Niche phenomena or drivers of change: Reflections on the emergence of urban commoning provisioning ecosystems

In times of multiple, overlapping crises, both public and academic interest in the commons and commoning has grown significantly. Commoning is portrayed as a compelling alternative to capitalism—an experiment in collective practice as well as a vision of a broader commonsverse, a potential pathway toward structural and economic transformation (Helfrich and Bollier 2019). Little research, however, has gone into understanding the spaces in between better, as in delving into what happens – and what needs to happen - within the collective experience of provisioning emotionally, experientially, practically for them to be perceived as and offering potential to transpire at a meta-level.

In this article, we explore the spaces in between—those where working together, being together, and co-becoming give rise to change, and where this change manifests across different dimensions (Gustavo Garcia et al.: 2021). Drawing on examples from urban commons initiatives in two German cities, we examine how people organize commoning for change, what motivates their engagement, and which challenges they encounter along the way. Through an interpretation framework that captures three interrelated dimensions;  individuals’ personal motivation to participate in commoning initiatives; their aspirations for broader societal transformation, and their capacity and willingness to co-create alternative realities, this article seeks to understand how commoners reflect on the tensions and challenges that emerge in their practice. By intersecting the notions of structuring principles and being and becoming together (working togetherness) we also ask how both are necessary for commoning to unfold as a form of transformative change. We understand this transformation as the ongoing ability to strive toward a utopian vision of commoning—fully aware that this vision will inevitably evolve through the uncertainties and ambiguities of everyday life. In essence, we read between the lines to trace how structuing patterns of commoning foster working togetherness (Blau, forthcoming), and how these relational patterns, in turn, reorient our protagonists away from the capitalist logic of separation and individual utility maximization—toward shared, collective becoming.