The reciprocal development of the object of common space and the emergence of the collective agency in residents' workshops

This paper contributes to the study of agency by addressing the reciprocal development of collective agency and the object of common space. The aim is to investigate residents’ collective agency in urban development from the perspective of cultural-historical activity theory (CHAT) with the help of applied ethnography. Residents’ workshops focusing on the capacity to act together collectively provided a space for the residents to share their needs for a common space. The development of the collective agency of the residents began by expressing their individual needs in the development of their neighborhood. The collective elaboration of the fragmented needs in the residents’ workshops enabled the formation of a joint object with the aid of cultural means and tools and with expansions of the object. In this study we provide an overview of the reciprocal development of residents’ collective agency and the object of ‘space’. Our findings call attention to 1) the significance of the joint object in coordinating the fragmented needs of the residents, 2) new participatory practices which enable the long process of transitions in the formation of the joint object, and 3) guidance and support that allowed the residents’ local place-based knowledge to emerge and promote their participation.