I studied Design for the Cultural Commons as a masters degree graduating in 2021, the course was focussed on a resurgence in the fields of design and architecture, of commoning. The whole course including- history of the commons, governance, systems design, social justice in political philosophy and my final design project, was crammed into two years, whilst I continued working, so I'm by no means an expert! But as with any emerging field the theory develops with the doing of it, so my understanding is growing as long as we keep working on this project.
Most of the theory around Commons comes from Nobel Prize winning economist Elinor Ostrom. Ostrom studied communities that managed 'common pool resources'. In some cases they were hundreds of years old like the case of grazing rights for dairy cattle in the Swiss Alps. This system of land, cows and humans is similar to grazing rights that existed on every commons in Europe up until the Enclosures, even Streatham Common and Clapham Common. The rights would normally be attached to properties around the commons; people who lived nearby would have the right to negotiate grazing for a certain number of animals on the common land. It was important that the land was protected by this system of negotiation, because if just anyone grazed as many animals as they could, then the land would be degraded (stripped of vegetation and trampled hard by too many animals) and it would be useless to everyone. A 'tragedy of the commons'.
Ostrom's work documented how brilliant the systems that had evolved over centuries between holders of a Common Right are, for protecting and nourishing a Common Pool Resource. Her research valorises the expertise of those with direct experience and a direct stake in a particular location and local environment. She developed a set of principles that well managed Commons used to ensure that their resource would be regenerated and abundant for future generations as well as providing sufficiently for every member.
Cultural Commons tend to focus around the resource of knowledge or expertise. My thesis was that the invention of machinery in textiles production captured not just a way to earn a living, but a whole canon of embodied knowledge that is part of the rich human experience. How to spin wool and dye it would have been knowledge widely held and passed down through 'social classes'; everyone getting together by the fire and having a good old chat whilst passing on skills and techniques. The industrial ways of producing cloth cannot facilitate these social elements, and some might argue that they deliberately eradicate the social element of productive work.
In my own work I've seen clearly how certain elements of industrialisation making protecting the environment very difficult. Huge Minimum Order Quantities at mills hinder innovation and small scale production. Lack of wider understanding stops consumers (buyer/wearers) from making informed decisions, global supply chains mean damage is invisible in far off communities, even though the whole planet is a connected ecosystem and we will feel the effects soon enough.
London Urban Textiles Commons aims to reverse some of these trends in how textiles and clothing are made. We are working hard to build basic understanding within the wider community, and to make machinery available to small scale practitioners. What makes it a commons is the governance structure. When you become a member you are part of negotiating the rules of the system. You think the hire fees are prohibitive? you have a chance to say that and to look at the numbers. People aren't taking care to clean up? Then you can negotiate sanctions.
These new models for running organisations are creative collaborative and empowering. You can find out more by attending, or watching the recording of our three part Commons course.