Commons and Public Partnership

Commons and Public Partnership explores the creative production of the commons as a third political sphere that occupies the space between the household and the state. Torange Khonsari demonstrates how the commons, as a third political sphere, can utilize cultural practices to mobilize communities and produce critical neighbourhood-based commons systems. These practices and methods stem from local experiences that have brought a variety of contemporary societal issues to light. These issues range from citizen apathy and institutional distrust to a lack of knowledge about creative practices that can redefine political engagement from the ground up. The book repositions the neighborhood as a decentralized arena for political decision-making instead of traditional, centralized political systems. It argues for a commons/public partnership model over the private/public hegemonic model. A rich and engaging volume, it combines theory, methodology and practice to bridge disciplinary boundaries, from commons, urbanism, psychology, politics, anthropology and sociology, with practical design methodology.