A mural depicting solar commons community benefit — *Community Energy | Shared Ownership | Urban Commons*
Who owns the sun? And who should benefit from the value it creates?
Solar Commons is pioneering a model that turns solar energy into a community resource. Through community trusts, the economic benefits generated by solar installations can be shared and governed locally, supporting neighborhood priorities rather than flowing exclusively to private owners or utilities.
The first Solar Commons project launched in Tucson, Arizona, in 2018, using solar-generated savings to support a community trust benefiting underserved residents.
By combining renewable energy, community ownership, and collective decision-making, Solar Commons offers a new way to think about energy infrastructure—and the wealth created from resources we all share.

https://www.solarcommons.org/

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Field Guide

People, The Commons, Cities, Climate, New York, Columbia University, Civic-Design, Democracy, Benjamin Barber, Governance, Elinor Ostrom, CAST

Sheila Foster

People, The Commons, Cities, Climate, New York, Columbia University, Civic-Design, Democracy, Benjamin Barber, Governance, Elinor Ostrom, CAST

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.

Organization, The Commons, Cities, Governance, Sheila Foster, Global Cities

Lab Gov

Organization, The Commons, Cities, Governance, Sheila Foster, Global Cities

LabGov is an international research and action network developing practical models of collaborative urban governance, helping communities, institutions, and governments steward cities as shared resources.

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Organization, The Commons, Cities, Governance, Sheila Foster, Global Cities

Project, The Commons, Community Land Trust, Economic and Community Development, Placemaking, Sheila Foster, LabGov

Co-City Baton Rouge

Project, The Commons, Community Land Trust, Economic and Community Development, Placemaking, Sheila Foster, LabGov

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.

Organization, Community, The Commons, Community Gardens, LabGov

NeighborSpace

Organization, Community, The Commons, Community Gardens, LabGov

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

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Organization, Community, The Commons, Community Gardens, LabGov

Solar Commons

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People's Choice Communications

Justin de Benedictis-Kessner