The Commons
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Becoming stewards of our social, cultural, and natural heritage.
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The Victory of the Commons
by Jay Walljasperposted Oct 27, 2009 - Nobel Prize-winning economist Elinor Ostrom proved that people can—and do—work together to manage commonly held resources without degrading them.
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One World, One Web
by Nathaniel Jamesposted Sep 24, 2009 - On OneWebDay, people worldwide celebrate the democratizing power of the Internet by working to give everyone fast, affordable access to the Web.
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Udaipur Hands Down Skills
by Lynsi Burtonposted Sep 09, 2009 - Shikshantar believes anyone can be a teacher and when people collaborate, they can develop a “culture of learning.”
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People We Love :: Tom Steinberg
posted Feb 13, 2009 - Profile of mySociety.org founder Tom Steinberg.
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People Taking Charge :5: Sharing Food, Breaking the Law
posted Nov 07, 2007 - Orlando's Food Not Bombs Feed the Hungry in Downtown Parks, using direct action to create a grassroots alternative to the capitalist economy.
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People Taking Charge: Homeless Build Community
posted Nov 07, 2007 - Prestes Maia and the Downtown Housing Movement Create Homes for the Homeless in Brazil
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People Taking Charge :3: PARK(ing) For a Day
posted Nov 07, 2007 - Transform public parking spaces into parks for a day, and change the streetscape.
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Dutch Traffic Calming
by Jay Walljasperposted Nov 07, 2007 - Traffic calming began in the Netherlands with people putting furniture in the streets and has spread from there. An excerpt from "The Great Neighborhood Book: A Do-It-Yourself Guide to Placemaking"
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Commentary: Cooperators of the Prairies
by Jonathan Roweposted Jul 29, 2007 - Few images loom larger in the American psyche than that of the Wild West. In contrast to the myth, it was the cooperators who really made the West.
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Protecting Our Commons
by Sarah van Gelder, Doug Pibelposted Jul 29, 2007 - Keeping the air, the water, the Internet and other commons out of corporate hands and in our own. A YES! Magazine interactive graphic.
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How Commerce Consumed the Commons
by Jonathan Roweposted Nov 30, 2006 - In a world where everything's for sale, we've forgotten that much of value happens outside the stream of commerce. Here's how we forgot--and how we're reclaiming the commons.
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Resurrect New Orleans: A Better City Is Possible
by Van Jonesposted Oct 07, 2005 - The best qualities and the worst features of U.S. society were on full display in the immediate aftermath of Hurricane Katrina. And today we are still witnessing a frenzied tug-of-war between opposing aspects of the American character—with the final fate of New Orleans hanging in the balance.
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Karl Linn 1923-2005: Building a just world, one garden at a time
by Diana Youngposted Jul 12, 2005 - Karl Linn bridged communities with their landscapes by dedicating his life to improving the green environments around him. From developing community gardens in local communities to jumpstarting an Urban Habitat Program in the San Francisco Bay Area, Linn inspired the idea of environmental justice before it became widely known. In his death, he has left a legacy in every commons he created.
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Community Land Trusts
by Susan Witt, Merrian Fullerposted May 09, 2005
- CLT's take land out of the speculative market and hold it for farmland, conservation or as sites for housing or businesses.
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Book Review - Silent Theft: The Private Plunder of Our Common Wealth by David Bollier
by Jonathan Roweposted Jul 18, 2004 -
The Demand for the Common Good
by Jonathan Roweposted Jul 07, 2004 - What happens when economic growth produces more “illth” than wealth? What happens when it gobbles up the foundation of the good life—the commons?
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The Creative Commons
by Molly Van Houwelingposted May 20, 2004 - Public Domain for creative works by Molly Van Houweling
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The Lake And the 'hood
by Jane Braxton Littleposted May 20, 2004 - - an alliance between Mothers of East Los Angeles and Mono Lake Committee --The Lake and the 'hood by Jane Braxton Little
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A Watershed Runs Through You
by Freeman Houseposted May 20, 2004 - The struggle to bring back endangered salmon draws one community into a new commitment to the well-being of its watershed
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Where There's a Way
by Michael M'Gonigleposted Jun 30, 2001 - Where there's a way, by Michael M'Gonigle. Global Trade Agreements are just the latest way local communities are losing control over the surrounding forests and the watersheds. If there was a way to reclaim the commons, might there also be a political will?

