Sign in

Digital Commons Cooperative

@digitalcommons.bsky.social
62 followers 38 following 101 posts

We build tech tools for social change by working alongside social movements to turn data into knowledge. 🌱 🌍 linktr.ee/digitalcommonscoop

PostsRepliesMedia
Digital Commons Cooperative @digitalcommons.bsky.social · 01/10/2026
Recently we ran our first few Solidarity Tier meetings. These are groups paying £600 a year to join in building LandExplorer with us, and to help make the digital commons more robust 🙏 💚 More info here: landexplorer.coop/
010
Digital Commons Cooperative @digitalcommons.bsky.social · 29/09/2026
It's here! The Historical Ownership Layer is now live in LandExplorer. Go back to 2017 and see how the property portfolios of landlords, councils and housing associations have changed, year by year. Campaigners asked for this feature! Watch how it works: digital-commons.gitbook.io/landexplorer...
010
Digital Commons Cooperative @digitalcommons.bsky.social · 28/09/2026
Still time to sign up for "Who Owns What?", our webinar on land & property data 📅 29 Sept, 17:00–18:30, online We'll cover LandExplorer, our land ownership investigations tool, then Companies House with Tom Sanderson (CIJ). No experience needed. www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/who-owns-w...
000
Digital Commons Cooperative @digitalcommons.bsky.social · 24/09/2026
New in LandExplorer: the Historical Ownership Layer! Use the year slider to see how company, council, and housing association land ownership has changed since 2017, or search a company to see everything it owned in a given year. LandExplorer: landexplorer.coop/
021
Digital Commons Cooperative @digitalcommons.bsky.social · 21/09/2026
Join us on 29th September for a practical online webinar on tracing land and property ownership. We'll cover how to use LandExplorer, then dig into Companies House with the Centre for Investigative Journalism to find out who's really behind a company name. > www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/who-owns-w...
010
Digital Commons Cooperative @digitalcommons.bsky.social · 17/09/2026
We're speaking at Land Talks next Tue 22 Sept, about LandExplorer (our tool for finding out who owns the land and buildings around you). There will be time to ask questions + chat! 📍 The Sekforde, London 🕕 6:00pm start 🎟️ £10: luma.com/mka0gu7s
011
Digital Commons Cooperative @digitalcommons.bsky.social · 15/09/2026
One interesting finding in new research from Dr Beth Stratford and Dr Joe Beswick: 43% of landlords in England own just one property. But weight that by tenants instead of landlords, and the picture flips.
ucl.ac.uk
Taking back control of rents
Authored by Beth Stratford and Joe Beswick
100
Digital Commons Cooperative @digitalcommons.bsky.social · 11/09/2026
Closing soon! Our Product Lead role shuts 10am Mon 14 Sept. 2 days/wk, remote, non-hierarchical team at DCC working on tools like: LandExplorer, Mykomaps, Cooperative World Map & the Data for Housing Justice project. £26.10/hr. Apply: digitalcommons.coop/we-are-recru...
010
Digital Commons Cooperative @digitalcommons.bsky.social · 09/09/2026
Last few days to apply: our friends at Shared Assets are looking for their next leader. They are looking for strategic vision, small-org experience, and fresh thinking on UK land justice. More: sharedassets.org.uk/open-positions/an-invitation-to-lead-shared-assets-cic
000
Digital Commons Cooperative @digitalcommons.bsky.social · 03/09/2026
Still time to apply! We're recruiting a Product Lead to join our team at Digital Commons Co-op. 2 days/week, fully remote, non-hierarchical team. £26.10/hour. Applications close 10am, Monday 14 September. Full details and how to apply: digitalcommons.coop/we-are-recru...
010
Digital Commons Cooperative @digitalcommons.bsky.social · 31/08/2026
Coming soon to LandExplorer: search any proprietor and see every property tied to their name and then scrub back through the years to watch how their holdings have changed over time. LX is free and you can sign up to our solidarity tier to help shape future features! landexplorer.coop/
010
Digital Commons Cooperative @digitalcommons.bsky.social · 28/08/2026
We're recruiting a Product Lead! We build tools like LandExplorer, Mykomaps, Cooperative World Map & Data for Housing Justice with and for social movements. 2 days/wk, remote, non-hierarchical. £26.10/hr. Apply by 14 Sept: digitalcommons.coop/we-are-recru...
031
Digital Commons Cooperative @digitalcommons.bsky.social · 26/08/2026
The Cooperative World Map has been refreshed: fresh data up to early May 2026, now translated into Spanish, Hindi and French, plus a batch of bug fixes for smoother browsing. Check it out: worldmap.coop
010
Digital Commons Cooperative @digitalcommons.bsky.social · 19/08/2026
Our recent LandExplorer crowdfunder raised £9,210 against an £8,000 goal: thank you to everyone who backed us. That funds the next phase of the tool's development. For full results, a translated Cooperative World Map, and more, sign up to our newsletter here: digitalcommons.coop/contact
000
Digital Commons Cooperative @digitalcommons.bsky.social · 17/08/2026
From March to July we ran workshops with housing organisers investigating rent extraction: corporate landlords, unlicensed lettings, university-owned rentals and more. They left with new skills in ownership research, company data, FOI requests, and turning findings into organising stories.
100
Digital Commons Cooperative @digitalcommons.bsky.social · 04/08/2026
💚 Thanks again to everyone who supported us. From people like Andres, Chelsea, Dan, Laurie, Maja, Nemone, Sam and Stuart, to everyone who backed a book, a report, or a year of Solidarity Tier access, your support is helping us rebuild LandExplorer. Thank you. 💚
010
Digital Commons Cooperative @digitalcommons.bsky.social · 09/07/2026
We did it!! 🎉 The LandExplorer crowdfunder closed yesterday and we raised £9,140, which is £1,140 over our original goal. Thank you to every single person who backed it, shared it, or forwarded it to someone who would find the tool useful.
110
Digital Commons Cooperative @digitalcommons.bsky.social · 08/07/2026
‼️ We hit our £8,000 goal 🎉 thank you to everyone who backed us! we've set a new stretch goal of £9,500. every pound goes directly into more development time for LandExplorer. closes @ noon TODAY! crowdfunder.co.uk/p/land-explorer
010
Digital Commons Cooperative @digitalcommons.bsky.social · 07/07/2026
One day left. We've raised nearly 75% of our £8,000 goal and close tomorrow at noon. If you've been waiting, this is it! Rewards include signed books, workshops, research reports and a year's access to new features. Donate here www.crowdfunder.co.uk/p/land-explorer thank you!
000
Digital Commons Cooperative @digitalcommons.bsky.social · 02/07/2026
‼️ We're in the final stretch for LandExplorer's £8,000 goal. Every contribution gives backers a say in what we build first! Lots of rewards still on offer... Closes noon 8 July. 💚 Donate here: www.crowdfunder.co.uk/p/land-explorer
000
Digital Commons Cooperative @digitalcommons.bsky.social · 01/07/2026
👉 New reward: back our crowdfunder at £120+ and get a one-year subscription to DOPE magazine: a quarterly publication about politics, art, and culture, focused on injustice + the people working to change things. www.crowdfunder.co.uk/p/land-explorer
010
Digital Commons Cooperative @digitalcommons.bsky.social · 29/06/2026
Big Solar Co-op use LandExplorer every day as part of their work building solar sites across the UK. We’re crowdfunding to make the tool even better. Donate here: www.crowdfunder.co.uk/p/land-explorer
000
Digital Commons Cooperative @digitalcommons.bsky.social · 24/06/2026
Most people assume finding out who owns land or property requires expensive software or a solicitor. It doesn't. LandExplorer makes land ownership data across England and Wales free and searchable for anyone. Help us keep it free by backing us here: www.crowdfunder.co.uk/p/land-explorer
130
Reposted by Digital Commons Cooperative
Guy Shrubsole @guyshrubsole.bsky.social · 12/06/2026
'Land Explorer' is a great, free tool for looking up maps of corporate-owned land in England & Wales. I use it a lot for research and investigations. The team behind it are crowdfunding to make it even better in future - if you can chip in, please do so here: www.crowdfunder.co.uk/p/land-explo...
crowdfunder.co.uk
Help us build a better Land Explorer!
LandExplorer makes it simple to find out who owns the land & buildings in your community. Help us keep it free for everyone who needs it!
03611
Digital Commons Cooperative @digitalcommons.bsky.social · 16/06/2026
🎉 NEW reward just added to our crowdfunder: Back us at £40+ and receive a signed copy of Guy Shrubsole's award-winning The Lie of the Land: an investigation into who really owns and controls the British countryside, & what we can do about it. crowdfunder.co.uk/p/land-explorer
010
Digital Commons Cooperative @digitalcommons.bsky.social · 15/06/2026
The groups doing the most important work on housing justice are rarely the ones with the biggest budgets. LandExplorer has always been free + your contribution keeps it that way and funds new features for everyone! crowdfunder.co.uk/p/land-explorer
020
Digital Commons Cooperative @digitalcommons.bsky.social · 13/06/2026
£1,500 raised in four days... thank you! 🙏 LandExplorer puts land data in the hands of people who need it: campaigners tracing landlords, communities finding out who owns that empty building, journalists following the money. Help us keep it free. crowdfunder.co.uk/p/land-explorer
000
Digital Commons Cooperative @digitalcommons.bsky.social · 09/06/2026
Our LandExplorer crowdfunder is live! Help us build new features for the free tool that lets you find out who owns the land around you. REWARDS INCLUDE: ✨ workshops! ✨ signed books! ✨ research reports! ✨ a year's access to all the new features and more! 👉 www.crowdfunder.co.uk/p/land-explorer
034
Digital Commons Cooperative @digitalcommons.bsky.social · 03/06/2026
Something we've been building toward is nearly ready. Next week we're launching a crowdfunder to refresh LandExplorer, our free tool for finding out who owns the land around you. More soon!
010
Digital Commons Cooperative @digitalcommons.bsky.social · 27/05/2026
Who owns the UK's land? We made a quick vid showing how to use LandExplorer to find properties tied to the country's biggest landowners. Here’s how! 👀 www.instagram.com/p/DYmVms6owJ9/
000
Digital Commons Cooperative @digitalcommons.bsky.social · 21/05/2026
Our May newsletter is out and it's a big one: we're launching a crowdfunder in June to support the next phase of LandExplorer. The free tier will stay + the paid tier will fund the work and gives better-resourced orgs API access and data exports. Supporters get a direct say in what we build first!
010
Digital Commons Cooperative @digitalcommons.bsky.social · 12/05/2026
LandExplorer is getting refreshed data and new features this year. It'll stay free and we're adding a paid tier so the groups who can pay fund development for the groups who can't. Crowdfunder mid-2026. Full update: digitalcommons.coop/building-tools-for-change-next-steps-for-digital-commons
142
Digital Commons Cooperative @digitalcommons.bsky.social · 29/04/2026
Our April newsletter is out! Here are some highlights… 🏘️ A new housing justice newsletter from our partners at Shared Assets 🔍 A pro tip for using Land Explorer to map the holdings of large landowners And more... ✉️ Sign up here: digitalcommons.coop/contact/
020
Digital Commons Cooperative @digitalcommons.bsky.social · 21/04/2026
🧑‍💻 here's how to find the holdings of some of the UK's largest landowners 👀 1. find 1 address tied to the landowner. you currently need at least one address in order to do a more in-depth search 2. go to app.landexplorer.coop/ + sign in (or register) 3. search for the addy in the search bar
100
Digital Commons Cooperative @digitalcommons.bsky.social · 17/04/2026
In collaboration with Shared Assets, we're launching a newsletter for housing justice organisers 🏠 Grassroots groups fighting bad landlords should have the same data tools landlords have. Sign up to learn more about our free resources, workshops & more 👇 👇 👇 mailchi.mp/sharedassets...
020
Digital Commons Cooperative @digitalcommons.bsky.social · 14/04/2026
Did you know? The UK Ministry of Defence apparently owns twice the land area of Luxembourg across the UK. Land Explorer makes land ownership visible. Find out who owns the buildings and land in your community by going here 👉 digitalcommons.coop/land-explorer/
000
Digital Commons Cooperative @digitalcommons.bsky.social · 09/04/2026
The housing system is stacked against the people fighting to change it. Ownership records hidden behind paywalls. Data scattered across systems that don't talk to each other. Years of organising knowledge living in someone's head or a folder no one's opened since 2022.
110
Digital Commons Cooperative @digitalcommons.bsky.social · 02/04/2026
last chance to apply to this paid opportunity is today!
010
Digital Commons Cooperative @digitalcommons.bsky.social · 02/04/2026
We recently sent out our March newsletter... Make sure to join our list to keep up to date with updates to our tools and opportunities to collaborate on tech for good projects! Sign up here 👉 digitalcommons.coop/contact/
010
Digital Commons Cooperative @digitalcommons.bsky.social · 30/03/2026
Are you a housing justice organiser looking to work with data to pick apart ownership and rent extraction to build organising power? You’re invited to join our upcoming workshop series on developing data-led investigations on ownership and rent extraction! 👇
120
Digital Commons Cooperative @digitalcommons.bsky.social · 27/03/2026
Do you want to discover who owns the vacant building on your street? Land Explorer lets you search for a location and find out who owns it. You can also use the backsearch function to see what other properties the owner has... Check it out here 👉 digitalcommons.coop/land-explorer/
digitalcommons.coop
Land Explorer
Land Explorer makes land data open, accessible, and actionable.
020
Digital Commons Cooperative @digitalcommons.bsky.social · 25/03/2026
Big news… the gov has just announced that it will work with the Land Registry this year to provide access to free, spatial land ownership data covering England + Wales. Making ownership data more open is a crucial first step for communities to be able to push for fairer housing and land systems.
110
Digital Commons Cooperative @digitalcommons.bsky.social · 18/03/2026
A rare thing happened this week… the DCC team was in one room! We were in London, talking through what's next for our tools, new ways to make land data more affordable, and what the next six months look like. More soon. Subscribe to stay in the loop:
030
Digital Commons Cooperative @digitalcommons.bsky.social · 13/03/2026
Building housing campaigns often means handling sensitive info. We’ve created a practical data governance guide for grassroots housing organisers. It covers GDPR basics, collecting only what you need, avoiding purpose creep & safer data sharing. 👉 drive.google.com/file/d/1DQO-...
031
Digital Commons Cooperative @digitalcommons.bsky.social · 10/03/2026
Using Land Explorer and want a proper walkthrough? We offer free 1-hour onboarding calls for orgs + community groups. We’ll cover: – Key layers for your work – Smarter searching – Exporting findings – Real campaign examples Email us to book a session hello@digitalcommons.coop
031
Digital Commons Cooperative @digitalcommons.bsky.social · 06/03/2026
We build open source infrastructure for communities to offer an alternative (an antidote) to the opaque and proprietary tech that dominates elsewhere. Our code is public, improvements are shared, and anyone can contribute. Join our contributor space here: github.com/orgs/Digital...
021
Digital Commons Cooperative @digitalcommons.bsky.social · 03/03/2026
Most land ownership is technically “public” information, but that doesn’t mean it’s accessible. Our tool Land Explorer brings ownership, boundaries & context together in one place so communities can move from uncertainty to informed action. Check it out here: digitalcommons.coop/land-explorer/
digitalcommons.coop
Land Explorer
Land Explorer makes land data open, accessible, and actionable.
010
Digital Commons Cooperative @digitalcommons.bsky.social · 01/03/2026
If your group is holding tenant data and hoping for the best…. this is for you. Together with Shared Assets, we put together a no-nonsense GDPR guide for housing justice organising. ✨ Get it here: drive.google.com/file/d/1DQO-...
010
Digital Commons Cooperative @digitalcommons.bsky.social · 24/02/2026
Housing organising involves sensitive data. When it’s mishandled, tenants take the risk, not institutions. Together with Shared Assets, we made a GDPR guide for housing justice groups that’s about care, not compliance. Get it here: drive.google.com/file/d/1DQO-...
002
Digital Commons Cooperative @digitalcommons.bsky.social · 20/02/2026
✨ We’ve just launched a new open source contributor space for people who want to support tech for good. If you’re a developer, researcher, designer, or data person, you can now see what we’re working on and where support is needed. 🙏 github.com/orgs/Digital...
011