Real estate as a commons: Collaboration between communities, housing corporations, and the local government in Amsterdam East

Since 2007, liquid communities have mushroomed in the Indische neighborhood in Amsterdam East. These grassroots organizations ask for a more efficient use of public real estate, especially buildings that are empty or underused. The communities and related legal entities have managed buildings that were used as community centers and playground complexes, or in other words, as commons. And they have done so in financially sustainable ways. The challenge is to use a governance approach – involving the local government, housing corporation and citizens – in such a way that the strength of the life world of communities can be maintained and the system of the government and professionals does not intervene in collaborative activities in the buildings. This paper, which is based on qualitative research, shows how community development workers and communities interact and find ways to deal with the shared management of real estate. In addition, theoretical notions about the collaborative management of real estate are explored