This exploration is based on joint work conducted by an interdisciplinary research team in the city of Quetzaltenango (Xela), Guatemala. It uses the notion of commoning as an Analytic lens to establish social transformations in this intermediate city, and in contemporary Latin America at large. The interaction of commoning, de-commoning and re-commoning processes inputs to the creation and collective production of tangible and intangible resources covering different environments. The proposed commoning perspective further aims to critically assess the binding contracts and presumed dualisms that constitute academic and policy approaches to social change, in order to create a better understanding of the drivers, actions and practices of transformation in intertwined Rural-Urban contexts. Summary: Comunise Xela: Negotiating collective spaces around an intermediate Central American city This exploration is based on joint field work carried out by an interdisciplinary research team in the city of Quetzaltenango (Xela), Guatemala. It uses the notion of ‘commoning’ as an analytical lens to understand social transformations in this intermediate city and in contemporary Latin America in general. The interaction of the processes of communification, decommunification and reward draws attention to the co-creation and collective production of tangible and intangible resources that occur at different scales. The proposed “communalisation” perspective aims to critically assess binary contrasts and dualisms that inform academic and policy approaches to social change, in order to create a better understanding of drivers, interactions and transformation practices in intertwined rural and urban contexts.