A friend emails me:
This article in the today's NY Times discusses how musicians who play near the site where John Lennon died have had
trouble managing the common resource of a strategically placed park bench.
Currently, however, they have worked out an informal arrangement that appears
to work well. The article reminded me of the work of Elinor Ostrom, who was
awarded the Nobel Prize in part for her work on self-governance of the
commons.