This project examines how grassroots socio-cultural initiatives negotiate access to and use of temporary urban spaces on public land, within a context of increasing competition, urban renewal, and socio-ecological pressures. It focuses on the concept of "urban citizenship" as it is practiced in everyday activities, understood as a process through which actors claim belonging and legitimacy in shaping urban space beyond formal participatory frameworks.

Bridging theories of urban citizenship, temporary urbanism, and urban commons, the study investigates how grassroots actors self-manage spaces and redefine access and use rights through collective practices. It pays particular attention to public-common partnerships as a framework for understanding how institutional actors and grassroots initiatives interact in governing these spaces.

Empirically, the project is based on a qualitative case study of three temporary socio-cultural sites in Geneva. Using field observations, surveys, interviews, and document analysis, it explores how different actors—artists, organizations, planners, and policymakers—negotiate space, resources, and legitimacy.

The findings highlight that formal democratic mechanisms alone do not guarantee meaningful inclusion in urban space-making. Instead, everyday practices of negotiation, informal governance, and collective value creation play a central role. The project argues for recognizing grassroots cultural practices as contributors to public value and calls for more reflexive, transparent, and inclusive approaches to governing urban commons.