Leipzig one of Germany’s major
industrial, commercial and transportation centre1, located in the western part of Saxony Land (state), east-central Germany. It lies
just above the junction of the Pleisse, Parthe, and Weisse Elster rivers, about
115 miles (185 km) southwest of Berlin with an estimated gradual growing population
of 550,000 people. Leipzig is strategically located at the core of the Halle-Leipzig
metropolitan agglomeration. The countryside around the city consists of a plain
that is intensively farmed.
Contrary to other
major cities in Germany, Leipzig is a city identified by a large number of old
buildings, built in the end of the 19th Century. Although the city of Leipzig
was fortunately left unblemished following the end of WW2, some key Old buildings
have so far been replaced with the new grotesque buildings, and as such leaving
the old ones to degenerate.
However following
the unification of eastern and western Germany in 1990, an ample number of Leipzig’s
inhabitants (100,000) moved out to western Germany and modern suburban areas
leading to a tremendous decline in its population. This in turn had an adverse
effect on the occupancy, use and management of buildings and also public
facilities, most of which are until present abandoned and fast degenerating. Refurbishing
these buildings however, have proven to be uneconomical from the point of view
of the owners1, leaving them to further degenerate.
Nonetheless, a group
called “Haushalter” established in 2004 have made frantic efforts to ensure reuse
of some of these facilities in a bid to prevent them from further degeneration.
This they executed through means of collective sharing, a process known as
“Commoning”. It is a process widely acknowledged to have a potential of
triggering productively, the reuse of neglected spaces, or building for a
purposeful material and cultural sustenance. “Commoning is currently being
reimagined across social, political and economic debates as a response to this
challenge facing most cities” like Leipzig. Commoning is achieved when active
members of a society use collaboratively a space or facility and also share the
burden or responsibility of maintenance etc. It also has no dependence on the
market. Commoning brings about a unique form of social relationship.
Although, most of
the recorded cases in Leipzig have seemed to be successful, one pertinent
questions this research seeks to establish whilst trying to adopting
“Commoning” as a response to the challenges facing Leipzig are; what urban
situation exists within the study area that can lead to possible regeneration of
the abandoned structures, How genuine are the scenarios created to encourage
social interaction to bring about transformation of these unused spaces, what
are the social modus operandi are inherent in the regenerated space, how sustainable
are these resources, and What kind of social, cultural or material values it
creates to its end users, the citizens.
REFERENCE
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