Mai Sutton

Urban commons initiatives are booming in the Belgian city of Ghent, according to a new report. One of the researchers behind the study, Michel Bauwens of the P2P Foundation, says that “the ecosystem of commons-based initiatives in Ghent is quite exemplary precisely because it covers an ecosystem in an area that requires a lot of capital and has to overcome a lot of commons-antagonistic regulation.” So against the odds, approximately 500 urban commons projects have sprung up in the last decade.

A renewable energy cooperative, a community land trust, and a former church building publicly-controlled and used by nearby residents — these are just a few examples of about 500 urban commons projects that are thriving in the Flemish city of Ghent in Belgium.

Within the sharing economy, people must have choices to be able to decide how and on what terms they are able to share things with each other. Communities need to be able to make strong, evidence-based policy that maximizes the public good.

It’s hard to convey what the sharing movement is about without describing how it looks in practice.

The economy can often feel like it’s out of our control — a system that abides by its own forces that we have no power to influence.

For as long as there has been art, artists have worked together to support each others’ projects and sustain their livelihoods.