The Commons Revisited: Revalorizing the Role of comuneiros in the Redesign of Urban Agro‐Food and Agroforestry Systems

Abstract

Continuing urbanization means that city regions face challenges of development, governance, and sustainability. One of these challenges relates to the management of urban green space, whether municipal parks, forests, or productive land (animal husbandry, vegetable or fruit production). This paper draws on case study research of forestry associations in Galicia. We pay specific attention to the role of comuneiros (commoners): parishioners, who collectively own and manage often-neglected green spaces: planting or rejuvenating forests of native species to enhance ecological services (water retention, fire prevention, biodiversity) while also including productive functions such as forest fruit production and smallscale animal husbandry. At the same time these activities create social benefits. With the aim of examining the position and strategies of self-governing forest organizations, we explore the organizational-institutional environment of the commons and how this facilitates (and/or obstructs) the objective of providing multiple sustainable and health benefits within the parishes, between them, and to nearby urban residents. We conclude that this particular type of management of urban green space provides products (food and non-food) and services which are not only of private interest in that they create potential new business opportunities but also of high public value. core ideasForest associations are successfully managing urban green space in a sustainable manner.They provide an anchor for the planning, design, and governance of societal needs.This self-regulatory organizational form does not generate direct governance costs for the public administrations.Training could help stakeholders and administrative personnel to improve their performance.Collaborative governance arrangements are needed to spread ideas and innovative practices that meet sustainability challenges.

The Challenges of Governing Urban Food Production across Four European City‐Regions: Identity, Sustainability and Governance

“…Also, the city‐region is characterized by a large part of the surface consisting of commonly owned and managed land. This common land belongs to ‘comuneiros’ (commoners) (Domínguez García et al, 2017), the inhabitants of the parishes in the city‐region which exists at the periphery of the city and also extends into the city itself.…”

Caring agriculture(s) for degrowth: Against capitalist dichotomies and logic of appropriation

“…Democratised access to land looks different in different contexts, depending on socioecological needs of communities and territories. Practical examples include land collectively owned by farmers' associations and unions, smaller parcels accessible for subsistence agriculture at the family or community level and cultivated or simply harvested non-proprietary commons, such as forests (Daněk & Jehlička, 2020;Dominguez Garcia et al, 2017;Federici, 2019;Healy et al, 2020). Land redistribution, in some instances, could also mean rewilding territories, to allow animals and more-than-human nature to re-populate their territories.…”

“…This is fundamental for the democratisation and redistribution of agricultural production, in order to heal the metabolic rift. Thus, a degrowth agriculture should continue to contribute to the regeneration of built environments through urban gardening, forestry and other forms of agriculture (Daněk & Jehlička, 2020;Dominguez Garcia et al, 2017;Leahy, 2020).…”

Soil Compaction Mechanism and Improvement in Farmland

“…In addition, various chemical factors have been invested in farmland soil, causing significant soil pollution, increasing the dependence on chemical substances, and causing imbalances in the farmland's ecological environment [5]. The quality of farmland soil is indicated by its ability to coordinate water, fertilizer, gas, heat, and resistance to external environmental disturbances [6]. Degradation of the physical properties of soil is a potential cause of soil compaction [7].…”