the part of the environment that lay beyond a person's own threshold and outside his own possessions, but to which, however, that person had recognized claim of usage---not to produce commodities but to provide for the substance of kin. Neither wilderness nor home is commons, but that part of the environment for which customary law exacts specific forms of community respect. (Illich 1982:18)
In cities of increasingly circumscribed social, racial, or economic enclaves, the maiden has come to both symbolize and provide neutral territory, a ground where people can gather on a common plane. It is a place that offers freedom from obligation. This ability to accommodate a diverse range of social and political structures makes the maiden an extremely significant space in the city. It is a place where people can touch the spirit of commonness (Mathur 199:215)
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