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Abstract:
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"This research project addresses former airports in cities, as urban voids and cases of exception, and examines three case studies (Elliniko/Athens, Tempelhof/ Berlin and Mariscal Sucre/Quito). They are being discussed as potential urban commons, while acknowledging the cultural, historical, political, economic and urban complexities and specificities that each of the three cities and the respective countries entail. The paper comments on the experiences of MET, an ongoing experimental workshop on this theme, in order to highlight the case of former airports in cities in a state of transition and the implications this condition implies. The main questions being asked in the context of the research workshop are: Is it possible for cities and their citizens to actively co-shape their futures? Is it possible to generate meaning, reshape the collective imaginary and instigate change dictated through collaborative processes? What does large scale imply for the urban commons? Can urban commoning be understood as a viable governance model? Is there any way to imagine, conceptualize and implement the concept of commoning at a metropolitan scale? Some organizational and strategic attempts are outlined as well and the current steps are discussed and future ones are introduced."
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