Civic Crowdfunding and the Negotiation of New Urban Public Spaces

This paper draws on qualitative research, carried out in London and Milan, to investigate the growing phenomena of civic crowdfunding projects. This approach is framed by interdisciplinary debates around governance and collaborative, community-led initiatives aiming at making cities more inclusive and sustainable. In particular, this work draws on discourses around actor- network theory, diverse economies and spatial agency, to focus on the negotiation of new and alternative networks of urban governance (both off-line and on-line), and on to what extent these can be seen as socially innovative. In this context the paper discusses how technologies can be employed to empower citizens in envisioning, designing and shaping the future of the city through local, bottom up and innovative initiatives like civic crowdfunding, but also what is the role of Local Government in fostering the emergence of and supporting such initiatives. By exploring innovative practices emerging in a highly formal planning system, this paper discusses the potential role of self-organised groups in producing alternative views of the city, against or within dominant urban development practices.