Who Owns Public Space? Three Active Models of Shared Management Shaping Urban Commons in Europe and New York

The Common Corner at Morris Houses, a New York Public Housing Development, in Bronx, NY. Image © Brook Banister

Public space is often understood as belonging to no one in particular, collectively accessible yet institutionally maintained, yet a growing number of initiatives are challenging this assumption by testing shared management and distributed ownership models. In Paris, Adoptez un banc introduces a sponsorship-based approach, allowing individuals and groups to support temporarily and symbolically...