Researching the urban commons and solidarity economy. Learning from the experiences of founders, directors and volunteers of urban commons institutions, including existing, previous, and potential volunteers, with a particular focus on the legal and governance aspects.

The term “the commons” generally refers to a set of shared resources, which can be physical or virtual, that are maintained, produced, or managed by communities of people, and governed and regulated through norms and rules created by the community.

The “urban commons” refer to commons that exist in an urban environment, for example community gardens, tool libraries, shared housing, energy, open-source protocols, designs, infrastructures, and the like. So called “urban commons institutions” include organisations like tool libraries, community gardens, and non-profit forms of the sharing economy.

I am investigating the experiences of founders in getting these institutions established, and the role and experiences of volunteer members. I am particularly focused on understanding how the law and governance operate within urban commons institutions, and how different laws and governance approaches might be used to establish more urban commons institutions, in Sydney and beyond.

This research will be useful for people interested in starting and sustaining an urban commons institution and could also be useful for developing better laws and governance models for community sharing of resources, goods, and services in effective, socially beneficial and resource efficient ways.