Abstract
We are currently observing an international trend toward the establishment of non-profit-oriented, collaborative, and self-managed housing models. In this respect, knowledge concerning commoning has been circulating globally with initiatives mutually interacting. This is also true for the Mietshäuser Syndikat, which by now comprises some 171 permanently decommodified houses in Germany and has been transferred to the legal spaces of several neighboring states (Austria, France, Netherlands, and Czech Republic). Against this background, this paper addresses the question of how housing commons such as the Syndikat circulate translocally and what role spatial learning processes and network dynamics play in that regard. Conceptually, the study refers to the spatialities of social movements. Participatory observations at (inter-)national meetings as well as network graph-assisted interviews with key actors of the Syndikat model represent the central methods of the study. The findings illustrate that (1) solidary knowledge transfers via key actors who take on advisory and network functions, (2) open physical, and (3) virtual meeting points facilitate a moderate diffusion and permanent adaptations of the housing commons model. A process of “assembling, dis-assembling, re-assembling along the way” (McCann and Ward,2012) thus unfolds. However, the findings illustrate that these mechanisms are not strong enough to compensate unequal relations of power and resources—among other in view of local pre-conditions.
Highlights
In the context of the globally and increasingly volatile housing issue, a trend is becoming apparent toward non-profit-oriented and collectivized housing and property models that are organized bottom-up, including new cooperatives, the Mietshäuser Syndikat, limited-equity cooperatives and community land trusts (CLTs) (Horlitz, 2012; Rost, 2014; Balmer and Bernet, 2015; Huron, 2015; Thompson, 2015; Bunce, 2016; Cabré and Andrés, 2017)
Drawing on the example of the Mietshäuser Syndikat and its international network, this paper addresses the question as to how housing commons circulate translocally and what role spatial learning processes and network dynamics play in that regard
The objective of the present study was to explore the mechanisms and challenges associated with the translocal mobilization of housing commons as exemplified by the Syndikat model found especially in Germany
Summary
In the context of the globally and increasingly volatile housing issue, a trend is becoming apparent toward non-profit-oriented and collectivized housing and property models that are organized bottom-up, including new cooperatives, the Mietshäuser Syndikat, limited-equity cooperatives and community land trusts (CLTs) (Horlitz, 2012; Rost, 2014; Balmer and Bernet, 2015; Huron, 2015; Thompson, 2015; Bunce, 2016; Cabré and Andrés, 2017). In part, these housing models have expanded internationally and shown mutual connections (Moore and McKee, 2012; Moore and Mullins, 2013; Lang, 2015).
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