The Urban, the Commons and Heritage
What happens if the notion of ‘heritage’ is put in relation to ‘commons’?
Over
the years we have witnessed a rising societal and academic interest in the idea
of the commons—understood as non-privately owned common pool of
resources accessible to, and managed by, communities and societies. As an extension to it, the concept of urban
commons is gaining momentum in urban studies based on the idea that public
spaces, urban land, and infrastructures should be more accessible to, and able
to be utilized by, different communities. The concept also implies that the
production and support of common (material and immaterial) goods are important
for social and environmental sustainability and offer
alternatives to privatization and segregation. In the context of the current
neoliberal cities however, urban commons are increasingly being challenged,
contested, and even endangered.
Like the idea of urban commons, the notion of urban heritage relates to specific shared/common natural and cultural elements of communities. These constitute material and immaterial sources of identity. Urban heritage is therefore seen here as a broad category, that includes the built environment such as ruins, remains of architecture or memorials, but also intangible elements, such as urban voids, customs, or practices. Both, tangible and intangible urban heritage should be safeguarded for future generations and protected from exploitation by individuals, nation states or corporations. This raises however the question of whose heritage is considered as worthy of protection, and how this should be done.
In this seminar we will explore the complex relations between cities, commons, and heritage. A common(s)-heritage lens will allow us to study connections between the urban space, culture, power and society from an architectural, planning and sociological viewpoint. By reviewing and discussing academic literature and analyzing different international case studies, students will reflect on the topic of common(s) urban heritage from a multilevel governance perspective and explore a wide range of questions: What constitutes common heritage—what doesn’t—and who gains or loses because of such definitional politics? In which contexts does heritage become an object of conflict? To what extent commons and heritage are marginalized, contested, or destructed in such conflict situations?
The seminar will be conducted in English. Willingness to read and communicate in English is expected.
References
Foster, S. R., & Iaione, C. (2020). Urban Commons. In K. S. Johnson (Ed.), Oxford bibliographies. Urban studies. Black suburbs. New York: Oxford University Press.
Frank, S. (2015). Urban Commons and Urban Heritage. In Benesch, Hammami, Holmberg, & Uzer (Eds.), Heritage as Common(s)-Common(s) as Heritage. Gothenburg & Stockholm: Makadam Publishers.
Helfrich, S. [S.], & Haas, J. (2009). Statt eines Nachworts: Gemeingüter – Eine große Erzählung. In S. Helfrich & Heinrich-Böll-Stiftung (Eds.), Wem gehört die Welt? Zur Wiederentdeckung der Gemeingüter. (pp. 251–267). München: Oekom verlag.
Helfrich, S. & Heinrich Böll Stiftung (Eds.) (2012). Commons: Für eine neue Politik jenseits von Markt und Staat. Bielefeld: Transcript Verlag.
Stavrides, S. (2015). Common space as threshold space: Urban commoning in struggles to re-appropriate public space. Footprint, 9–19.