Caring in urban space:

Children care-sharing in Barcelona, Spain

Sara Pierallini*, Giacomo D’Alisa*^

* Institute of Science and Environmental Technology, Autonomous University of Barcelona; Spain.

^Research and Degrowth (R&D), Barcelona, Spain

Corresponding author: e-mail: sara.pierallini@yahoo.com;

Abstract

In contemporary capitalist society the celebration of individualism, marketization and commodification of life is a daily experience. In this context, critical feminists argue for a re-evaluation of reproduction activities as a way to create new forms of social-civic commons and to revert the expansion dynamic of capitalist relations. In the last years, care, the core of reproduction activities, has become a keyword of degrowth, an intellectual and activist movement that aspires to abolish the pursuit of economic growth and create new decommodified social and ecological spaces. Research on care activities, their relationship to degrowth, and their reclaiming of urban space are few, if any. This study investigates a case in the city of Barcelona, where groups of parents have been coming together to share part of their reproductive work setting up so called “Grupos de Crianza Compartida (Children Care-sharing Groups). Thrusting public and private nurseries aside, because neither the former nor the latter allow parents to become active participants in the daily life of their children, these groups build alternative ways to care through horizontal decision processes. They contribute, we argue, to shape communities where education takes the form of a “social/civic commons.”

Keyword: Reproduction, Care, Care-sharing, Feminism, Degrowth, Social-Civic Commons

This media entry was a contribution to the special session „Caring in urban space“ at the 5th International Degrowth Conference in Budapest in 2016.