Laituri is an urban information centre in Helsinki established in 2008. Attached to the Helsinki Municipality’s city planning department, Laituri helps disseminating information about the
The international debate on the commons has a long history but only in recent years has it started gearing towards the definition of Urban Commons
While affordable space for housing and community activities in Europe has traditionally been provided by states, public companies and private corporations, the transformation of the
Community Land Trusts (CLTs) are a model of community-led development, where local organisations develop and manage homes and other assets important to their communities, such
Stad in de Maak is an association set up to take on the redevelopment of vacant properties in Central Rotterdam, together with the local community.
Locality is the national network of ambitious and enterprising community organisations, working together so neighbourhoods thrive. They support organisations to work effectively through best practice
Shuffle Festival is an annual event that exhibits creativity through films, performances, architectural installations and music; providing an important gathering point for the local community
Spacehive is a civic crowdfunding platform based in London. The platform, established in 2012, supports projects aimed at improving local civic and community spaces. Besides
Brickstarter is a platform for crowdfunding and crowdsourcing architectural projects, initiated by Bryan Boyer and Dan Hill, and realised within the Finnish Innovation Fund, Sitra.
De Besturing was founded in 2006 in an industrial area of The Hague and over the years it has been transformed from a temporary studio complex into a sustainable collective of artists and designers. Initially rented out for free on a temporary basis from the municipality, the community nevertheless collected the rent from tenants, constituting a capital that made possible the building’s purchase in 2017.
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
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
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,
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
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
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
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 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,
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,
Vivero de Iniciativas Ciudadanas is a platform to support citizen projects in Madrid. Initiated by the architecture office Estudio SIC, the platform maps and brings
“The trick is how to translate the masterplan to something that people can understand” The Estonian city of Tartu has recently created a new masterplan.
Művelődési Szint (MÜSZI Art & Community Centre) is a cultural space operating on the 3rd floor of a socialist-style department store. Besides hosting events ranging
La Cuciria – Sartoria Creativa Emotiva aims at creating awareness of ethical consumption through the activity of sewing. The “Creative Emotive Sewing Workshop” is based
The Peissnitzhaus, a historical building in Halle/Saale was abandoned between 1990 and 2013 when 17 people founded the NGO “Peißnitzhaus e.V.” The members renovated the
Stiftung trias was established in 2002, to help community groups and co-housing projects access financing. Trias takes land off the market by separating the ownership
Located in a building of 220 m2 in Matera, Casa Netural includes a co-working space, a playroom, a kitchen, meeting rooms, relaxing rooms and bedrooms.
Largo Residências is a hostel, hotel, artist-in-residence and café in Lisbon’s fast-changing Intendente neighbourhood. Largo, run by a cooperative, aims at connecting the area’s past
Spreefeld is a housing cooperative created as a pilot project to contribute to the ongoing debate around the development of the Spree riverbank surrounding. The
Granby Four Streets Community Land Trust addresses housing issues within Liverpool’s Eighth District. In this scheme, the local community owns land and leases some parcels and buildings for various uses and development projects, keeping control over prices and ensuring long-term affordability and community benefit.
EOOS Design is a design studio based in Vienna. Since the arrival of thousands of refugees to the city, EOOS has been engaged in designing
Carrozzerie_n.o.t is an ex-car repair workshop in Rome that has been transformed into an independent cultural and performing arts centre focusing on theatre and dance.
Interazioni Urbane is an association based in Rome. Composed of architects, sociologists, psychologists and photographers, they create participatory processes to improve the urban environment. Addressing
“If you have space, you should do something directly for the people who make up the area.” ExRotaprint was founded in 2007 by tenants of
L’Alveare is a co-working space in Rome that integrates a kindergarten, in order to allow parents, especially women, to return to their freelancing work with
Gängeviertel is a historic neighbourhood of Central Hamburg. When plans emerged about the demolition of the last heritage buildings of the district, artists, architects and
De Besturing was founded in 2006 in an industrial area of The Hague and over the years it has been transformed from a temporary studio
MÜSZI Art & Community Centre was a cultural space operating on the 3rd floor of a socialist-style department store in Budapest. Müszi stands as an unprecedented venture in Budapest, a venue that positions itself as an independent, self-sustaining “house of culture,” and offers affordable space and activities to a wide range of age groups, while combining its artistic and social mission with business principles in a sustainable manner.
LaFabrika detodalavida is a multifunctional community centre in Los Santos de Maimona in Extremadura (ES), that offers a series of local services to its rural
Bottega Artistico Musicale is an experimental centre of independent cultural production in Sapri, Southern Italy. BAM’s space encourages open sharing of uses, resources and skills, in order to promote mutualistic, cooperative and supportive production. The building was offered by the municipality for free and was renovated by students, temporary employees, unemployed people, graduates, musicians, activists, artists.
Alianca Stará Tržnica is an NGO managing the Old Market Hall, a historic building in the centre of Bratislava, combining a food market with cultural, as well as two cafés, a grocery shop, a cooking school and a soda water manufacturer. Rethinking the opportunities of the Old Market Hall allows the organisation to run the building in an economically sustainable way, while gradually renovating it, creating a new event venue and meeting space in the heart of the city.
Funding the Cooperative City: Community Finance and the Economy of Civic Spaces Edited by Daniela Patti & Levente Polyák (Eutropian Research & Action) Publisher: Cooperative
Afrikaanderwijk Cooperative in South Rotterdam’s Feijenoord area works on bringing together existing workspaces, entrepreneurs, producers, social organisations and the market. The Cooperative began its work by mapping the unrecognised competences of residents in the Afrikaanderwijk neighbourhood. Based on these skills, the Cooperative created a number of organisations to help residents use their skills.
Goteo is a platform for civil crowdfunding founded by Platoniq, a Catalan association of culture producers and software developers. Goteo helps citizen initiatives and social, cultural, technological projects that produce open source results and community benefits, in crowdfunding and crowdsourcing resources. Goteo’s crowdfunding campaigns have mobilised more than 90,000 people, collecting over 4,5 million euros. Goteo also helps initiatives gather non-monetary contributions and establish partnerships that can advance their work.
In the past decade, with the economic crisis and the transformation of welfare societies, NGOs, community organisations and civic developers – City Makers – established
Casa Netural in Matera works as incubator for innovative and experimental projects. It includes a co-working space, a playroom, a kitchen, meeting rooms, relaxing rooms and bedrooms. Casa Netural’s objective is to create new business models and networks between communities and citizens around issues of social development and regional planning.
Interazioni Urbane is an association based in Rome. Addressing the deterioration and gradual abandonment of Rome’s Primavalle market, together with Banco e sto, they have brought together market vendors, local residents and municipal officers to help turning the market into a community hub.
Gängeviertel is a historic neighbourhood of Central Hamburg. When plans emerged about the demolition of the last heritage buildings of the district, artists, architects and activists mobilised themselves and the wider Hamburg community to protect the area.
L’Alveare is a co-working space in Rome that integrates a kindergarten, in order to allow parents, especially women, to return to their freelancing work with small children. In 2013 their project was awarded by Italia Camp and Unicredit as well as the Coopstartup that allowed them to transform the organisation into a working cooperative. The co-working and kindergarten, operating in a municipality-owned space, also accommodates lectures, trainings and workshops.
LaFabrika detodalavida is a multifunctional community centre set up in an abandoned industrial space in Extremadura in Spain, that offers a series of local services to its rural community, such as cultural events, music, construction spaces and most importantly gathering venues.
LaFabrika detodalavida is a multifunctional community centre set up in an abandoned industrial space in Extremadura in Spain, that offers a series of local services to its rural community, such as cultural events, music, construction spaces and most importantly gathering venues.
ExRotaprint was founded by tenants of the Rotaprint industrial complex in Wedding, a traditional working class district in Northwest Berlin. When the complex was put up for sale by the Berlin Municipality’s Real Estate Fund, members of the ExRotaprint began to look into the possibility of buying the area.
Alianca Stará Tržnica is an NGO managing the Old Market Hall, a historic building in the centre of Bratislava. The building closed down after years
With public spaces being created by the interaction of various social groups, marketplaces have traditionally constituted some of the most important public spaces, attracting people from
Officine Zero (OZ) was born in 2012 following the failure of the RSI corporation (ex Wagon-lits). The re-appropriation of the corporation’s facilities by the workers,
Displaced in Vienna (AT) is an initiative of TU Wien architecture students and professors. In collaboration with the Red Cross, the building accommodating refugees has
“A legnagyobb bevételünk alapvetően az, hogy nagyon sok önkéntessel dolgozunk” A korábbi, Király utcai színháztermet és klubot magába foglaló háromszintes helyiségét 2011-ben elvesztő Marom Egyesület
Temporary use is a learning process of accommodating innovation and adapting needs and capacities to available resources. It offers benefits to owners and users, in
© Copyright 2017 – 2025 by Eutropian GmbH. All rights reserved. I Imprint / Disclaimer | Data Privacy Policy | Contact
