No. 1 (2024): (Re)producing everyday life
Saggi

An instituting-organisational framework for the interpretation of urban commoning. Lessons from a neighbourhood park

PDF
  • Giusy Pappalardo,
  • Laura Saija
Giusy Pappalardo
University of Catania
DOI: https://doi.org/10.36253/contest-15286

Published 2024-11-25

Keywords

  • organisation,
  • institutions,
  • engaged research,
  • public spaces,
  • collective learning

How to Cite

Pappalardo, G., & Saija, L. (2024). An instituting-organisational framework for the interpretation of urban commoning. Lessons from a neighbourhood park. Contesti. Città, Territori, Progetti, (1), 18–39. https://doi.org/10.36253/contest-15286

Copyright (c) 2024 Giusy Pappalardo, Laura Saija

Creative Commons License

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License.

Abstract

Drawing on critical scholarship on commoning processes, this article aims to contribute to the debate by reflecting on an argumentative case that took place in a neighbourhood public park on the northern outskirts of the city of Catania in Italy. Based on our direct engagement in such a process, we discuss the rise and fall of this ‘commoning attempt’, with the aim of reflecting on the possibilities and the pitfalls associated with the collective effort to take care of a neglected space. The case is discussed using a theoretical framework developed intersecting Argyris' theory of organisational learning and Esposito’s ‘instituting thought’ applied to urban planning. Through the narrative of the main stages of a nine-month process, using a variety of sources of evidence – our field notes, archival materials, etc.  –, we discuss some key elements to contribute to the advancement of the disciplinary debate on the possibilities opened by the instituting-organisational approach.

PDF

Downloads

Download data is not yet available.

Metrics

Metrics Loading ...

References

  1. Argyris C. 1986, Reinforcing organizational defensive routines: An unintended human resources activity, «Human Resource Management», 25(4), pp. 541-555
  2. Argyris C. 1995, Action science and organizational learning, «Journal of managerial psychology», 10(6), pp. 20-26
  3. Argyris C. 2003, A life full of learning, «Organization Studies», 24(7), pp. 1178-1192
  4. Arvanitidis P. A., Papagiannitsis G. 2020, Urban open spaces as a commons: The credibility thesis and common property in a self-governed park of Athens, Greece, «Cities», 97, p. 102480.
  5. Baioni M., Basso S., Caudo G., Franzese A., Marchigiani E., Munarin S., ... & Vazzoler N. 2021, Diritti in città: Gli standard urbanistici in Italia dal 1968 a oggi, Donzelli, Roma
  6. Care Collective. 2020, The Care Manifesto: The Politics of Interdependence, Verso Books
  7. Ciaffi D. 2019, Sharing the Commons as a 'New Top' of Arnstein's Ladder of Participation. «Built environment», 45(2), pp. 162-172
  8. Chiarenza C. 2018, San Nullo - Memorie e Sogni di un quartiere incompiuto, unpublished Master Thesis, Università di Catania
  9. Esposito R. 2020, Pensiero istituente: Tre paradigmi di ontologia politica, Einaudi, Torino
  10. Esposito R. 2021, Istituzione, Il Mulino, Bologna
  11. Grazzini F., Bordi L. 2024, Più grigio che verde. Dieci anni di lotta per il bosco la Goccia di Bovisa, Youcanprint
  12. Hardin G. 1968, The tragedy of the commons: the population problem has no technical solution; it requires a fundamental extension in morality, «Science», 162(3859), pp. 1243-1248
  13. Jeffrey A., McFarlane C., & Vasudevan A. 2012, Rethinking enclosure: Space, subjectivity and the commons, «Antipode», 44(4), pp. 1247-1267
  14. Li Destri Nicosia G., & Saija L. 2023 Planning as an instituting process. Overcoming Agamben’s despair using Esposito’s political ontology, «Planning Theory», 14730952231209755
  15. Mitrašinović M., & Mehta V., Eds., 2021, Public space reader, Routledg
  16. Ostrom E. 1990, Governing the commons: The evolution of institutions for collective action. Cambridge University Press
  17. Partelow S., & Manlosa A. O. 2023,. Commoning the governance: a review of literature and the integration of power, «Sustainability Science», 18(1), pp. 265-283
  18. Piazza R., Gravagno F., & Pappalardo G. 2018, Learning to become a community: Mafia landscapes Lab, «eJournal of University Lifelong Learning», 2(1), pp. 79-84.
  19. Quintana A., & Campbell L. M. 2019, Critical commons scholarship: A typology, «International Journal of the Commons», 13(2)
  20. Saija L. 2014, Writing about engaged scholarship: Misunderstandings and the meaning of “quality” in action research publications, «Planning Theory & Practice», 15(2), pp. 187-201
  21. Saija L., Pappalardo G. 2022, An argument for action research-inspired participatory mapping, «Journal of Planning Education and Research», 42(3), pp. 375-385
  22. Saija L., Li Destri Nicosia G., Barbanti C., forthcoming, An organizational approach to citizen engagement for social cohesion: the gardening experience in an Italian Public Housing neighborhood, in F. Othengrafen, S. Herrmann, D. Pencic, S. Lazarevski, Eds., Social Cohesion and Resilience through Citizen Engagement: A Place-based Approach, Edward Elgar.
  23. Stavrides S. 2019, Common spaces of urban emancipation, Manchester University Press
  24. Sreetheran M., & Van Den Bosch C. C. K. 2014, A socio-ecological exploration of fear of crime in urban green spaces–A systematic review, «Urban Forestry & Urban Greening», 13(1), pp. 1-18
  25. Tedesco C. 2023, Overcoming an impasse or innovating urban policy? The role of social activism within conflictual urban regeneration processes in Southern Italy, «Planning Practice & Research», pp. 1-19
  26. Varvarousis A. 2020, The rhizomatic expansion of commoning through social movements, «Ecological Economics», 171, pp. 106596
  27. Velicu I., & García-López G. 2018, Thinking the commons through Ostrom and Butler: Boundedness and vulnerability, «Theory, Culture & Society», 35(6), pp. 55-73
  28. Viderman T., Knierbein S., Kränzl E., Frank S., Roskamm N., & Wall E. 2023, Unsettled Urban Space: Routines, Temporalities and Contestations, Taylor & Francis
  29. Vitale E. 2013, Contro i beni comuni: Una critica illuminista, Laterza
  30. Vittoria M. P., Ragozino S., & Esposito De Vita G. 2023, Urban Commons between Ostrom’s and Neo-Materialist Approaches: The Case of Lido Pola in Naples, Southern Italy, «Land» 12(3), p. 524