Cultural citizen initiatives as autonomous public spaces : which political project ? A case of community-based governance in Barcelone

The aim of this paper is to analyze the political dimension of a cultural citizen initiative based on collective governance and solidarity economy in Barcelone. The research studies, in one hand, the relationship between... [ view full abstract ]

The aim of this paper is to analyze the political dimension of a cultural citizen initiative based on collective governance and solidarity economy in Barcelone. The research studies, in one hand, the relationship between participative governance and economic model. We will show that the mobilisation of the solidarity economy principles in its political dimension in the governance permit to strengthen collective participation by fostering processes of co-construction of decisions based on reciprocity, whereas a simple mix of economic resources without a political perspective can support an entrepreneurial drift. In the other hand, we will analyze how cultural public spaces can legitimate their action and transform public policies, by producing critical counter-power and by integrating citizens’networks. This part will underline that the political involvement of cultural citizen initiatives in solidarity economy permit to preserve independence in front of institutions and market and to reduce the risks of standardisation.