It is today a year ago that Lin Ostrom died. During the last year many memorials, obituaries, special issues, awards, scholarships etc. have been produced or are in preparation. This is testament to the influence Lin had on the work and lives of many people.
Coming just back from the Global Conference of the International Association for the Study of the Commons in KitaFuji, we can notice Lin’s absence. As somebody mentioned, Lin was the hub before there was Facebook within the community of commons scholars.
On the other hand, the work of Lin was very present. An increasing number of young scholars are using the IAD framework and the SES framework for the analysis of different case studies. Applications go beyond the traditional commons topics into knowledge commons, waste water treatment and urban parks. Some of the presentations aim to revise and advance Lin’s work and she would have loved that.
There is no single person like Lin leading the commons community, but the breath and quality of the work of younger scholars indicate that her work will remain inspirational for the years to come.
