Purpose:
The concept of “the commons” draws from the English legal term for common land and traditionally refers to shared resources held in common. The commons tend to be understood as material resources that communities manage for collective and individual benefit, but can refer to both material and immaterial resources.
On March 17, 2020, the Municipality of Torino approved a resolution that declared “knowledge, actions, and anti-racist good practice as an intangible common good”. With this resolution, the city has embarked on a journey with significant potential to prevent all forms of racism, including systemic discrimination.
Stimulus/Rationale:
This initiative is based on the ‘Regulation on Urban Commons’ approved by the City Council on 11 January 2016, as revised in 2019 to include for immaterial commons. This establishes forms of cooperation between citizens and the local authority for the care, shared management, and regeneration of urban commons.
It defines urban commons as those tangible, intangible and digital goods, that citizens and the Administration recognise as contributing to “the exercise of the fundamental rights of the person, individual and collective well-being, and the interest of future generations”.
Process:
The initial goal for the journey is to develop a Pact of Collaboration for the care, shared management and regeneration of this urban common. This is preceded by a public consultation to get ideas and proposals for inclusion in the Pact. An open call for proposals has been issued to underpin a process of co-creation for the Pact.
This open call identifies the purpose of the Pact as being to “consolidate, enhance, promote and extend” these urban commons. It will provide a basis to coordinate the efforts of the municipality and signatories on the issue of anti-racism. It will identify the priorities to be worked on and the investments to be made in this work.
The details of the Pact and the mutual commitments involved are yet to be defined. Sixty entities have sought to be involved in the Pact to-date, including associations, trade unions, museums/institutions, networks, informal committees, and individual. Once completed the Pact will be signed by those entities that agree to work together on its implementation in a form of co-management of the issue.
The Pact is a formal act that commits the parties and cannot be neglected. As it is set by resolution of the city, it can only be rescinded by a further resolution.
Impact:
Key reference documents:
