The Maintenance Commons
This pattern is shaped by
Problem
Shared infrastructure — community gardens, common courtyards, shared solar arrays, tool libraries — requires shared maintenance. When maintenance responsibility is unclear, everything degrades. When it falls on a single volunteer, burnout follows. The maintenance commons is both a physical space and a social agreement.
Evidence and Discussion
The pattern appears in every functioning commons: a clear schedule, visible accountability, shared tools, and a culture where maintenance is social rather than solitary. Community gardens that survive long-term all have maintenance days — Saturday mornings where everyone works together, followed by coffee.
Therefore
for every piece of shared infrastructure, establish a maintenance commons — a visible schedule, a shared tool store, a regular maintenance day (weekly or monthly), and a rotation system that distributes responsibility equitably. Make the maintenance social: pair it with coffee, food, conversation. The commons survives when its maintenance is a gathering, not a chore.