Urban commons and commoning in Amsterdam East: The role of liquid communities and the local government

Urban commons offer new opportunities for looking into citizens’ participation and the role of communities in co-creation. Often the focus is on public and private sector organizations, and the role of citizen collectives are underestimated or even neglected. But such communities can play a role in co-creation aimed at developing solutions for contemporary problems. To illustrate the creation of urban commons and the process of commoning, we used a case study of the Indische neighbourhood in Amsterdam East. This study shows how older structures are disembedded and how new embeddedness offers possibilities for co-creation of urban commons, such as the self-management of a neighbourhood centre. Moreover, this study shows that even though neoliberal solutions are often seen as the only possibility, there are many alternatives (TAMA) available.