Everyday sustainabilities: Exploring spatial perspectives on materialities, discourses and practices (2/2)

Abstract der Sitzung

Growing evidence on the climate crisis over the past few decades has led to clear recommendations for curbing CO2 emissions and how to respond to other pressing problems like biodiversity loss. There is now wide acknowledgement that tackling these problems will require transitions that are both radical and deep (Loorbach, 2022; Schot and Kanger, 2018), including institutional, structural and social changes across all sectors and aspects of life. Even though national and international bodies and agencies call for these changes, the majority of policies and actions do not support the necessary deeper social change. Instead, emphasis has been placed on technological innovations and efficiency-oriented approaches. While new technologies in transport infrastructure, the building sector, etc. are crucial in driving change, they need to be accompanied by changes in lifestyles and daily practices towards more sustainable ways of working and living. Goodman and Marshall (2018) have, for example, argued for the need to “socialize climate change”. Understanding these social processes, however, has so far been neglected.

This session brings together sustainability research which focuses on processes of social change through a focus on everyday practices and lifestyles. It invites contributions which focus on how changes and adaptations to materialities (e. g. built infrastructure, technological and design features, artefacts such as vehicles and buildings) and discourses (e. g. policies, development strategies, climate emergency plans, changes in expert networks) interlink with practices (e. g. building and renovation, travel, consumption, leisure, activism) of enacting deep social change for sustainability. Such research can explore the impacts of these day-to-day actions, routines, understandings and values of individuals. We are particularly keen to see papers that focus on the spatialities of these everyday sustainabilities to build a picture of how everyday sustainability is spatially contextualized. Contributions may include, but are not limited to the following:

• Alternative consumption patterns (e. g. food, clothing)
• Alternative practices of production (e. g. crafts, agriculture)
• Mobility and transport
• Eco-villages and green building communities
• The use of digital technologies to enable sustainability

References:

Goodman, J. & Marshall, J.P. (2018) Problems of methodology and method in climate and energy research: Socializing climate change? Energy Research & Social Science 45, 1-11.

Loorbach, D., (2022) Designing radical transitions: a plea for a new governance culture to empower deep transformative change, City, Territory, Architecture, 9(30), https://doi.org/10.1186/s40410-022-00176-z

Schot, J. & Kanger, L. 2018. Deep transitions: Emergence, acceleration, stabilization and directionality. Research Policy, 47, 1045-1059.