Neighbourhood Revitalisation and Heritage Conservation through Adaptive Reuse: Assessing Instruments for Commoning

Abstract

This contribution discusses experiences of civic initiatives with adaptive reuse in urban and rural settings. The contribution aims at understanding the implications of formal ownership instruments of commoning projects to address social needs and conserve heritage. In particular, we examine cases in which Heritable Building Lease (HBL), Community Land Trusts (CLT), and Community Ownership (CO) have been used as instruments for such commoning processes. These instruments are increasingly implemented for adaptive reuse projects with heritage buildings and sites to promote a long-term perspective of use. The case studies have an explicit ambition in opening up the site’s heritage to community engagement and to contribute to positive impacts on equitable and participatory neighbourhood development. The paper argues that the instruments play an important role in institutionalising commoning initiatives, but that formal tools are not enough as they have to mesh with informal processes. Moreover, professional expertise, time resources for volunteer engagement and idealistic motivations, are necessary preconditions for the use of these tools, yet they also show a selective bias towards the involvement of middle-class activists.