Shaping spaces of sociability: Social infrastructure and the gentle transformation of Budapest’s Népszínház Street
I’m walking down Budapest’s Népszínház Street. Leaving behind Blaha Lujza Square, one of the city’s major public transportation hubs, I’m entering Józsefváros, a district that
Community Land Trust Bruxelles – Enabling low-income homeownership
The Community Land Trust Bruxelles was created in 2012 as an initiative of residents, activists and neighbourhood organisations. The CLT was founded as a reaction to the emerging housing crisis
A bundle of rights and obligations: Privately Owned Public Spaces
In the winter of 2007, exactly nine years before Donald Trump became president of the USA, I was a regular visitor to Trump Tower. Not as a guest or an
Granby Four Streets CLT – From demolition to regeneration
Granby Four Streets Community Land Trust was created in 2011 to address housing issues within Liverpool’s Eighth District. With the help of local activists, architects and social investors, the organisation
Stiftung Edith Maryon – Buildings for socially relevant uses
Stiftung Edith Maryon was created in 1990. The foundation’s mission is to secure socially responsible places of residence and work, and to promote transparent land use, mixed-use development and green building.
Exploring property: Perspectives of ownership
In the last decades, ownership has become a key factor of our societies and economies. As Thomas Piketty demonstrated in his recent book Capital in the Twenty First Century, the
Homebaked – Anchoring the community through small businesses
Homebaked is a cooperative bakery in Anfield, close to the famous stadium of Liverpool FC. The bakery was set up as an alternative to the clearance of the neighbourhood by
Funding the Cooperative City book presentations!
In the following months, we will bring our new book Funding the Cooperative City: Community finance and the economy of civic spaces to a variety of events across Europe.
New institutions and cooperative finance in times of austerity
To a large extent, the global financial crisis of 2007-2008 was a result of excessive real estate speculation and the irresponsible management of investments and debts by the mainstream banking
MADRID AGROCOMPOSTA – Turning waste into resource
Madrid Agrocomposta is a circular economy project in Madrid, initiated by Plataforma Madrid Agroecológico, working on turning waste from food markets into compost to fertilise agricultural land around the city.
Coop57 – Financing projects in the social and solidarity economy
Coop57 is a cooperative for ethical financial services with the objective of financing projects in the social and solidarity economy. It was created in Barcelona in 1995 from a compensation
Rákóczi Collective – Alternatives to individual homeownership
In 2011 a dozen young people retreated for a weekend to one of the suburbs of Hungary’s capital to discuss the alternatives of individual home-ownership, and to sketch the contours
Lessons from community-led housing for city-makers across Europe
During the past few decades, housing has been at the forefront of community-led initiatives to guarantee the right to an affordable city. As a consequence, housing, in many respects, has
