ABSTRACT

This chapter interrogates the relevance of the notion from the perspective of urban studies and critical theory, showing how its different and even contrasting meanings are illustrative of the political, cultural and economic intricacies of capitalist societies in neoliberal times. It argues that the politics of the urban commons sheds light not only on multiple and even competing understandings and uses of the notion of the common(s), but also on the more general ambivalence of contemporary capitalism in its urban manifestation. The chapter provides an overview of the different theorizations of the commons. It looks at the growing centrality of cities and the urban within current debates on the commons. The chapter also looks more empirically at the urban commons, highlighting its ambivalent uses within contemporary capitalist cities. It concludes with final remarks on the commons as a crucial terrain of political and intellectual struggle in the current urban age.