The Spatial Language of Care: How Can We Translate the Plurality of ad-hoc Care Infrastructures into a Common Language?

How can processes of urban commoning construct a transitory space beyond the existing capitalist production of space? Grounded in a language of mutual aid, solidarity, and sharing, my exploration seeks to uncover the meanings and experiences that arise from these encounters while acknowledging space as an active participant in social movement struggles.

My contribution will explore how urban collectives and social movements create opportunities to use their city as a canvas for reappropriation and reinvention through cooperation and self-management. In a time of “TINA” (there is no alternative), I argue that the commons of today are the very expression of the possibilities of this alternative world beyond capitalism. In this context, I investigate how alternative infrastructures of care are built upon values of solidarity, trust, mutual aid and sharing. My aim is to unpack the language of commoning as a spatial and organising rubic, questioning whether spatial practitioners can use this diverse language. I explore various forms of urban commoning, ranging from ephemeral to more permanent interventions at different urban scales. My focus is on the period 2011–2021. During this time, I identified an alternative infrastructure of care and solidarity being built ad-hoc through “making-do” practices of everyday solidarity, all of which are critical ever-expanding narratives in paving the way for the alternative future actively and continuously challenging the existing capitalist organisation of life.