Which ingredients of a cooperative community project most help it succeed? What are urban commons and how do they fit into current activist and civil society debates? And what tools and methods do commoners need to strengthen their work? These are the three questions at the heart of The Urban Commons Cookbook, a handbook for those interested in starting, growing and supporting community-led projects, written by Mary Dellenbaugh-Losse, Nils.-Eyk Zimmermann und Nicole de Vries.

You can download the book here: http://urbancommonscookbook.com/

A Practical Handbook

The Urban Commons Cookbook combines the theoretical framework set out in the 2015 publication “Urban Commons: Moving beyond State and Market” with real-world insights, usable tips, and tested methods for creating and maintaining commons from real urban commons projects. The result is a practical handbook which can inform actors from the civil society and politics alike.

Learning from Cases

The core of The Urban Commons Cookbook is made up of interviews with eight commons projects across a broad spectrum of resource types and locations outlining the growth of their projects, the challenges they faced, and the methods they employed to surmount them.

Theory and Methods

These real-world experiences are supplemented with a clear and reader-friendly introduction to commons theory and a range of practical methods for starting a project, dealing with internal & external challenges, creating visibility and impact, and building trust and community.

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