A photograph of a hot food truck on a vacant site on Worcester Street, during the launch of Freerange Press's latest journal, Freerange Vol. 7: The Commons. The event was part of FESTA 2013.
A photograph of a musical performance at the launch of Freerange Press's latest journal, Freerange Vol. 7: The Commons. The event was part of FESTA 2013.
A photograph of people gathered at 88 Worcester Street for the launch of Freerange Press's latest journal, Freerange Vol. 7: The Commons. The event was part of FESTA 2013.
A photograph of people gathered on Worcester Street for the launch of Freerange Press's latest journal, Freerange Vol. 7: The Commons. The event was part of FESTA 2013.
A photograph of a musical performance at the launch of Freerange Press's latest journal, Freerange Vol. 7: The Commons. The event was part of FESTA 2013.
A photograph of Clayton Prest with a copy of Freerange Press's latest journal, Freerange Vol. 7: The Commons at the public launch event, which was part of FESTA 2013.
A photograph of Byron Kinnaird reading from Freerange Press's latest journal, Freerange Vol. 7: The Commons, at the launch event, which was part of FESTA 2013.
A photograph of people gathered at 88 Worcester Street for the launch of Freerange Press's latest journal, Freerange Vol. 7: The Commons. The event was part of FESTA 2013.
A photograph of people gathered at 88 Worcester Street for the launch of Freerange Press's latest journal, Freerange Vol. 7: The Commons. The event was part of FESTA 2013.
A photograph of Clayton Prest with a copy of Freerange Press's latest journal, Freerange Vol. 7: The Commons at the public launch event, which was part of FESTA 2013.
A photograph of Freerange Press co-director Joseph Cederwall giving a speech at the launch of Freerange Press's latest journal, Freerange Vol. 7: The Commons. The event was part of FESTA 2013.
A photograph of a participant in Speakers' Corner. Speakers' Corner was an event that gathered citizens, architects, urbanists, developers and government officials to The Commons to speak about the importance of flexible and temporary spaces in the creation of cities. Speakers' Corner was part of FESTA 2014 and supported by Athfield Architects.
A photograph of Speakers' Corner, an event that gathered citizens, architects, urbanists, developers and government officials to The Commons to speak about the importance of flexible and temporary spaces in the creation of cities. Speakers' Corner was part of FESTA 2014 and supported by Athfield Architects.
A photograph of people sitting around a table at The Commons during Speakers' Corner, an event that gathered citizens, architects, urbanists, developers and government officials to speak about the importance of flexible and temporary spaces in the creation of cities. Speakers' Corner was part of FESTA 2014 and supported by Athfield Architects.
A photograph of Speakers' Corner, an event that gathered citizens, architects, urbanists, developers and government officials to The Commons to speak about the importance of flexible and temporary spaces in the creation of cities. Speakers' Corner was part of FESTA 2014 and supported by Athfield Architects.
A photograph of two people wearing neon lights. They are standing under The Arcades Project at The Commons, during Light Up Your Life - a youth-focused procession of glowing activity and wearable art. Light Up Your Life was organised by Gap Filler and was part of the public programme for FESTA 2014.
A photograph of the launch event for Gap Filler's Grandstadium at the Retro Sports Facility (The Commons). The Grandstadium is a re-locatable mini-grandstand. The launch event took place as part of FESTA 2014.
A photograph of the launch event for Gap Filler's Grandstadium at the Retro Sports Facility (The Commons). The Grandstadium is a re-locatable mini-grandstand. The launch event took place as part of FESTA 2014.
A photograph of the launch event for Gap Filler's Grandstadium at the Retro Sports Facility (The Commons). The Grandstadium is a re-locatable mini-grandstand. The launch event took place as part of FESTA 2014.
A photograph of the launch event for Gap Filler's Grandstadium at the Retro Sports Facility (The Commons). The Grandstadium is a re-locatable mini-grandstand. The launch event took place as part of FESTA 2014.
A photograph of the launch event for Gap Filler's Grandstadium at the Retro Sports Facility (The Commons). The Grandstadium is a re-locatable mini-grandstand. The launch event took place as part of FESTA 2014.
A photograph of the launch event for Gap Filler's Grandstadium at the Retro Sports Facility (The Commons). The Grandstadium is a re-locatable mini-grandstand. The launch event took place as part of FESTA 2014.
A photograph of the launch event for Gap Filler's Grandstadium at the Retro Sports Facility (The Commons). The Grandstadium is a re-locatable mini-grandstand. The launch event took place as part of FESTA 2014.
A photograph of Gimme Shelter, a cardboard-box city-building workshop for children aged 10 and older. The workshop was led by Wellington-based artist Simon Gray. Gimme Shelter was held at The Commons and was part of FESTA 2014.
A photograph of Gimme Shelter, a cardboard-box city-building workshop for children aged 10 and older. The workshop was led by Wellington-based artist Simon Gray. Gimme Shelter was held at The Commons and was part of FESTA 2014.
A photograph of Gimme Shelter, a cardboard-box city-building workshop for children aged 10 and older. The workshop was led by Wellington-based artist Simon Gray. Gimme Shelter was held at The Commons and was part of FESTA 2014.
In recent work on commons and commoning, scholars have argued that we might delink the practice of commoning from property ownership, while paying attention to modes of governance that enable long-term commons to emerge and be sustained. Yet commoning can also occur as a temporary practice, in between and around other forms of use. In this article we reflect on the transitional commoning practices and projects enabled by the Christchurch post-earthquake organisation Life in Vacant Spaces, which emerged to connect and mediate between landowners of vacant inner city demolition sites and temporary creative or entrepreneurial users. While these commons are often framed as transitional or temporary, we argue they have ongoing reverberations changing how people and local government in Christchurch approach common use. Using the cases of the physical space of the Victoria Street site “The Commons” and the virtual space of the Life in Vacant Spaces website, we show how temporary commoning projects can create and sustain the conditions of possibility required for nurturing commoner subjectivities. Thus despite their impermanence, temporary commoning projects provide a useful counter to more dominant forms of urban development and planning premised on property ownership and “permanent” timeframes, in that just as the physical space of the city being opened to commoning possibilities, so too are the expectations and dispositions of the city’s inhabitants, planners, and developers.
In recent work on commons and commoning, scholars have argued that we might delink the practice of commoning from property ownership, while paying attention to modes of governance that enable long-term commons to emerge and be sustained. Yet commoning can also occur as a temporary practice, in between and around other forms of use. In this article we reflect on the transitional commoning practices and projects enabled by the Christchurch post-earthquake organisation Life in Vacant Spaces, which emerged to connect and mediate between landowners of vacant inner city demolition sites and temporary creative or entrepreneurial users. While these commons are often framed as transitional or temporary, we argue they have ongoing reverberations changing how people and local government in Christchurch approach common use. Using the cases of the physical space of the Victoria Street site “The Commons” and the virtual space of the Life in Vacant Spaces website, we show how temporary commoning projects can create and sustain the conditions of possibility required for nurturing commoner subjectivities. Thus despite their impermanence, temporary commoning projects provide a useful counter to more dominant forms of urban development and planning premised on property ownership and “permanent” timeframes, in that just as the physical space of the city being opened to commoning possibilities, so too are the expectations and dispositions of the city’s inhabitants, planners, and developers.
A PDF copy of pages 144-145 of the book Christchurch: The Transitional City Pt IV. The pages document the transitional project 'WikiHouse Prototype'. Photos with permission: Wikihouse through Creative Commons
A photograph of a large sign at The Commons that is part of Signs of Things to Come. This was a wayfinding project by Generation Zero and Diadem, for FESTA 2014. The signage gives directions to key central city and FESTA locations, and compares the current and future potential of transport in Christchurch.