´s emancipation from a predatory market-state-system, and thus contributing to a social,
economical, and cultural transformation on a global scale.
These innovative projects explore new forms of ownership and access, collective production, right
and solidarity, and they provide valuable impetus for more sustainable forms of community deve-
lopment (Baldauf & Gruber, 2016; Bollier & Helfrich, 2012; Gruber et al., 2018; Kirwan et al.,
2016; Stavrides 2016).
Research Question / Goal
How can we develop a theoretical framework and practical approaches for connecting urban stu-
dies and education science, with a strong focus on developing community structures, which are
supportive to vulnerable populations, including redefining the collective rights of children and y-
outh who are vulnerable in their development?
Methodology
At this early point of our endeavour, we connected conceptual and theoretical research with field
studies in the metropolis of Berlin.
We used cultural mapping as a mode of inquiry and as a methodological tool (Duxbury 2015;
Roberts 2012).
Findings
The ifa-touring exhibition `An Atlas of Commoning: Places of Collective Production´ made in
collaboration with ARCH+ in Berlin, in the Kunstraum Bethanien, Kreuzberg, during the summer
of 2018, turned out to be a valuable finding during our field research, and it also opened a new
theoretical path for our research.
References
Adams, M., and Bell, L. A. (Eds.) (2016).
Teaching for diversity and social justice
(3rd ed.). New York: Routledge.
Baldauf, A., Gruber, S. et al. (2016).
Spaces of commoning
. Berlin: Sternberg Press
Bollier, D., and Helfrich, S. (Eds.) (2012).
The wealth of the commons: A world beyond market and state
. Amherst, MA: Levellers
Press
Duxbury, N., Garrett-Petts, W.F., and MacLennon, D. (Eds.) (2015).
Cultural mapping as cultural inquiry
. New York, London: Rout-
ledge
Florida, R. (2005).
Cities and the creative class.
New York, London: Routledge
Florida, R. (2017).
The new urban crisis: How our cities are increasing inequality, deepening segregation, and failing the middle
class—and what we can do about it.
New York: Basic Books
Gannon, S., Hattam, R., and Sawyer, W. (Eds.) (2018).
Resisting educational inequality: Reframing policy and practice in schools
serving vulnerable communities.
New York: Routledge
Gruber, S., Ngo, A.-L., and Institut für Auslandsbeziehungen e.V. (Eds.) (2018).
An Atlas of Commoning. Places of collective pro-
duction
. Aachen: ARCH+
Kirwan, S., Dawney, L, and Brigstocke, J. (Eds.) (2016).
Space, power and the commons: The struggle for alternative futures.
Lon-
don, New York: Routledge
Martusewicz, R.A., Edmundson, J., and Lupinacci, J. (2015).
EcoJustice: Toward diverse, democratic, and sustainable communities
(2nd ed.). New York: Routledge
Mitchell, D. (2000).
Cultural geography. A critical introduction.
Malden, MA, Oxford, UK: Blackwell Publishing
Norton, W. (2006).
Cultural geography: Environments, landscapes, identities, inequalities
(2nd ed.). Ontario, Oxford, New York u.a.:
Oxford University Press
Roberts, L. (Ed.). (2012).
Mapping cultures. Place, practice and performance
. New York: Palgrave Macmillan
Stavrides, S. (2016).
Common space: The city as commons
. London: Zed Books
In the sense of true solidarity and togetherness, this project seeks to revitalize the emancipatory
concept of `us´.
In this endeavor, Aby Warburg´s concept of the atlas is used, as a form of cultural mapping.
This `atlas´ documents trendsetting urban projects related to `commoning´ - a set of practices
dealing with the production and management of collective resources and spaces.
The documented projects are going on around the globe, e.g. urban gardening projects like the
`Prinzessinnengärten´ in Berlin, or interreligious projects like the `House of One´, also in Berlin,
housing projects like `Torre David´ in Caracas, Venezuela, schooling projects like the `Makoko
Floating School´ in Lagos, Nigeria, or social community projects like `Auroville´ in Puducherry,
India, and many others.
Discussion and Conclusion
In an age of urban crisis, ecological crisis, and worldwide insecurities one crucial goal of educati-
on is to design alternative futures and contribute to a cultural, social and economic transformation
of our societies, in a global perspective.
The documented commoning projects include the creating of networks of solidarity; individual
and collective rights, ownership, participation, and access, are redefined.
When schools teach about the commons and commoning, they help to build diverse, democratic
and sustainable communities, in our cities, and beyond.
When our schools even link with innovative urban commoning projects they will become part of
the global transformative process which is intended by the stakeholders of these innovative pro-
jects.
Author Contact Information
joachim.broecher@uni-flensburg.de; janet.painter@lr.edu; http://broecher-research.de/
`Rights on Carpet´ (traveling around the globe)
Sitting on this carpet with inscribed human rights conventions
invites us to reflect on their universality and on their lack of
enforcement in certain world regions (pp. 12-13)
`Die Laube´ (Prinzessinnengärten), Berlin, Germany
`Architecture students, carpentry apprentices, and volunteers´
carried out this construction in an urban gardening project, for
theater performances and public lectures (pp. 92-96)
`House of One´, Berlin, Germany
`Promoting interreligious dialogue between the three mono-
theistic religions in a communal house of prayer and educati-
on´, a crowd-funded project (pp. 202-205).
`Torre David´, Caracas, Venezuela
1.300 people inhabited a `45-storey ruin, originally planned as
a bank headquarters´, in the heart of Caracas and organized
themselves, before they were forced out again (pp. 102-107)
`Auroville´, Puducherry, India
`...an international community free of government, religion
and land ownership, ...an ongoing material and spiritual expe-
riment aspiring to human unity in diversity´ (pp. 190-201)