The Value of Autonomous

1 The Value of Autonomous The Value of Autonomous The Value of Autonomous Manchester, Ljubljana; June 2021 3 The Value of Autonomous About the project The report is part of a project titled “Making and managing Ljubljana’s urban squats: inclusive and participatory practices”, which is funded by the BA/Leverhulme Small Research Grants (SRG1819\1904000) and supported by the UK Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy. The project investigates the way the place’s status within the city and Ljubljana’s squatted areas are consider communicative attempts used and managed by both official between the institutional channels institutions and their communities and the squatters’ communities of users, aiming to understand the with respect to the place’s use and power dynamics that emerge in management. their everyday running and plans for their future. It does this through the conceptual lens of place making and place management, which, as emerging areas of academic interest, seek to bridge the gap between various and often opposing voices with respect to the use of place. We examine how regulatory uncertainty can be replaced by inclusive and participatory forms of management that do not jeopardise the place’s autonomous characteristics. We wish to highlight 4 The Value of Autonomous Short Bios Jenny Nikos Aidan Kanellopoulou Ntounis Cerar is a Senior Lecturer in Law is Lecturer in Marketing at is project manager at IPoP – at Manchester Law School, Manchester Metropolitan Institute for Spatial Policies, Manchester Metropolitan University and Senior Research where he has mainly been University and a Fellow at the Associate at the Institute of involved in projects dealing Institute of Place Management Place Management (IPM). His with urban regeneration, civic (IPM). She is interested in the research focuses on advancing participation, and community development of new theoretical the theory and practice of involvement in planning, frameworks on the interplay place management, as well mobility, and placemaking. between law and place, the as examining alternative He is the author of several establishment of creative approaches of place branding, articles dealing with urban interdisciplinary synergies, as placemaking, governance and development and has been well as the research of cultural leadership within the urban involved in the design of policies from a competition environment, with a particular a communal placemaking perspective. emphasis on squatted areas mechanism called Zunaj. and pseudo-public spaces. Supporting Institutions www.placemanagement.org www.ipop.si The Institute of Place IPoP – Institute for Spatial Management is the professional Policies is an advocacy, body for people involved consulting and research in making, maintaining and organisation in the field of marketing places. As part of sustainable spatial and urban Manchester Metropolitan development. Their mission University, IPM is dedicated to is to support communities supporting people who serve towards sustainable urban places, providing them with development. IPoP is registered unbiased research, continuing as an NGO acting in the professional development, public interest in the field of qualifications, conferences, environment as well as spatial events and networking planning. opportunities. 5 The Value of Autonomous Table of Contents Executive Factors affecting 06 Summary 40 the survival of Autonomous Rog Prologue The “Management” of 08 by Lev Kreft 44 Autonomous Rog Introduction The revitalisation 12 48 of the city Rog Factory and Further factors 16 Autonomous Rog 50 contributing to the collapse of Autonomous Rog Ljubljana: The Future of Rog 23 a creative city 54 and lessons for other Autonomous urban centres The value of Bibliography 28 Autonomous Rog 60 6 The Value of Autonomous Executive Summary Often considered as an alternative to established norms within the urban context, autonomous places – and squats in particular - have long “Red Gun “ by Blu been hubs of opposition against Photo: Goran Jankovac the mainstream economic, political, 2021 cultural and social manifestations of urban life. For almost fifteen years, Autonomous earlier in 2021 The aim of this report Rog was an important alternative is to illustrate that Autonomous Rog hub in the city of Ljubljana, an produced alternative types of value urban experiment with a wealth of within the context of the creative city grassroots activity ranging from narrative that: 1) were not on offer by activism to artistic expression, to either institutional or private actors; music and parties, as well as athletic 2) contributed to the recognition of events. Throughout its existence, the city of Ljubljana as an important debates regarding the value and creative and cultural hub; and 3) significance of Autonomous Rog benefited the citizens of Ljubljana and for the city of Ljubljana emerged, marginalised groups unable to find attracting widespread public and comparable activities elsewhere. media attention. However, such discussions mostly emphasise what The report focuses on research was wrong with Autonomous Rog, conducted between 2016 and 2021 or how defective and troublesome and documents the latest stages of its occupation of the former bicycle Rog’s occupation, the governance factory was. and management structures of Autonomous Rog, the internal/ Thus, the purpose of this report is external conflicts and the legal battle to present an objective evaluation of Rog users with the municipality and insight of the content, activities, of Ljubljana, and the development and the communities involved in the of social and spatial value from the occupation of Autonomous Rog from communities of Rog within the context its inception in 2006 until its demise of the creative and cultural boom 7 The Value of Autonomous of Ljubljana. Through our analysis, monetary and intangible value we demonstrate that Autonomous produced in Autonomous Rog has Rog was one of the last providers of resulted in the current dismissal accessible space within the centre of the knowledge and social value that was both open and affordable, produced there by the City of and supported the cultural and Ljubljana. The report concludes with creative revitalisation of Ljubljana. suggestions for immediate actions We posit that Autonomous Rog regarding the future of Rog and for was a pioneer of social, cultural, the continuation of progressive and leisure, and creative activities that inclusive programmes with a bottom- did not fit into the entrepreneurial, up ethos, as well as systemic actions for-profit narrative that resulted for the preservation of remaining “Red Gun “ by Blu from the gentrification of the city. autonomous places in Ljubljana and Photo: Goran Jakovac 2021 The failure to recognise the non- elsewhere. 8 The Value of Autonomous Prologue by Lev Kreft: From Kočevski Rog to self-management bicycle factory Rog, from self- management factory Rog to Autonomous Rog Autonomous Rog was annihilated in Factory (Cukrarna) as the outburst of a public event, which media enjoyed creativity, a jewel of public-private presenting, some of them supporting partnership, and an attraction the Autonomous Rog to persist and for natives and tourists alike. This other, more numerous this time, to uneasiness reflected the problem show what kind of unacceptable of political liberality: one cannot get activities of uninvited members in support from radical and extreme right a central urban space were active without losing the support of socially there. The plot and message of conscious centre-left supporters as a representation oscillated between consequence, and one cannot destroy “another case of neoliberal violence” marginal activities in the city without and “another case of criminal activities sending negative signals to the whole under cultural and human rights cover community of youngsters, students and excuse”. The first image from the and precarious cultural workers at spot told the whole story: the police least. So, something should be added and demolition group were inside the to the successful occupation of Rog. Rog premises, and Autonomous Rog That was done with the help of an activists and their supporters were image showing a spacious room at on the street outside. The eviction Rog, where, in the middle of general and taking over by municipality of decay and waste, substantial number Ljubljana, (ab)using special state of of syringes (one cannot say used or exception for epidemic reasons, was unused) lay scattered on the ground. a success. But authorities felt that This image, many times repeated pure success was not enough to get whenever media touched the topic public support for their luxurious of eviction, was presented as a final project of a renovated riverbank, and undeniable argument against from Three Bridges to Centre Rog Autonomous Rog, as it touched the and from Centre Rog to the Sugar primary fear of city middle class/petit 9 The Value of Autonomous bourgeoisie when confronted with are addicted, giving at their disposal social presence of drugs in their noble a place where they can meet each vicinity. other, get support with safer syringes, sanitary advice, and social support, This image and its context, however, which includes their empowerment tell something more general about the as a marginal group, and conscious misunderstanding between this urban deviation from patronizing, which autonomous zone with its alternative accepts to help only those who approach to social and cultural life accept patronising as a proper

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