Urban governance: Public space management and ‘what’s in common’

Abstract The move towards more participatory forms of governance has demanded new public space management tools, techniques, practices, and processes, including increased opportunities and avenues for consultation. Somewhat problematically, these formal processes of governance and management do not always help resolve tensions among diverse (potential and active) users, particularly in areas where relationships between inhabitants and urban authorities are strained or non-existent. In such cases, ‘commoning’ is a useful concept for exploring how negotiations of active use may interact with formal urban planning processes. We draw on the results of an ethnographic study of the Inner City East of Christchurch, Aotearoa/New Zealand (AoNZ) to identify “common-deering” (the co-option of public space), “commons-management” (co-management), “activation” and “decommoning” as four commoning processes that enable us to knit analyses of participatory governance with nuanced microspatial practices.