The work of the urban commons: Limited-equity cooperatives in Washington, D.C

Item

Title
The work of the urban commons: Limited-equity cooperatives in Washington, D.C
Identifier
d_2009_2013:cbd7e7b0567c:11466
identifier
11908
Creator
Huron, Amanda,
Contributor
Marianna Pavlovskaya
Date
2012
Language
English
Publisher
City University of New York.
Subject
Geography | Urban planning | housing | limited-equity cooperatives | urban commons | Washington | D.C.
Abstract
This research theorizes the work of the urban commons through close examination of a group of ten limited-equity housing cooperatives in Washington, D.C. Limited-equity co-ops, or LECs, are a noncommodified resource that is collectively owned and maintained by their members. I argue that LECs are a manifestation of the commons, and that they represent a specific form of the commons - the urban commons. In this research, I ask: how does the urban commons -- as manifested in this case by limited-equity housing cooperatives -- function? The commons, as I theorize it, is a space that both provides a basis for life outside of (or at least less dictated by) capitalism, and that requires collective work to build and maintain. The commons, Peter Linebaugh (2008) argues, is constituted through commoning -- the many overlapping practices of being-in-common that allow for a collective approach to life. The urban commons, I argue, is constituted through work, and future theorizing and action around the commons needs to take work seriously.
Type
dissertation
Source
2009_2013.csv
degree
Ph.D.
Program
Earth & Environmental Sciences