Green Utopianism : Perspectives, Politics and Micro-Practices

In recent planning and policy making, utopian thought and experimental approaches to the organization of society and the built environment have been rare. Sustainable society is viewed as something created within the framework of current society, by small steps. This book analyzes the potential of alternative green futures through perspectives such as political ecology, environmental justice, and utopian thought. It includes analyses of strategies and emerging practices on the macro levels of institutional, infrastructural and economic change, and also analyzes micropractices in the form of case studies of self-organised cooperative housing, new forms of local exchange and energy provision.

Utopian thought and experimental approaches to societal organization have been rare in the last decades of planning and politics. Instead, there is a widespread belief in ecological modernization, that sustainable societies can be created within the frame of the current global capitalist world order by taking small steps such as eco-labeling, urban densification, and recycling. However, in the context of the current crisis in which resource depletion, climate change, uneven development, and economic instability are seen as interlinked, this belief is increasingly being questioned and alternative developmental paths sought. This collection demonstrates how utopian thought can be used in a contemporary context, as critique and in exploring desired futures. The book includes theoretical perspectives on changing global socio-environmental relationships and political struggles for alternative development paths, and analyzes micro-level practices in co-housing, alternative energy provision, use of green space, transportation, co-production of urban space, peer-to-peer production and consumption, and alternative economies. It contributes research perspectives on contemporary green utopian practices and strategies, combining theoretical and empirical analyses to spark discussions of possible futures.