Land in Common

The Goethe-Institut is the cultural institute of the Federal Republic of Germany operating worldwide. For over 45 years, our institute in downtown Chicago has been a place for ideas, education and transatlantic discourse.

Goethe-Institut Chicago

A free interdisciplinary event on land justice, featuring talks on Chicago's Indigenous history, urban farming, a plant swap, and more!

The Plant

***Update: Our first speaker, Daniel Loick, cannot present due to COVID. All other talks are on as planned. Join us at 1:30pm for Juanita Irizarry's talk on the Chicago Park District!*** In medieval Europe, the commons, or Allmende, referred to shared pastures, agricultural lands, and forests that were used communally for grazing cattle, harvesting lumber, and other subsistence activities. By the end of the 19th century, many of these resources had been enclosed and transformed into private property. But while the concept of ‘the commons’ appears democratic, it has always been premised on certain forms of exclusion, exploitation, and dispossession. And as American biologist Garret Hardin argued in The Tragedy of the Commons (1968), with the increase in global population, individual rights may clash with public interests as different concepts of freedom collide.Today, the idea of 'the commons' encompasses a wide range of issues around shared resources and the public good, including waste management, city planning, urban and virtual infrastructure, and climate change. What can the concept of the commons help us understand about the relationship between individual liberties and the communal good, the history of Chicago itself, and our sometimes contradictory notions of environmental stewardship?On Saturday, November 11th, join us in-person at <a href="https://www.insidetheplant.com/" target="_blank" data-msys-clicktrack="0" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer">The Plant</a> for an interdisciplinary symposium on land justice. Topics include the ideological underpinnings of the idea of ‘the commons’ and its application in Europe and the US; how urban farms become microcosms for new social worlds; and how civil rights law can combat environmental racism.Speakers include: Daniel Loick, Associate Professor in Political and Social Philosophy at the University of Amsterdam; Juanita Irizarry, Executive Director of <a href="https://www.fotp.org/" target="_blank" data-msys-clicktrack="0" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer">Friends of the Parks</a>; Nyabweza 'Bweza' Itaagi, lead steward of the <a href="https://www.growgreater.org/ent" target="_blank" data-msys-clicktrack="0" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer">Englewood Nature Trail</a>, Anthony Tamez-Pochel, co-president of <a href="https://chinations.org/about/" target="_blank" data-msys-clicktrack="0" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer">Chi Nations Youth Council</a>, and others.The event will conclude with a plant and seed swap, and is free and open to the public.Dinner and drinks available for purchase on-site at The Plant, including <a href="https://www.google.com/url?sa=t&amp;rct=j&amp;q=&amp;esrc=s&amp;source=web&amp;cd=&amp;ved=2ahUKEwiAl9GG9aWCAxVT_7sIHStDCwIQFnoECBkQAQ&amp;url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.instagram.com%2Ftherealhefferbbq%2F&amp;usg=AOvVaw1kavWn7azYH4b-jAKZxuxn&amp;opi=89978449" target="_blank" data-msys-clicktrack="0" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer">Heffer BBQ</a> at <a href="https://www.whinerbeer.com/whiner-taproom" target="_blank" data-msys-clicktrack="0" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer">Whiner Beer Co.'s Taproom</a> and <a href="https://stemartaen.com/" target="_blank" data-msys-clicktrack="0" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer">MeetStop by Ste. Martaen</a>'s vegan comfort foodPlease register in advance to help us plan accordingly.* On Tuesday, November 14th, at 6pm CST, catch our virtual keynote, '<a href="https://www.goethe.de/ins/us/en/sta/chi/ver.cfm?event_id=25181885" target="_blank" data-msys-clicktrack="0" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer">A Brief History of Indigenous Chicago</a>,' with Dr. John N. Low. <a href="https://goethe-institut.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_KGjG4tWTRKKqmme4pRvkcg?fbclid=IwAR3VqcQA_LjyaX59Xk5J8plWRHs2Rm7Hh5cIDIZjrwlBsY-8Nk3EbWVlPnQ#/registration" target="_blank" data-msys-clicktrack="0" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer">Please register separately for the Zoom link here</a>.*This symposium is organized in partnership with the <a href="https://chicagoarchitecturebiennial.org/" target="_blank" data-msys-clicktrack="0" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer">Chicago Architecture Biennial </a>and Bubbly Dynamics LLC, owner and operator of the former meatpacking facility now known <a href="https://www.insidetheplant.com/" target="_blank" data-msys-clicktrack="0" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer">The Plant</a>.F or more information, including speaker bios, please see the <a href="https://www.goethe.de/ins/us/en/sta/chi/ver.cfm?event_id=24421222" target="_blank" data-msys-clicktrack="0" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer">Goethe-Institut Chicago page</a>.

Agenda

*CANCELLED* It is generally argued that use requires property: in order to legitimately use land, for example, one has to have property rights in it. This intervention argues the opposite: property inevitably leads to specific forms of abuse, of things as well as people. In this on-site virtual talk, Daniel Loick, Associate Professor of Political and Social Philosophy at the University of Amsterdam, argues that we need to politically challenge the property regime in order to repair ourselves and the world.

The Abuse of Property 

What does it mean for parks to be democratic spaces? Renowned park designer Frederick Law Olmsted said that parks are democratic spaces, and the assertion that they are is often made. But in practice, not everyone experiences their park as a democratic space. In this talk, Juanita Irizarry, Executive Director of Friends of the Parks, will discuss the social histories that have shaped the Chicago Park District and some of the urgent issues affecting the city’s parks and green spaces today, including the migrant crisis and unhoused people who live in parks.

Parks as Democracy?: A People’s History of the Chicago Park District 

In this panel discussion, three Chicago urban farmers and environmental stewards will weigh in on how community gardens can propel broader neighborhood change. From turning a vacant lot into a cultural space to providing access to fresh produce in food deserts across the city’s South and West sides, urban farming can reshape neighborhood dynamics to model more equitable communities. This discussion will feature Nyabweza “Bweza” Itaagi, steward of the Englewood Nature Trail and co-owner of Englewood community production farm Sistas In The Village; Robert Phillips, owner and lead farmer of Patchwork Farms, which is based at The Plant; and Anthony Tamez-Pochel, co-president of Chi Nations Youth Council and member of the First Nations Garden in Albany Park. It will be moderated by Yaritza Guillen, urban planner and Stewardship Coordinator at Chicago nonprofit land trust NeighborSpace.

From Placemaking to Worldbuilding: Reinventing the Urban Farm

In our city, public health and environmental burdens are the most present and pernicious where lower-income communities of color reside as a product of racial segregation created and perpetuated by law and legal institutions. Observing this fact leads to an obvious question: if law created this concentration of harms, how can law address and unwind them? Environmental and land use laws are intended to protect the public from the burdens that flow from people living in proximity to polluters. But, federal environmental law is fundamentally siloed and technocratic; built from the perspective of individual polluters, not communities exposed to multiple and cumulative health stressors. And land use law in Chicago is both designed to prioritize development and built on a racially segregated map. Professor Weinstock’s talk will explore the connection between segregation and environmental burdens in Chicago and introduce the conceptual shortcomings of environmental law.

Redrawing Chicago’s Map: Using Civil Rights Law to Combat Environmental Racism

In this talk, historical and economic geographer Mary Beth Pudup will identify a few themes and red threads that run through the afternoon’s sessions and reflect on some of the challenges of commoning and governing the commons as policy and practice, suggesting a necessary step towards future commons in any realm of social existence perhaps depends on an urgent project of rescuing and rehabilitating “the public” realm from its currently damaged and derogated condition.

The Commons and the Public

A plant swap is an event where fellow plant owners come together to trade plant cuttings and seeds. If you would like to participate, please bring a pest-free plant (or however many you’re willing to part with!). They can be potted or bare root, but please note that we will not be providing soil and pots for whatever you’d like to take home. There will be a table set up at the entrance to The Plant for you to leave your donated cuttings, which will be available for anyone to take for the duration of the full ‘Land in Common’ event. Please label what you bring with basic care instructions. If you’d like to mingle with other plant swappers or have any questions about plant care, meet us at the tables from 5:30-6:00pm! Not sure if your houseplant is propagatable? Check here for some tips on which plants make for good plant swap material and how to take cuttings: https://www.ourhouseplants.com/guides/how-to-propagate-house-plants

Land in Common

More events from Goethe-Institut Chicago

Discover more events from Goethe-Institut Chicago, from Community to other experiences you might love.

Still looking for the right event?

Explore all events in Chicago and filter by date, category, and more to find the perfect fit.

Land in Common

More events from Goethe-Institut Chicago

Discover more events from Goethe-Institut Chicago, from Community to other experiences you might love.

You might also like...

Browse more events with different dates, prices, and formats to find your next great experience.

Still looking for the right event?

Explore all events in Chicago and filter by date, category, and more to find the perfect fit.