Sheila Foster is a leading scholar of cities, democracy, and the urban commons. Her work explores how communities share responsibility for the public spaces, institutions, and resources that shape everyday life—and how collective stewardship can make cities more equitable, democratic, and inclusive.

Co-City Baton Rouge is pioneering community-led redevelopment through an innovative land bank and trust, giving residents a lasting role in shaping and stewarding their neighborhood's future.

Chicago's NeighborSpace land trust protects community gardens from development while empowering neighborhood groups to manage and steward shared green spaces as urban commons.

San Francisco's Community Arts Stabilization Trust helps artists and cultural organizations secure affordable, permanent spaces, pioneering new models of community ownership and cultural preservation.

Nobel Prize-winning political scientist Elinor Ostrom challenged the “tragedy of the commons,” demonstrating how communities can successfully govern shared resources through cooperation, collective responsibility, and locally developed rules.

Founded by striking cable workers in New York City, People's Choice Communications is reimagining internet access through cooperative ownership and community-controlled broadband infrastructure.

Turning sunlight into shared community wealth, Solar Commons uses community trusts to ensure that the economic benefits of solar energy support local priorities and collective decision-making.

Co-Cities explores new models of urban governance based on collaboration and shared stewardship. Drawing on examples from cities around the world, Sheila Foster and Christian Iaione examine how communities, governments, businesses, and civic institutions can collectively manage urban resources and services.