Interview on the Role of Urban Commons in the New Urban Agenda

This is an interview of Martin Schwegmann (URG) with Bea Varnai and Cyril Royez from UrbaMonde (www.urbamonde.org), an international platform for initiatives working on the social production of habitat. The question, if urban commons or related thinking plays a role in the New Urban Agenda (NUA), was discussed.

Royez and Varnai point out that articles 107 and 31 include thoughts of collective and cooperative use of urban resources, which go beyond state and market mechanisms (see excerpts below). However ideas of anti-speculative, inclusive and collaborative production of habitat and cities are not prominently represented in the NUA.

Therefor UrbaMonde issued a commitment on the Habitat III website, "Supporting Community-Led Habitat" and the implementation of art. 31 and art. 107 of the New Urban Agenda. Please support this commitment actively by signing in to the Habitat III online platform: tiny.cc/quito-commit

Excerpt from New Urban Agenda:
"We will encourage ... cooperative solutions such as co-housing, community land trust, and other forms of collective tenure ... This will include support to incremental housing and self-build schemes, with special attention to slums and informal settlements upgrading programs." (art.107)

.".. while enabling participation and engagement of communities and relevant stakeholders, in the planning and implementation of these policies including supporting the social production of habitat... " (art.31)

Interviewees:
Cyril Royez, coordinator, UrbaMonde, is an architect and urbanist of the EPFL-SIA-FSU school in Lausanne. He has formerly worked as a project manager at the architecture studio Charles Pictet Architecte, as a real estate expert at the Office for Building Appraisal of Geneva, as a sociologist in the development of management instruments for real estate at Estia+Epiqr, as well as at the civil engineering company in wood construction "Guajard Technologie".

Bea Varnai, project manager, UrbaMonde-France, is passionate about community-driven processes shaping contemporary city-making: community-led housing models, cooperative financing strategies, innovative partnerships in area development and civic participation and cooperation. Her personal and professional background have provided her with valuable insights into innovative, sustainable and inclusive habitat solutions across Europe and Latin America. She holds an MA in International Development (Graduate Institute Geneva) and coordinate UrbaMonde's activities around the Social production of habitat platform.

„Die Stadt und … Gemeingüter“

Dr. Markus Kip of the Urban Research Group was interviewed by the Berlin based urban magazin Stadtaspekte within the first edition of a new interview series "The city and..." ("Die Stadt und..."). published on March 23, 2016

Photo by Agnes Katharina Müller

URG on Egyptian TV

Egyptian Science TV-Show SciTech features Urban Planning in Berlin and Cairo - and Urban Commons- (only in Arabic)

broadcasted in March, 2016
Dr. Martin Schwegmann talks with Ahmed, an Egyptian urban planning student on his way through Berlin in Prinzessinnengarten about the concept of Urban Commons and what that means for cities as different as Berlin and Cairo. (from min 17:50 on).

Furthermore Ahmed visits Gleisdreieck Park and a waste water farm in the middle of the city. Also in this episode: The amazing community project "Gneina" at the outskirts of Cairo!

Dr. Martin Schwegmann interviewed on Urban Commons in Egyptian TV

URG at Deutschland Radio

Dr. Martin Schwegmann from the URG was interviewed concernig new ways of using urban public spaces by Deutschland Radio. 

02.07.2015 | Kompressor
Raus ins Grüne - Event-Agenturen vermarkten die Picknick-Kultur
und Zeit miteinander zu verbringen." Dr. Martin Schwegmann, Stadtforscher am Georg-Simmel-Zentrum für Metropolenforschung der Berliner Humbolt-Universität: "Es ist sicherlich auch eine Auswirkung einer gewissen Erwartung ans Leben, neue Ideen von Mehr …