Fearless Cities is soon🔥🔥

Sheffield 2-3 November

We're organising sessions delving into #LocalGov #Coop #DebtAudit #Accountability #LocalDemocracy, #publiccommonspartnership #Municipalism #SSE #AI #FoI + much more

Tickets free, donations welcome
https://www.fearlesscitiessy.org/

Check out the program here
https://www.fearlesscitiessy.org/_files/ugd/853732_e382fb65c3af4ab0be79f7053795f93c.pdf

Friends and followers! We are very excited to be organising a #municipalism summit called Fearless Cities in Sheffield in November.

Registrations are now open!
https://www.fearlesscitiessy.org/

Come and share ideas about how we can build a better local democracy, reclaim commons and rethink care.

“The market is a sanctuary. It’s familiar, and it makes the transition a little bit easier when you have people who have gone through the same thing as you. It’s a safe space for so many of us.”
https://www.huckmag.com/article/a-love-letter-to-north-londons-latin-village

Traders and local people set out a community-led plan, based around the site being run by the people for the people. This includes affordable rents, new community spaces, and reinvestment in the building and in opportunities for the local area.

In reaction, the community resisted the planned demolition and changed the minds of the local council – who had originally supported the plan to develop and gentrify the site. The campaign was under the banner of “Save Latin Village.”

For over a decade, this space was threatened by gentrification. One of UK's largest landlords Grainger PLC intended to turn the site into 190 high-cost apartments.

In 1968 London Transport bought an unused Edwardian department store with plans to make an underground station. But this didn't happen. Instead from the 1980s onwards, migrants from Colombia and S. America transformed the space into a Latin Market.

Latin Village is a cultural hub for Latinx people in London. It is a space for small business and creates a space for mutual aid and community.
Read more here: https://novaramedia.com/2021/08/12/how-we-won-the-community-that-saved-latin-village-from-demolition/
From Novara Media, By Sophie K Rosa

Migrants make cities. #MunicipalistMonday – for International Migrants Day - turns to Seven Sisters Market in North London aka 'Latin Village'. Here migrants from South America trail-blaze pathways to democratically and locally organising against gentrification.

Other urban commons had open workshops or spaces for cultural production. Here any political movement could build props for manifestations. e.g. to paint anti-sexist manikins to spread around the neighbourhood for a recent march against violence against women.

In practical terms, this means a campaign to stop the touristification of Naples had its focal point in one urban commons, with support from others. Other urban commons led the charge to privatise and clean up the sea.

Also, the urban commons offer spaces for co-creation, for individuals, communities, artistic projects and social movements. And these are spaces that do not come and go, as they do in other cities; these are part of the fabric of the city.

Locals pressured the city of Naples to formally recognise – in law – the urban commons over a decade ago. It is difficult to imagine how worse off the city would be without these spaces. On the one hand, each urban commons provides valuable space for their local neighbourhoods.

People frequently expressed how – in comparison – few other places in Naples are socially mixed. These urban commons aren't segregated by cost barriers. These are spaces of co-creation & mutual aid: not condescending charity. All commons r anti-fascist, anti-sexist & anti-racist.

Likewise, the scope of these eight democratic spaces is huge. From mutual aid to spaces for non-capitalist production, from theatres and music gigs to sports activities, extra-curricular learning, libraries to circus training and much much more.

The urban commons of Naples are massive! There are eight officially recognised urban commons - self-managed by regular weekly assemblies – include a former juvenile prison, an ex-psychiatric prison, many former monasteries amongst other massive unused buildings.

Mid-October EMN's #OpenCall participants met in Naples to share strategies, strengthen connections and build collaborations. This also offered a chance to delve into Naples' inspirational urban commons. #MunicipalistMonday celebrates take homes from those incredible spaces.

Tweet eight~~
To find out more about Reclaim the City check out their website:
https://reclaimthecity.org.za/our-stories/

Reclaim the Power are involved in other struggles for housing across Cape Town. In homage to the anti-apartheid activists before them, they named occupied buildings after them such as Ahmed Kathrada House, Cissie Gool House and Irene Grootboom House.

Even for South Africa, inequality is particularly stark in Cape Town. Billionaires moor their super-yachts in the same Waterfront area where the new social houses are now being built due to pressure from Reclaim the City.