Making and enabling the commons: shared urban spaces and civic engagement in North Manchester

This chapter explores three different interventions on public land in Cheetham Hill, an area of north Manchester which is characterised by cultural diversity, high rates of unemployment and often regarded as a place of community disengagement. Amid cuts to public services and austerity measures, the author argues that the ‘commons’ are made as people adjust to new scenarios brought about by historical disruptions, collapse of work opportunities, and breakdown of state support. ‘Commoning’ provides a space for productivity and in the process, people’s sense of belonging emerges as they envisage, realize and retrieve their right to the city.