In January 2001, activities began at this social center, offering recreational workshops for local children, discussion sessions, and screenings of films, documentaries, and children’s movies. With great effort and the support of comrades, friends, and neighbors, La Ferrere created self-manage
Jura Books is an anarchist bookshop and collective located in Sydney. The shop was named after the Jura federation, the federation of workers of the Jura region that associated with Mikhail Bakunin in the First International. It has operated since August 1977. Jura Books is also used for community t
The Hotel Cambridge, an abandoned building at 216 Avenida Nove de Julho in central São Paulo, was occupied in 2012 by the Homeless Movement of the Centre (MSTC), an organization affiliated with the Frente de Luta por Moradia (FLM) housing movement. Around 170 low-income families, including Br
Ocupação 9 de Julho is a building occupied by the Movimento dos Sem Teto do Centro (MSTC) in São Paulo, Brazil. MSTC, one of the main popular movements in São Paulo, aims to guarantee the constitutional right to housing and promote social reform that democratizes the righ
The Residencial Elza Soares is the new name given to the occupied former The Lord Palace in São Paulo, Brazil. The Lord Palace Hotel was built in the 1950s and operated as a luxury hotel for many years. Until 2004, a restaurant operated on the ground floor. The building remained abandone
In an excluded neighborhood of Ostrava, a city in eastern Czech Republic, a group of residents has transformed a single building into a vital community space and a hub of grassroots activism. Collective Spodní 27 is a group of people living in a legalized squat at Spodní 27 in Ostra
Dekonstrukce is a queer collective based in the Czech Republic that brings together young people to create a safe space where they can speak their minds and be heard. The name Dekonstrukce, which means “Deconstruction,” reflects the group’s commitment to openness and i
Družstvo Racek is a community-run shared house in the Czech city of Děčín, working toward affordable housing and collective ownership. Founded in 2022, the Racek Cooperative (named after the Czech word for “seagull”) is part of the Shared Houses network. Beyond providing a h
In the heart of Prague, Trhlina creates an open space for meetings, talks, discussions, and simply spending time together. The name Trhlina, meaning “the Crack,” refers to an anarchist infoshop that houses a library and game consoles. The space regularly hosts workshops and
The Køpi is one of Berlin’s most legendary Hausprojekte, a radical and enduring site of alternative life in the city. It has enjoyed somewhat of a cult status as a center of alternative culture since its foundation, with an international reputation beyond Germany. The Køpi, self-
New Fears was founded in summer of 2020 to offer particularly young, aspiring artists a platform to work, experiment and present at the intersection of choreography and visual art, with a focus on body-related practices. New Fears was initiated by July Weber in response to the lack of hybrid spaces
Bergerie des Malassis is a city-farm and community-run “urban pasture” located in the Malassis neighborhood of Bagnolet, established by the association Sors de Terre. What started in 2011 on a vacant lot has grown into a green refuge between concrete towers: a farm-school, public garden
Carbone 17 is a self-managed artist residency and creative incubator based in Aubervilliers. The project aims to convert unused or abandoned spaces into hubs for creation, exchange, and solidarity, welcoming both local and international artists. The residency offers shared studios and production
DOC is an alternative art space in Paris, occupying a former technical high school that has been empty for years while awaiting redevelopment. Run by an artist collective, the venue functions as a dynamic squat, offering studios, workshops, a garden, and a bar alongside a main hall, the Galop, which
La Clef Revival is a self-managed, collectively run initiative that saved the historic La Clef cinema in Paris’s Latin Quarter and transformed it into a shared cultural space dedicated to independent cinema and artistic experimentation. The building was occupied in 2019 to prevent its sale
La Flèche d’Or is a cultural and music venue in Paris, known for its eclectic programming and inclusive, non-profit approach. Housed in a historic location in the 20th arrondissement, it offers concerts, club nights, and live performances that blend contemporary music, local talent, and
La Friche la Belle de Mai is a major cultural hub in Marseille, located in a former tobacco factory and operating as a creative and innovative third space since 1992. Spanning 45,000 m², it combines artistic creation, urban experimentation, ecological initiatives, and social engagement. The
La Gare / Le Gore is a music club located in a former railway station on Paris’s Petite Ceinture. It blends the raw, industrial character of the abandoned station with a program of live music and DJ events, creating an underground atmosphere that has become a hotspot for jazz lovers and electr
La Gare Expérimentale is a former squat turned creative hub on the edge of Gentilly, Paris. Founded in 2005, it functions as an experimental art lab, performance venue, gallery, associative café, and creative space for the neighborhood. Initially occupying vacant buildings, it has
La Générale is a former squat turned independent cultural‑creation lab in Paris, founded in 2005. Originally born in Belleville, and after a first phase in the 11ᵉ arrondissement, the collective moved in 2020 to new premises in the 14ᵉ arrondissement, at 39 rue Gassendi. More
La Parole Errante is a self-organized cultural space in Montreuil, Seine-Saint-Denis, run by the user collective La Parole Errante Demain. Established to create a space of experimentation beyond market logic and rigid cultural, political, or social boundaries, it serves as a refuge where people can
La Station - Gare des Mines is an independent arts and music hub created by Collectif MU in a former coal depot at Paris’ Porte d’Aubervilliers. Since 2016, it has grown into a vibrant meeting ground for experimental sound, visual arts, and community-led initiatives. Blending venue, stud
Le 6b is an artist-run space located on Île Saint-Denis, housed in a former building transformed into a multi-level hub for creation, exhibitions, and events. Since 2010, the space has hosted studios, workshops, and shared areas where artists of different generations work, collaborate, and exc
Le Sample is a community-driven cultural third place set in an old sound-equipment factory in Bagnolet. Home to more than 70 creative residents and around fifteen associations, it offers shared workspaces, rehearsal rooms, and multi-use areas for activities ranging from music and dance to meetings,
Le Shakirail is a former squat turned creative residence in Paris’ 18th arrondissement, managed by the Curry Vavart collective since 2011. Housed in a former SNCF locker room and training center, it provides affordable shared workshops, rehearsal spaces, studios, offices, a communal kitchen, a
Mains d’Œuvres is a nonprofit cultural center and artist-run space located in Saint-Ouen, just north of Paris. Housed in a former industrial building, it serves as a hub for contemporary creation, combining rehearsal and production spaces with exhibition halls, performance venues, and me
Petit Bain Petit Bain is a music venue and a cooperative, upholding principles and values that foster social cohesion, solidarity, transparency, and economic efficiency. The cooperative structure allows multiple stakeholders to participate in the same project: employees, volunteers, users,
La Villa Belleville is a visual arts center in Paris, housed in a former factory and managed since 2011 by the artist collective Curry Vavart, whose roots lie in a long history of squats. While operating with official recognition, the collective continues to uphold ideals of free artistic space and
Villa Mais d’Ici is a cultural “friche” (creative squat-style space turned collective hub) located in a former coal-factory in Aubervilliers. Since 2003, it has hosted around forty different artistic structures, offering them studios, rehearsal rooms, workshops, and shared communal
ZAD of Notre Dame de Landes is a territory that has been liberated against an airport and its world. The land has been occupied since 2009 and is part of a 50 year struggle ‘against a major capitalist infrastructure project. The zad is on 4000 acres of wetlands, fields and forests and
Bread and Roses is a self-managed mutual aid space in Bari, South of Italy, established in March 2016 by various collectives. It occupies the former Villa Capriati, a property abandoned for over 30 years, transforming it into a vibrant community hub. The initiative emerged from the "Rifacciamol
Casetta Rossa is a pilot project for the management of a public park in Rome. A local laboratory for participation and activism. A cultural and social hub. A point of reference for the children and families of the neighborhood. A place for information and the distribution of high-quality, fair-trade
A movement laboratory and space for alternative culture, Il Cantiere was founded by young students and precarious workers. In the wake of the anti-globalist movement known as "no-globalization," after the "Battle of Seattle" and leading up to the G8 counter-summit in Genoa, the C
Cartella is a self-managed occupied social center, located in an abandoned park in the heart of the Gallico Marina neighborhood, on the northern outskirts of Reggio Calabria (South Italy). The CSOA Cartella was occupied on April 25, 2002. The CSOA Cartella carries out cultural activities such as org
COA T28 is one of the oldest squatted, autonomous and self-organized social centers in Milan, located in a large occupied building and in the Pasteur district of the city. It was founded in 1978. Since 1994, this space has also hosted the Ambulatorio Medico Popolare, a legally recognized, self-manag
Forte Prenestino is a self-managed, occupied social center in Rome, active since 1986. Once an abandoned military fort, it was reclaimed without official authorization and transformed into a space for culture, politics, and collective living. Run through horizontal assemblies, it promotes alternativ
The Centro Sociale Occupato Pedro is an old social center located in Padua, Italy. It was founded in 1987 by a few members of the Italian far-left movement Autonomia Operaia, who squatted in an abandoned warehouse in the city. Despite the constant eviction threats from the state (one of which was su
Centro Sociale Rivolta was founded on December 30th, 1995, when a group of activists transformed an anonymous and uninhabited former spice warehouse into a social center. The group squatted in the building and began organizing concerts with local artists, rehearsal rooms, a bar, a homeless center, a
The Ex Caserma Liberata is a social center based in Bari, South Italy, in the occupied former police station of the city. The occupation started on February, 10th 2014, right after the eviction of the squat Villa Roth, where many families in precarious financial and social conditions effectively liv
Leoncavallo SPA (Self-Managed Public Space) is an occupied social center in Milan, founded in 1975. Rooted in the extra-parliamentary movements of Italy’s long ’68, it has hosted generations of activists carrying out political and cultural work in complete self-management. From the start
LUMe is a collective project based in the building of the Metropolitan University Laboratory of Milan, which was occupied in 2015. Organized by students, workers, musicians, and artists, LUMe believes in the political and cultural value of artistic cooperation and is building a project that celebrat
Officina 99 is a self-organized and autonomous social and cultural center located in the former engine rectification workshop of the city of Naples, which was squatted and occupied by a group of students and young activists on May,1st 1991. Officina 99 serves as a space for film screenings, concerts
Palestra Lupo is a temporary reuse project of a public building that has been abandoned for over twenty years. It is located in Catania, Sicily. They believe that nonprofit social and cultural activities can only take place in public spaces and thrive with minimal support from the administration (fr
The Polo Civico Esquilino was founded in 2022 to create a collaborative ecosystem aimed at promoting sustainable and solidaristic coexistence, countering growing marginalization, and supporting local development, culture, and civic participation through shared management of territory and common good
Quarticciolo Ribelle is a community movement in Rome's eastern periphery, born out of the historic working-class neighborhood of Quarticciolo. The term “ribelle” (rebellious) stands for the residents’ resistance to top-down policies and their fight for dignity, housing, and ser
“Spazio 13” is an urban regeneration project managed by a network of local organizations formed into a Temporary Association of Purpose. It targets young people between 16 and 35 years old. Born in the classrooms of the former Melo School in Bari’s Libertà neighborhood, Spaz
The Teatro Polivalente Occupato (TPO) was founded in 1995. After an initial eviction from the spaces of the Academy of Fine Arts in 2000, a former aquarium factory was occupied until 2007. Since then, TPO has been based at Via Casarini 17/5. As a social center, TPO is an indefinable and unbounded sp
Tempio Del Futuro *Perduto is a multifunctional cultural center, a place of sharing and solidarity, experimentation and artistic research. The Temple of the Future * Lost is a multifunctional cultural centre, a place of sharing and solidarity, experimentation and artistic research. The
Zona Franka is a socio-cultural organization founded in Bari, South Italy, in 2002, born out of the enthusiasm and determination of young people to collect requests and respond to the needs, ideas, and rights of the community. It functions as a space for discussion, exchange, and social gathering, s
Looking for the heart of grassroots community activism in Warsaw? Ada Puławska might be exactly what you’re looking for. Ada Puławska is an alternative space on Puławska Street that functions as an autonomous socio-cultural centre. It supports non-profit, non-commercial cultural activiti
Autonomous Space for Education (APE – Autonomiczna Przestrzeń Edukacyjna) is a collective based in Warsaw that supports and practices accessible, democratic education. The space is created and run by educators, students, and members of the collective, forming a learning community rooted
In Warsaw, Poland’s capital, the collective Przyjaźń connects tenants from different buildings and grassroots initiatives within the same neighbourhood. The community actively works to resolve conflicts between tenants and provides legal support to those facing repression. Since mid-2024,
In the heart of Slovakia, an abandoned gamekeeper’s house was transformed into a DIY community centre for underground culture. Hájovňa, a project named after the Slovak word for “gamekeeper’s house,” was established in the spring of 2017, when a group of friends sq
In the western Slovak city of Trnava, Kubík Nápadov is a grassroots community space offering a safe and inclusive environment for creativity, art, activism, collaboration, and friendship for all without prejudice. Its name translates as “A Cube of Ideas,” and f
Zdola is an anarchist community in Slovakia united by a shared critique of global capitalist structures and a commitment to building spaces grounded in anti-authoritarian principles. The group’s name translates as “From Below.” Zdola publishes blog articles and distrib