Peer-reviewed articles by Iolanda Bianchi
Policy & Politics, 2024
New municipalism, in its endeavour to democratise urban politics and policy, employs innovative s... more New municipalism, in its endeavour to democratise urban politics and policy, employs innovative strategies including public-common partnerships, which seek to support citizens in self-managing public goods and services. Proponents of new municipalism claim that these partnerships have a democratising capacity, as self-management is seen as an expression of direct democracy. In this article we examine this democratising capacity. By adopting an abductive methodology, the article analyses a case of a public-common partnership, the Citizen Assets programme promoted by Barcelona en Comú in Barcelona, Spain. The research findings show that the Citizen Assets programme does have a democratising capacity. However, democratisation is not achieved exclusively through self-management, which itself needs to be democratised, but by integrating different modalities of democratisation into the policy process, namely co-production and democratic control. Theorising this integration as a 'non-appropriable' form of policy making, the article makes an original contribution to research on democratisation in the context of a specific new municipalism-inspired policy programme.
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TERRITORY, POLITICS, GOVERNANCE, 2022
Urban commons have emerged within the latest mobilization cycle, and have developed forms of ever... more Urban commons have emerged within the latest mobilization cycle, and have developed forms of everyday
politics. Marxist and social movement scholars tend to see the urban commons/local state interactions that
assemble commons’ material infrastructure as the prelude to commons being co-opted. Governance
scholars uphold that these interactions can bring political benefits to the commons. By bridging these
two perspectives, this article analyses urban commons/local state interactions that develop in the context
of material-assembling practices in the light of what we call ‘commons-led co-production’: processes
where commons gain political advantages from this co-production. By studying commons initiatives in
two neighbourhoods in two different municipalities in the Metropolitan Area of Barcelona, we analyse
and discuss a spectrum of five positions. We contend that material-assembling practices act as a
condition of possibility for developing the everyday politics of the commons, where commons-led coproduction
can be laid out, in context-specific and variegated ways. However, the arrangement of
commons-led co-production does not necessarily guarantee the long-term enhancement of commons’
political action. We conclude by calling for a more nuanced understanding of urban commons/local
state interactions within material-assembling practices, one that considers both co-optation and
enhancement as possible long-term outcomes of these interactions.
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European Urban and Regional Studies, 2022
This is the accepted version of the paper entitled "Empowering policies for grassroots welfare in... more This is the accepted version of the paper entitled "Empowering policies for grassroots welfare initiatives: blending social innovation and commons theory" which has been published by European Urban and Regional Studies
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Partecipazione e Conflitto, 2022
In the post-Marxist debate, commons have emerged as a means to develop an autonomous path of eman... more In the post-Marxist debate, commons have emerged as a means to develop an autonomous path of emancipation from capitalism. However, the extent to which commons can construct this emancipation autonomously from the state is unclear. By focusing its analysis on the city-wide scale, this article examines the extent to which urban commons are materially supported by the local state, the criteria used by the local state in offering its support, and how urban commons perceive it and its claims. The research study is set in Barcelona and presents the results of 101 responses to a survey carried out with 429 urban commons. It shows that many urban commons are able to reproduce thanks to the economic and property support of the local state, that the local state often allocates resources by exercising its discretionary power, and that many urban commons tend not to recognise this support. It concludes by putting forward two main arguments: i) a distinction should be made between material and decision-making autonomy; ii) although urban commons should pursue their material and decision-making autonomy from the state, the material support they receive from the local state can become a temporary survival strategy for them.
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Environment and Planning C: Politics and Space, 2022
This is the accepted version of the paper entitled "The local state's repertoires of governance s... more This is the accepted version of the paper entitled "The local state's repertoires of governance strategies for the urban commons. Nuancing current perspectives" which has been published by Environment and Planning C: Politics and Space.
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Urban Studies, 2022
The transformation of local state institutions by way of the paradigm of the common-the creation ... more The transformation of local state institutions by way of the paradigm of the common-the creation of commons-state institutions-has become one of the strategies of new municipalist practices. It is an attempt to overcome two crises: the crisis of both the privatised and the bureaucratic state forms. It aims to take back the production and distribution of the "public" by the state, and to democratise this process. The article analyses the discursive use and material implementation of the paradigm of the common in the transformation of local state institutions, and how contested meanings attributed to it by different actors may influence the definition of commons-state institutions. It analyses two new municipalist contexts, Naples and Barcelona, and examines the common-inspired transformation of their local public services: water services and sociocultural facilities respectively. It argues that commons-state institutions are negotiated institutional configurations that emerge from the synthesis of the situated and experimental interpretation of the paradigm of the common shared by (different segments of) state and civil society actors, and whose governance needs to be adequately but openly codified to make them robust and enduring.
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Social Inclusion, 2022
This article deploys the Foucauldian concept of governmentality to study the political tensions t... more This article deploys the Foucauldian concept of governmentality to study the political tensions that may unfold when commons are enacted through hybrid institutional configurations. We focus on civic management facilities (CMFs) that are located in the city of Barcelona. These are facilities owned by Barcelona City Council which, responding to organised citizens’ demands, are transferred to them so that they can develop their own transformative projects for the community. The hybrid institutional nature of these CMFs makes it impossible for them to avoid maintaining a relationship with the local state. Based on a survey to 51 CMFs, semi‐structured interviews with 41 grassroots members of CMFs and seven semi‐structured interviews with public employees and politicians, we argue that hybrid forms of commons lead to the development of political tensions. On the one hand, we show how the local state’s administrative procedures—to do with accountability and the use of public space—reshape...
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In Berlin, Rome and Barcelona, three cities that have been affected on different levels by the mo... more In Berlin, Rome and Barcelona, three cities that have been affected on different levels by the most recent wave of neoliberalisation of the 2000s and the global crisis, a rekindled interest in the strategies for the (re)appropriation of urban space has emerged among urban activists, as a way of resisting and challenging competitive oriented policies and austerity urbanism. The following three cases are hereby analysed in detail: the Flughafen (airport) Tempelhof in Berlin; the former Snia factory and the ‘Park of the Lake’ in Rome; the Can Batlló, an old industrial complex in Barcelona. The practices of resistance that have played out over these contended vacant public spaces have emphasised the limits of the current urban ideology in proposing alternative ways of doing things. Embodying the growing mistrust towards policy-makers and the intentions of institutional actors, these contentious urban practices have aimed to (re)politicise urban policies, planning and theoretical debates but face complex issues of institutionalisation that can co-opt contents, thereby neutralising radical claims.
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Journal of Urban Affairs, 2019
Local elections in May 2015 represented a major shift in the political history of Barcelona (Spai... more Local elections in May 2015 represented a major shift in the political history of Barcelona (Spain). The Barcelona en Comú candidacy, born in January 2015 under the impetus of a set of progressive social and political organizations, became the first municipal political force in the city. This article analyzes the cycle of creation, electoral victory, and government action of Barcelona en Comú during the current legislature (2015–2019). In so doing, the article focuses its attention on the emancipatory urban political practices emerged in recent years in response to the fractures and contradictions generated by neoliberal austerity. In dialogue with the literature on social movements and urban neoliberalism, the article focuses its attention on the challenges and opportunities that the local institutionalization of these forms of counterpolitics entails.
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Tracce Urbane. Italian Journal Of Urban Studies, 2018
In the last few decades, the category of Common has emerged in the post-Marxist discourse to draw... more In the last few decades, the category of Common has emerged in the post-Marxist discourse to draw a path of emancipation from capitalism beyond the State and the Market. Nevertheless, a shared empirical approach that allows us to understand the Commons’ emancipatory potential seems to be lacking. This paper attempts to provide a contribution in filling this gap proposing the utilisation of a relational approach for the study of Urban Commons. Analysing the Escocesa case study, an art centre located in Barcelona, the paper suggests that, by unveiling the different relations that constitute Urban Commons, it is possible to grasp their complexity and evaluate their emancipatory potential.
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Space and Polity, Aug 1, 2018
While the concept of Commons has acquired politicized meanings, it has also acquired some de-poli... more While the concept of Commons has acquired politicized meanings, it has also acquired some de-politicized ones. This article analyses a case of de-politicization of this concept, occurring in the city of Bologna, where the City Council has recently adopted the ‘Regulation for the Care and Regeneration of the Urban Commons’. Through an interpretative approach that uses critical discourse analysis, the article illustrates a form of post-politicization of the concept that aims to suture the social space without fully succeeding. The article concludes by stressing the necessity and urgency of the struggle for the politicized meaning of the concept of Commons.
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Book Chapters by Iolanda Bianchi
The Rise of the Common City, 2022
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Gli autori del capitolo esplorano comparativamente i conflitti urbani prodotti dalla turistificaz... more Gli autori del capitolo esplorano comparativamente i conflitti urbani prodotti dalla turistificazione delle città di Machu Picchu e Venezia
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Tras la indignación. El 15M: miradas desde el presente. Editores: Cristina Monge, Jose Ángel Bergua, Jaime Minguijón Pablo, David Pac Salas. Editorial Gedisa., 2021
Capítulo que analiza la primera legislatura del Gobierno de Barcelona en comú (2015-2019) centrá... more Capítulo que analiza la primera legislatura del Gobierno de Barcelona en comú (2015-2019) centrándose en la relación con los movimientos sociales y las políticas desarrolladas al respeto.
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Mimesis International, 2020
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Spazi fuori dal Comune: Rigenerare, Includere, Innovare, 2018
L'articolo analizza la relazione tra pratiche sociali e politiche pubbliche a Barcellona. L'artic... more L'articolo analizza la relazione tra pratiche sociali e politiche pubbliche a Barcellona. L'articolo concentra l'analisi nell'ambito socio-spaziale della gestione di spazi pubblici, come Centri Civici e vuoti urbani sostenendo che le pratiche sociali hanno avuto sempre influenza sulle politiche pubbliche del Comune. L'articolo conclude mostrando gli ultimi sviluppi di questa relazione con il governo di Barcelona en Comú che sta lavorando per approvare un nuovo strumento istituzionale: Il Patrimonio Cittadino di Uso e Gestione Comunitaria.
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Articles by Iolanda Bianchi
Minim Magazine, 2021
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Beyond Istanbul, Spatial Justice and the Commons, 2019
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Nous Horitzons, 2017
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Working Papers by Iolanda Bianchi
Contested Cities Working Paper Series 'De la Protesta a la Propuesta – un Diagnóstico de los Ayuntamientos ‘de cambio’ en España, 2018
El paper propone un diagnóstico del cambio de la ciudad de Barcelona donde en mayo 2015 ganó las ... more El paper propone un diagnóstico del cambio de la ciudad de Barcelona donde en mayo 2015 ganó las elecciones Barcelona en Comú. El paper analiza las condiciones politíticas previas a las elecciones, las políticas públicas previas a las elecciones (vivienda, ciudad como mercancía, espacio público, participación ciudadana y transparencia), y los programas y los resultados electorales de las elecciones.
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Peer-reviewed articles by Iolanda Bianchi
politics. Marxist and social movement scholars tend to see the urban commons/local state interactions that
assemble commons’ material infrastructure as the prelude to commons being co-opted. Governance
scholars uphold that these interactions can bring political benefits to the commons. By bridging these
two perspectives, this article analyses urban commons/local state interactions that develop in the context
of material-assembling practices in the light of what we call ‘commons-led co-production’: processes
where commons gain political advantages from this co-production. By studying commons initiatives in
two neighbourhoods in two different municipalities in the Metropolitan Area of Barcelona, we analyse
and discuss a spectrum of five positions. We contend that material-assembling practices act as a
condition of possibility for developing the everyday politics of the commons, where commons-led coproduction
can be laid out, in context-specific and variegated ways. However, the arrangement of
commons-led co-production does not necessarily guarantee the long-term enhancement of commons’
political action. We conclude by calling for a more nuanced understanding of urban commons/local
state interactions within material-assembling practices, one that considers both co-optation and
enhancement as possible long-term outcomes of these interactions.
Book Chapters by Iolanda Bianchi
Articles by Iolanda Bianchi
Working Papers by Iolanda Bianchi
politics. Marxist and social movement scholars tend to see the urban commons/local state interactions that
assemble commons’ material infrastructure as the prelude to commons being co-opted. Governance
scholars uphold that these interactions can bring political benefits to the commons. By bridging these
two perspectives, this article analyses urban commons/local state interactions that develop in the context
of material-assembling practices in the light of what we call ‘commons-led co-production’: processes
where commons gain political advantages from this co-production. By studying commons initiatives in
two neighbourhoods in two different municipalities in the Metropolitan Area of Barcelona, we analyse
and discuss a spectrum of five positions. We contend that material-assembling practices act as a
condition of possibility for developing the everyday politics of the commons, where commons-led coproduction
can be laid out, in context-specific and variegated ways. However, the arrangement of
commons-led co-production does not necessarily guarantee the long-term enhancement of commons’
political action. We conclude by calling for a more nuanced understanding of urban commons/local
state interactions within material-assembling practices, one that considers both co-optation and
enhancement as possible long-term outcomes of these interactions.
influential concepts: the embeddedness, the fictitious commodities and the
double movement. Through their development in the Great Transformation
(published in 1944) Polanyi is able to explicate the unsustainability of the freemarket system and the tension between the Market and Society that such unsustainability has caused. Nevertheless, Polanyi’s framework also has its limits, that led him to not predict the current neoliberal wave of the double movement. Thus, through a history-based reinterpretation of Polanyi’s concepts, the paper clarifies the relationship among the State, the Market and the Society, unveiling the mutual relationship between the State and the Market and between the Market and the capitalist system itself. Following the reinterpretation, the paper sustains that the Market is an illegitimate but spontaneous authoritative tactic of government within the capitalist system, based on the central experiences of capital accumulation and commodification, that needs the State, or another legitimate institution, to be legitimate and to survive.
The paper concludes by sustaining that, in order to build an alternative
organisational mechanism, Society has to initiate two parallel processes: it has to develop a tactic of government to reduce the authority of the Market within the institutional arena, by expanding into the State and it has to develop a tactic of action in order to progressively gain independence from both the authority of the Market and the State, by recovering the ownership of the conditions needed for life and its reproduction. Finally, the paper points out the relevance of this discussion for the development of further theories and practices in the urban context.
The results have made clear the flip side of the crisis. On the one hand, in fact, the necessity for regeneration is more evident than ever and it could be achieved through the development of a Regeneration Identity pursued by the Third Sector, which challenges capitalist assumptions and restores prosperity. On the other hand it undermines the growth of its instrumental power, affecting the development of the networking capacity and also the possibility to influence the decisionmaking process. From this perspective, if the construction of local Regeneration Identity can be the hybrid antidote to the capitalistic model and its assumptions, escape mechanisms are needed, through which the instrumental power will not be affected by the twists and turns in the politic and economic agenda.