Drawing on Gilles Clément’s concept of endemism from his “Jardin Planétaire”, Manzini’s notion of fluidity, and Henri Lefebvre’s definition of the “urban underground” in relation to Michel Foucault’s heterotopias, I have developed a first version of an Urban Endemism Manifesto as a working tool for identifying and evaluating potential case studies for research. The manifesto weaves together socio-ecological, phenomenological and critical urban theories by outlining five key characteristics that define endemic urban phenomena:

1 Temporary and Fragile
Urban endemics emerge in the fluidity of urban life, existing in temporal moments that are both fleeting and precious. Like natural endemisms, they are vulnerable to disruption, yet resilient in their cyclical reappearance. Through their temporality, they foster spaces for intergenerational exchange, climate adaptation and post-growth lifestyles that prioritise human and planetary wellbeing over productivity.

2 Stable, Yet Permeable
Urban endemics maintain a delicate balance – providing continuity for communities while remaining open to exchange and evolution. They create conditions for meaningful interactions without rigidity or permanence. Their boundaries are porous, allowing for the cross- fermentation of ideas, cultures, and practices.

3 Rooted in Place
Urban endemics emerge from the unique interplay of lived, perceived and conceived dimensions of space. They embody the genius loci of their location, drawing substance from local temporalities, collective memories and the built environment. While conceived space can be replicated, lived and perceived qualities remain deeply rooted in specific social practices and embodied experiences, creating a distinctive temporal-spatial signature.

4 Underground and Heterotopic
Urban endemics manifest as heterotopias or «other spaces» following different rules and rhythms. They emerge from what Lefebvre calls «concealed daily life: its rhythms, its occupations, its spatio-temporal organisation, its clandestine culture, its underground life.» These spaces develop outside mainstream planning, in the city’s interstices, revealing alternative possibilities within the urban fabric.

5 Rewriting Urban Narratives
Urban endemics challenge dominant paradigms of efficiency, exploitation and perpetual growth. Emerging from the underground, they introduce alternative narratives through lived community practices and ethics of care. Although locally rooted, their patterns can spread organically, inspiring similar transformative phenomena elsewhere, while maintaining unique local expressions that share core principles of urban temporality and lived experience as a commons.