More and more citizen initiatives or ‘Commons’ are surfacing in Belgian cities. They have enabled citizens to become actively involved in their environment and perhaps ultimately to influence public policy on a wide range of ecological, economic and social issues. This is another way of making the city, alongside the decisions of public actors and the rules of the private market.

Autumn 2020. In the midst of a second wave of Covid-19, Muntpunt, the capital’s largest Dutch-speaking library, is planning a series of online lectures on the ‘Commons’ in collaboration with Bral, the Brussels Academy, Culture and Democracy, and more. On 27 November, the first Flemish Commons conference is being organized in Antwerp by Commons Lab Antwerpen, the University of Antwerp and Denktank Oikos.