Supporting the Possibilities of Urban Commoning in Montréal’s Champ des Possibles: Progress Report

A former railyard, the Champ des Possibles has regenerated and is now a protected green space co-managed by the Plateau-Mont-Royal council and a community organization, Les Amis du Champ des Possibles. This documents provides an overview of findings from an online survey about the Champ des Possibles conducted during the summer of 2020 by researchers at Concordia and McGill Universities in partnership with Les Amis du Champ des Possibles as part of a SSHRC funded project , "Supporting the Possibilities of Urban Commoning in Montreal's Champ des Possibles." After introducing the project, the report highlights survey findings related to current and past use of the Champ, values associated with the Champ, and perceptions of and interest in participating it the site's management and governance

Repertoires of Domination: Decentralization as Process in Botswana and Senegal

Summary Decentralization promises to empower local actors, but threatens others with a loss of power. We describe "repertoires of domination" as the set of acts actors perform to defend--or entrench and expand--their positions. We illustrate, through case studies of decentralization in natural resource sectors in Botswana and Senegal, how repertoires of domination prevent local-level democratization. The concept of repertoire brings attention to the availability of multiple, substitutable acts of domination that draw upon varied sources of power. Neither decentralization nor democratization can be achieved once and for all. These processes are both advanced and halted through acts of contestation.domination decentralization natural resource management democratization Africa Botswana Senegal