Co-Cities Explained

Co‑Cities are places where communities, institutions, and local governments work together to steward shared urban resources — from land and housing to energy, broadband, and public space. Rather than relying solely on top‑down programs or short‑term projects, Co‑Cities create long‑term structures for shared governance. These structures help communities manage essential resources, strengthen local capacity, and build resilience in the face of social, economic, and climate challenges.

Cities are changing faster than ever. As more people move into urban areas, the pressures on land, housing, energy, and public space grow — and the old ways of managing these shared resources often fall short. Communities feel the strain first: uneven access, rising costs, and systems that don’t always respond to local needs.

The Co‑City Framework began with a simple question: What would cities look like if the people who rely on shared resources every day had a real role in governing them? Over more than a decade of global research — including a systematic investigation of 500+ cities and 200+ cases documented in the award‑winning book Co‑Cities (MIT Press) — that question evolved into a practical model for collaborative urban governance. Early applications in cities across Europe, the United States, Latin America, and Asia demonstrated how the model could be adapted and tested in practice.

A Co‑City is built through partnership. Residents bring lived experience. Community organizations bring trust and networks. Businesses contribute tools and capacity. Knowledge institutions offer research and technical support. Public authorities provide enabling policy and long‑term stability. When these five actors work together, cities become more resilient, more equitable, and more capable of solving problems that no single group can address alone.

The Co‑City Framework helps cities build these partnerships in grounded, practical ways — from co‑managed land and housing to shared energy systems, broadband networks, and public spaces. It offers a pathway for cities that want to move beyond top‑down systems and toward structures where communities have real power in shaping the places they call home.

Explore the Co‑City Framework

The framework is organized into four parts:

  • Map — Where Co‑City projects have taken root around the world.
  • Principles — The five pillars that guide collaborative governance and shape the Co-City framework.
  • Toolkit — Practical methods, templates, and resources communities can use to support shared stewardship.
  • Process — The adaptive Co‑City Cycle LabGov applies in its projects.