Chapter 1: The ‘Expressive’ Function of Urban Commons¹

The Commons have been described both as an ethic of political action and as a political principle aimed at self-governance. This implies that they possess an ideological framework able to withstand the principal regulatory institutions of our times, that is: representative democracy, capitalism and neoliberalism. Despite more than two decades of existence, this counter-model has not reached its ideological goal. Conversely, the more the commons spread and multiply as an “empty signifier” within repertoires of collective action and among public opinion, the more that neoliberal forces colonise urban environments. A different, and less radical, theoretical approach (notably put forth by Arena) addresses urban commons as tools for reshaping the relationship among citizens and local administration which arises in “collaborative governance” (“shared administration”) in Italy. This approach has also displayed is limits, particularly in terms of the depolitisation and bureaucratisation of urban ecosystems and citizens’ activism. If the preceding assumptions are indeed correct, what are the empirical function of urban commons? The argument put forth in this chapter is that urban commons serve an “expressive” role for certain groups that may be considered “avant-garde” in terms of cognitive resources and critical weltanschauung. The aforementioned argument is validated through the analysis of case studies in the municipalities of Bologna, Rome and Naples.