Commons and urban commons have been widely debated over the last few years, and are key to the discussions on sustainable use of resources and empowerment of local communities. The topic is very challenging due to the complexity of towns and cities, including kind of resources, actors and potential conflicts in the use or in the governance of them. Nevertheless, there is lack of appropriate debate within disciplines dealing with urban space and its (co-)design. Cities, squares, landscapes and buildings (even if under-utilised) have always been field of practice and experimentation for disciplines such as architecture, urban design, landscape (design) and planning. What are the urban commons in (our) towns and cities? Is it possible to map them, or to produce an updated (critical) cartography of them? In what ways scholars and professionals can contribute not only to govern them but towards co-production and co-design? What is, within this framework, the role of local groups and communities, also in relation to occasional users and tourists?

“The City of Commons” exhibition took place in Pavia, Italy – Aula del ‘400, University of Pavia, 9-13 October 2019 – and was part of the IT.A.CA. Festival. IT.A.CA is an agency of international cooperation, organising an itinerant festival across Italy and Europe to showcase and debate best practices of sustainable development (you can read more about their agenda and mission here) and “The City of Commons“ exhibition showcased documents from various sources. Multiple voices were present, showing how cities (in light) of urban commons (and commoning practices) call for critical reflections on the ways in which we read and interpret places, an attitude that also implies a radical thinking on participatory and design processes. The exhibition showcased research-focused activities as well as pedagogical initiatives: a number of case studies and best practices aims at providing an overall vision on the state of art at international level. The outcomes of teaching-focused activities were also showcased, delivered in Pavia within a university module and the first edition of the Summer School ‘The City as a Commons‘.

Pedro Leão Neto – the coordinator of scopio Network and a teacher in the fields Photography, Architecture, City and Territory at FAUP – and Eduardo Silva – research fellow at CCRE | CEAU | FAUP and editorial assistant at scopio – exhibited the poster “Visual Spaces of Change: a methodological and pedagogical approach towards the study of the urban landscape“ (you can download the poster here) at the Aula del Quattrocento, University of Pavia, an exhibition which opened on the 9th of October, at 6 pm in.

The City of Commons, 9-13th of October, University of Pavia, 2019