Researchers like Ana Margarida Esteves have looked at the inclusion/exclusion drivers of commoning projects and here she brings a study on how the Tamera ecovillage, originally attracting German counter-cultural expats, originally was not connected to the local context but has recently undertaken efforts to increase their local rootedness. As she writes: “In my article I also show how Tamera is overcoming that segregationalism through cultural mediation, institutionalization of dialogue and a special fund to support the participation of Portuguese people in their engagements. They are also becoming a very significant player in the Portuguese anti-fracking and anti-oil drilling movement. They are also participating in feminist and pro-Palestinian circles.”

The French researcher Genevieve Fontaine is looking into the commons as ‘commons of capabilities’ and has added 3 extra criteria to add to the 8 criterias of commons governance proposed by Ostrom. In effect, Genevieve Fontaine is looking at a synthesis between the commons and the capabilities approach. These and other avenues show that the inclusion agenda is coming to the attention of commoners and commons-researchers.

Abstract

This article sheds light on the exclusionary dynamics that emerge when the construction of commons-based alternative political ecologies does not take political economy considerations into account. It analyses the relationship between Tamera – Healing Biotope I, and the ecosystem, population and institutions of the region of southwestern Alentejo, Portugal, where this ecovillage is located. Tamera is based on a prefigurative process of “commoning”, transplanted from Central European counter-culture, which created a “borderland” that spatially segregates and at the same time creates a point of contact between two contrasting cultural, ecological and socio-economic realities. However, maintaining the “borderland” granted the community access to the resources needed to develop its vision, while countering existing regulations, although eventually involving the state in the development of a new regulatory framework. Since the mid- 2000s, Tamera has been engaging in cultural dialogue with the local population, with the support of the municipality. The analysis raises the question of how to develop regulatory and financial instruments that support ecovillages in promoting inclusive strategies of economic sustainability, integrating them in place-based dynamics of regional development. The specificities of their biophysical and social processes must be taken into account, as well as their vocation as “testfields” for sustainability.

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Published by the University of Arizona Journal of Political Ecology

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The selection of the papers for publication will be done by the editors of this special issue: Alexander Hamedinger (Assistant Professor, Centre of Sociology, Department of Spatial Planning) and Lukas Franta (Assistant, Centre of Sociology, Department of Spatial Planning).

Full papers (4.000-8.000 words) will undergo a double-blind peer review process.

“In context of the economic and financial crisis, which is profoundly reshaping Europe and its Cities and Regions, alternative forms of social and economic organisation are increasingly discussed in urban and regional research and practice. Particularly commons are (again) hotly debated as an alternative way to organize the production, distribution and consumption of certain resources. Recently, a number of urban, regional as well as planning studies have been devoted to the analysis and evaluation of commons in spatial development, using a range of different theoretical rationales. These include amongst others research inspired by the pioneering work of Elinor Ostrom to theories which deviate from methodological individualism e.g. more political-economic (David Harvey) and sociologically coined strands of thought. Commoning basically means the processes and practices of collectively self-regulating the production and/or distribution and/or consumption of resources, often with the aim of improving social cohesion and solidarity in societies. From a planning perspective commons are often interpreted as a new way of steering and coordinating collective action between state and market, of improving the efficiency of production and consumption of environmental resources, facilitating the accessibility of basic goods and services, empowering of local residents, improving social cohesion through building social capital or strengthening citizens’ participation in planning projects. However, they also are described more critically as part of a neoliberal spatial development or as niche product for a small urban elite.
This special issue wants to contribute to this discourse through critically reflecting on the potentials and challenges of commons and commoning practices mainly in the space- and planning-related fields of housing, public space and regional food. It welcomes theoretically and empirically as well as practice-focused/-oriented papers; contributions are welcome from across the social sciences and the application of different scientific angles to explain commons in urban and regional development is encouraged, e.g. economics, sociology, political science, geography, spatial planning, development studies, feminist studies, community studies or law.
The papers should address some of the following questions in the context of commons in housing, public space or local/regional food systems:

• Spatiality of Commons: How is spatiality constructed through commoning and collective action?
• Governance of the Commons: which actors and regulatory systems are characteristic for which action field of commoning?
• Legitimation of Commoning: who benefits from commoning practices? Who is included in/excluded by these practices?
• Contextualisation of Commons: which factors are influencing success or failure of commons?
• Planning and Commoning: how is state-led spatial planning related to commoning in urban and regional development?
• Commons and the city region: how do commoning practices influence economic and social relations between city and region?
• Added value of Commons: how do commons contribute to achieve the goals of social cohesion and environmental protection in spatial development? How can commons contribute to alter local and regional economic and social structures?
• Financing of Commons: Where do monetary and nonmonetary resources in commons come from, how is their internal and external exchange organized, and which provisions are taken to ensure long-term financial sustainability?”

The timetable for this special issue is:

• Aug 9, 2016 – Deadline for the submission of abstracts
• Sep 9, 2016 – Notification of acceptance, invitation for full papers
• Dec 9, 2016 – Deadline for submission of full papers start of review process
• Feb 2017 – End of review process information for authors
• April 7, 2017 – Final deadline for revised papers
• June 2017 – Publication (open access and print)

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