The Wrong Geometry for Commons

I totally get this frustration but am wondering if we approach commons challenges with the wrong geometric assumptions.

Could an underlying driver be that we’re trying to create commons using one cultural logic (linear: design-implement-maintain-measure) in contexts where multiple geometries are colliding?

The Miyawaki forests represent ‘modern’ ecological commons thinking – scientific design, government implementation, citizen maintenance. But the communities around them might operate from different spatial logics about shared spaces. Some might see them as circular – spaces that should evolve and be used organically by the community. Others might view them through network logic – as nodes in broader urban systems that serve multiple functions beyond their ‘intended’ purpose.

What if the tragedy isn’t that people don’t value green spaces but that we’re imposing one geometric approach to commons stewardship and then wondering why it doesn’t work?

What if instead of asking ‘How do we make people maintain these forests properly?’ we asked ‘How do we create forest commons that can thrive across different cultural approaches to shared urban space?’

Originally written for LinkedIn on 25 May 2025. View original →