From the Birth of Self-Governed Medieval Free Cities to Territorial Cooperative Ecosystems of Today

A guest editorial by Frédéric Bosqué: towards bioregionally regenerative ecovillages

< From the birth of free cities to modern cooperative ecosystems, a red thread runs through it all: solidarity-based autonomy in service of the common good. History teaches us that the greatest transformations often begin locally, driven by ordinary people willing to do things differently. Today, the most relevant scale of change may well be your village, your neighborhood, your own territory of life. This is where change is within reach, and where you can become a part of the renewal. - Frédéric Bosqué >

Some context, by Michel Bauwens:

This week, we are running a guest editorial by the French activist and ecovillage founder Frédéric Bosqué. Though self-governed guild cities have existed in different civilizational spheres, the European continent remains distinctive in that it had no unified Empire (of the Holy Roman Empire it was said that is was neither holy, nor Roman nor an Empire), and therefore, the free cities of the European Middle Ages had an enormous leeway to become self-governed, through the coalition of their craft and merchant guilds. This period was therefore marked by a tradition of cooperation and self-governance, which takes center place in Kropotkin’s famous history of ‘mutual aid’. Postmodern authors have urged Europeans to provincialize and not to impose their own models as universal, but this also implies a respect for our (I am European myself) traditions, as much as other civilizational spheres may be inspired by their own, as we try to renew them in this era of transition. Ask Mammouth.AI for an overview of self-governed guild cities all over the world and it will introduce you to guild cities in Africa and India.

This is why I particularly like this contribution, which links the historical past to the new potentialities of the present, not just in theory and vision, but as a pragmatic approach.

Here is the link to the source article, which appeared in French:

* Article: De la Naissance des Cités Franches aux Écosystèmes Coopératifs Territoriaux. Frédéric Bosqué.

Find out more about guilds here, and how they swept to power in Europe after the First European Revolution of 975-1050, as well as how extensive self-rule was in this book about the history of assemblies in the Middle Ages.

Here is our guest author’s article:

Guest Editorial

Frédéric Bosqué:

"The air of the city makes one free."

This medieval proverb echoed like a promise of emancipation eight centuries ago. In the 12th century, free cities—towns liberated from feudal lordship—offered runaway serfs both freedom and new opportunities. In a cruel paradox, the air of today’s modern metropolises seems filled more with anxiety than with freedom. The ecological crisis weighs heavily on our collective psyche: more than 10 million French people suffer from eco-anxiety, a condition even more pronounced in urban areas. It’s no surprise that 57% of city dwellers dream of leaving the city to live closer to nature. The suffocation of concrete is being met by the call of a "Rurality 2.0," where hope for a sustainable future is being reborn.

In response to the exhaustion of the individualistic urban model, a new path is emerging, following in the footsteps of our ancestors from the free communes: that of “territories of life.” This concept places the territory—the village, the town, the local community—at the heart of development, rather than the isolated individual. It is a return to the roots of cooperation, but with the awareness and tools of the 21st century.

Committed and humanistic, this article offers a journey from the past into the future: from medieval free cities to the territorial cooperative ecosystems that are now beginning to blossom. We will discover how social innovation, which already served as a driver of modernization in the Middle Ages, could very well be the seed of a present-day civilizational shift. Get ready to revisit history in order to better imagine your own future—and who knows, perhaps take action in service of life itself.

Medieval Free Cities: When Freedom Built Modernity

At the heart of the Middle Ages, a silent revolution was unfolding in the shadow of city walls. Starting in the 12th century, many European towns obtained charters of franchise that granted rights and privileges to their inhabitants. A free city (or ville libre) was no longer the property of a feudal lord—it belonged to its emancipated townspeople, who governed themselves collectively. “Franche” means free: these cities had broken away from the rigid feudal regime. Gone were the arbitrary demands of forced labor and feudal taxes; the residents set their own rules, elected aldermen or consuls, and raised their own belfries, symbols of their autonomy.

The proverb of the time, “the air of the city makes one free,” bears witness to this historical turning point: anyone who resided for a year and a day within the walls of a free commune was no longer considered a serf. A new social class, the urban bourgeoisie, began to flourish, drawing in artisans, merchants, and scholars to these centers of emancipation.

The rise of free cities profoundly transformed Europe. Freed from feudal constraints, the inhabitants multiplied their initiatives. They founded merchant guilds, trade corporations, laid the foundations of international commerce, and invented the first banks. In cities like Bruges, Venice, or Lyon, innovation flourished: the art of navigation was refined, towering cathedrals were built, and the first universities were created. Each free city became a laboratory of social experimentation. Thrust into responsibility for their own governance, these once-subjugated citizens learned self-organization and wove the early threads of what would later be called civil society.

Driven by necessity, they institutionalized mutual aid through brotherhoods, built hospitals (Hôtels-Dieu), and welcomed the new ideas brought by the mendicant orders. Knowledge and wealth circulated in an unprecedented whirlwind of activity.

These medieval communes redefined European civilization, opening the door to new economic, social, and intellectual horizons. In the span of a few centuries, Europe transitioned from a stagnant feudal patchwork to a dynamic network of interconnected cities. This autonomous urban model, despite its internal inequalities, ignited the spark of modernity. More importantly, it showed that social innovation—by rewriting the political and economic rules—could overturn an entire system.

Indeed, the gradual emancipation of free cities continually pushed the boundaries of local autonomy, eventually challenging royal authority and the feudal order itself. The feudal monarchy would ultimately be swept away centuries later by the legacy of this thirst for freedom. The message of the free cities is clear: when communities dare to place human dignity, solidarity, and the common good at the center, they change the course of history.

Territory of Life: Reinventing Development on a Human Scale

While the industrial era and the contemporary age have glorified the individual and the isolated enterprise, the next phase of our development may well lie in what is called the “territory of life.” But what exactly does this mean? A territory of life is a local space—a village, a neighborhood, a small region—conceived as a living organism where actors cooperate for life: their own, that of the community, and of nature. It is a break from the “every person for themselves” mindset. Here, the relevant scale is neither the sovereign individual nor the distant State, but the interconnected local community. The goal is to balance individual autonomy and the common good, as two sides of the same coin.

Joining a territory of life is a bit like joining a tightly knit team after years of working alone. One discovers the power of the collective: energies are pooled, skills complement each other. Instead of being subjected to a top-down system, residents regain control over their daily lives. Practically speaking, in a territory of life, people collectively decide to relocalize food production, co-create ecological housing, or share essential services. The territory becomes an open-air laboratory for ground-level innovation—with and for the people.

This territorial approach speaks to a growing search for meaning. Many eco-anxious city dwellers dream of “going green,” not out of selfish escapism, but to regain agency. They sense that, in the city, despite sorting their waste or biking on weekends, their impact is negligible in the face of climate challenges. In contrast, on a territory of life, every action counts and is visible: planting a tree, installing solar panels on the village school, opening a cooperative grocery store… These are concrete acts that immediately strengthen the community’s resilience. Here, one can measure their own impact. One is no longer an anonymous cog in an opaque economic machine, but a local agent of change. It’s deeply motivating and a powerful source of hope.

Of course, a territory of life doesn’t mean living in isolated self-sufficiency or idealizing a “return to the good old days.” On the contrary, it’s about reconciling modernity with proximity. Digital tools and technological innovations have their place, but they are reclaimed by and for the local. For example, a web platform allows local producers to sell directly to consumers; an app connects people offering and needing help within the community. The individual is not crushed by the collective: they are supported by it. Each person can deploy their talents with the gratifying sense of contributing to a tangible common good. Success shifts from being defined by competition (being the best in your corner) to being defined by cooperation (succeeding together in meeting everyone’s basic needs).

By restoring a human scale to our ambitions, the territory of life emerges as a new horizon of development. It is the fertile ground where an economy in service of life can take root. Here, entrepreneurship returns to its original meaning: taking into our hands the shaping of our living environment according to our values. It is neither nostalgic retreat nor naïve utopia: territories of life are already writing a new chapter in the human journey—step by step—at the local level, in synergy with the global.

Social Innovation: Seed of a New Civilization

At every major turning point in history, technical inventions have played their role… but it is social innovations that have made the difference between mere evolution and a true civilizational shift. So, what is a social innovation? It’s not a high-tech gadget or just another app. It is a new way of being and acting together: a local currency circulating in a short supply chain, participatory governance in a village, or a novel model of cooperation among local actors. At its core, it means reinventing our social structures to align with our deep human needs and planetary limits. And if we reflect on it, the birth of free cities (cités franches) in the Middle Ages was one of the greatest social innovations in European history. In comparison, inventions like the compass or the printing press—important as they were—could not have transformed society without this new foundation of communal freedoms, citizen initiative, and shared responsibility.

Today, we find ourselves once again at a crossroads. Technologies are evolving at breakneck speed, but our social organization is struggling to keep up. We see it clearly: without social adaptation, technical innovations too often lead to divisions, misunderstandings, or even violent rejection. It's not enough to have green solutions on paper if, in practice, people cannot or will not adopt them. This is why social innovation is at the heart of today’s civilizational shift. It aims to create fertile ground so that our scientific and technological advances truly serve the common good. In this sense, it is the precondition for a successful transition: it prepares minds, weaves connections, and builds trust and solidarity, without which no sustainable ecosystem can thrive.

Let’s go back to the free cities: their contribution was not limited to city walls or merchant halls. What they truly left us was a new imaginary—one of emancipation, collaboration among equals, and merit based on work rather than birth. In the same way, today’s rural laboratories and citizen movements offer much more than wind turbines or organic gardens. They are experimenting with new ways to decide together, to share fairly, to infuse meaning into the economy. Every collective attempting distributed governance, every social enterprise reinvesting profits in the community, every group of neighbors creating a solidarity-based third place, is a trailblazer of a new era.

Certainly, social innovation is more discreet than technological innovation. It rarely makes the headlines in business media, and it often moves forward through trial and error. But its transformative power is immense, because it touches our values and behaviors. It is a change from within society itself. Why cling to what is dying, when the seed of fraternity needs only a little earth, water, and sunlight to grow toward the boundless sky of possibilities? This is the question that more and more of us are beginning to ask ourselves. It marks a transition from “We know this no longer works” to “We’re going to do things differently—together.”

Look around you: this quiet movement is gaining momentum. Citizens are gathering to create commons (shared gardens, rural fablabs, cooperative childcare centers…). Mayors are encouraging participatory budgets or local water management boards, signs that another way of governing is possible. Businesses are turning into SCOPs or SCICs to involve both workers and users. These initiatives may seem small or local, but when added together, they sketch out the possible face of a new, more resilient and more solidaristic civilization. Social innovation is the seed of tomorrow’s world: still fragile, but immensely fertile if we give it a chance. And it is at the scale of territories of life that this seed can grow, sheltered from the storms of the global mega-economy, until it spreads everywhere.

Today’s Cooperative Ecosystems: The Boldness of the TERA Project in Lustrac, France

These reflections aren’t just theoretical—they are rooted in real-world projects. In the Lot-et-Garonne region of France, for example, our collective has been working since 2015 to build what it calls a "cooperative ecosystem for the 21st century."

The project, named TERA, began with a handful of pioneers and a vision: to create a rural village of the future, capable of locally meeting the needs of its inhabitants while respecting both people and nature. Today, after a decade of incubation, that dream is about to take concrete form near Tournon-d’Agenais, close to the banks of the Lot River. For now, it’s just an empty field in the hamlet of Lustrac, next to an old medieval mill. It’s hard to imagine that soon this space will host the first pilot rural neighborhood in transition, built entirely from scratch. Yet in three years’ time, the site will house ecological homes, a training center for eco-construction (to be completed within a month), lightweight accommodations for students and travelers, along with energy and food production facilities and a composting site. Sound utopian? On the contrary, it’s the result of patient social innovation like the one we've been discussing throughout this piece.

TERA is structured as a genuine territorial cooperative ecosystem. In plain terms, it's “a collective of individuals and organizations cooperating to revitalize a rural area while respecting people and nature.” Its stated goal sets the tone: “to relocalize 85% of the vital needs of local residents.” In other words, to produce locally the essential goods and services that sustain the community (food, energy, materials, etc.), thereby regaining economic and ecological sovereignty.

The project relies on five interdependent pillars:

• Localizing production

• Creating a proximity-based distribution network

• Using a complementary local currency

• Establishing open and participatory governance

And ultimately,

• guaranteeing an autonomy income to each resident actively involved.

This last point is particularly groundbreaking: the wealth generated by the ecosystem is meant to fairly compensate every contributor, breaking free from the precariousness of volunteerism. “We want to create a real economic model,” explains the president of the cooperative driving the project. Indeed, many ecological initiatives depend on the elbow grease of passionate but burned-out volunteers. TERA, however, aims for social durability, progressively ensuring fair income through locally rooted activities.

The TERA project in Lustrac isn’t alone — but it’s emblematic. It draws a striking parallel with the free cities of old. Just as medieval communes once invented new rules to flourish outside the feudal system, TERA is inventing new ways to live and generate wealth outside the rigid framework of the globalized economy. This small “territory of life” is gradually experimenting with a nearly complete circular economy: soon, euros will circulate less than local citizen currency backed by the territory’s real production. Residents will no longer rely on distant, anonymous markets for their electricity or vegetables—they’ll produce them together, knowing exactly where, how, and by whom they were made. To that end, a collective-interest cooperative (SCIC) has been formed with local stakeholders, proving that businesses, citizens, and public authorities can be partners—not competitors. This reflects the balance once dreamed of by free cities: enough local autonomy to ensure freedom, and enough openness to remain connected to the wider world. In fact, far from retreating from society, the TERA ecosystem collaborates with researchers, foundations, and local officials to become a replicable model. It has even been certified as a Territorial Hub for Economic Cooperation (PTCE)—official recognition of its innovative and scalable nature.

On the ground, the first concrete results are already revitalizing the four municipalities where the project is steadily progressing. A 12-hectare permaculture farm in Masquières. A cooperative grocery store and brewery (L’Alvéole and L’Aménité) in the heart of Tournon-d’Agenais to distribute products through short supply chains. In Trentels, the Eco-Construction Center will be delivered on July 15th and already employs five full-time staff.

These non-relocatable local jobs are even helping to reverse population decline! Most importantly, a new collective spirit is uniting long-time residents and new arrivals. Local know-how is being passed on and reimagined. Together, people are innovating. By breathing new life into this once-forgotten rural area, TERA demonstrates that our countryside holds real answers to today’s crises—provided we invest in them, humanly and financially. This is not a refuge for urban hipsters seeking greenery. It is a civilization-building site in the open air, where tomorrow’s ways of life are already under construction.

Of course, nothing is simple. It took eight years of hard work to reach this point — overcoming administrative and financial hurdles, persuading skeptics. But each challenge has been a chance to invent, adapt, and co-create new responses. Step by step, these territorial cooperative ecosystems are shaping a realistic and desirable horizon. They prove that another future is possible—here and now—if we are willing to make it happen. By linking the historical inspiration of the free cities with the boldness of today’s projects like TERA, a coherent trajectory emerges: returning power to local communities to place the economy back at the service of life. The circle closes… and the story continues—with us.

From the birth of free cities to modern cooperative ecosystems, a red thread runs through it all: solidarity-based autonomy in service of the common good. History teaches us that the greatest transformations often begin locally, driven by ordinary people willing to do things differently. Today, the most relevant scale of change may well be your village, your neighborhood, your own territory of life. This is where change is within reach, and where you can become a part of the renewal.

And you — in your job, your city, your daily life — are you managing to innovate socially, to put the economy at the service of life? If the answer is no—or not enough—maybe it’s time to gather your courage and act.

You don’t need a “perfect plan” or a miracle solution to start. Each of us can join a local initiative, build connections, contribute our piece to the puzzle. Remember: the burghers of the Middle Ages weren’t superhuman heroes—just people determined to improve their lot by helping one another. Similarly, today’s territories of life don’t require saints or experts—just citizens willing to learn and build together. The transition is no walk in the park—it demands courage, perseverance, and faith in humanity—but what more beautiful or meaningful adventure could there be?

Chances are, a few years from now, you’ll look back with pride. Maybe you’ll have helped reopen a school in the countryside, launch an energy cooperative, or start a community farm with your neighbors. However small, these victories are the soil from which global change grows. So—what are you waiting for to join a territory of life where you can take action? If where you are now you can’t spread your wings, change your air—go where your commitment can make something real bloom.

Now is the time to turn your dreams into reality.

I invite you to take action today."

• "Need to talk or gain clarity? Don’t hesitate to reach out privately—I’d be happy to connect and help if I can. And to support your journey, I’ve created a Small Economic and Financial Guide for Transitioning Eco-Communities, which distills years of experience and practical advice."

URL = http://www.transition.coop/