Degrowth will benefit the poor
by Jean-Manuel Traimond and Collectif Passerelle Capitalism creates winners and losers. Nothing new there. But the winning side, amazingly, manages to convince the losers that they, too, someday, somehow, shall win. Promised. How? Well, with a miracle. No, they do not recommend a pilgrimage to Lourdes. Just… Growth. Grrrrowth! As everybody knows, a rising tide […]
Beyond (against?) urban gardens
by Donatella Gasparro Despite the ambitious societal change that degrowth advocates for, degrowth proposals often bring as examples of “degrowth in practice” urban community–led food initiatives, most of which already exist under various other banners, loosely and variously related to “sustainability”, “healthy life styles” and other rather a–political slogans. Distinctly city–focussed, the most frequent examples […]
Reconsidering a panacea: a blue carbon project in Colombia
By Gisela Ruiseco Being originally from Colombia, in my childhood I visited repeatedly its Caribbean zone. I remember an incredible mangrove area, which, back in the 1980’s, was destroyed by the construction of a highway. Experiencing the resulting death zone was shocking. In those days, conservation was not a trending topic. Moreover, the destruction of […]
The case of sustainable clothing
How degrowth shapes the way I think about economic activities by Amerissa Giannouli Since I became familiar with degrowth I have been looking at things more critically. Especially after joining the online master on Degrowth: Ecology, Economics and Policy, I find myself defending the need for transforming a green growth obsessed economy into a degrowth […]
The reversed energy-community
A thought experiment to envision a degrowth energy community by Maxime Jobin Context In Québec, private firms producing and distributing electricity were nationalized in 1944 to create Hydro-Québec, a public utility that became the sole distributor of electricity, with 94% of it generated throughhydropower¹. For this reason, and because hydroelectricity can be considered a renewable […]
Transport Planning Principles for Degrowth
by Sofia Buhrgard As a transport planner working in Stockholm, I have been reflecting on what the principles of degrowth mean for transport planning. The following concepts are some I feel most relevant to consider in a degrowth context. The best trips are the ones not made The first step of transport planning is to […]
Fruits and Vegetable Markets in India and US
by Kajal Patel I recently moved to the US from India. My close encounter with fruit and vegetable trade in both countries made me realize how countries like India are much better off in fresh produce retailing. In the US, most fruits and vegetables are sold at supermarkets like Walmart and Publix, while farmer’s market […]
A political ecology perspective on the origins of the COVID-19 pandemic
by Viktor Humpert Most research efforts connected to the COVID-19 outbreak are dominated by the field of natural science, mainly employing medical and epidemiological perspectives and explanations. Hence, in the common perception, the ongoing pandemic is rendered a “natural” disaster or phenomenon, thus a process “coming from nature”, yet principally external to human activity. However, […]
Safety, Risk, and Compliance in COVID Pandemic
Even though faded, the stories of epidemics ravaging continents are still present in our collective memory. Coming from a city whose XVIII century plague-infested population, was locked down within the city walls and left there to die [1], I listen with suspicion to anyone offering measures aiming to reduce the impact of the latest outbreak. […]
Degrowth, positionality and decoloniality: reflections from the Masters on Political Ecology and Degrowth
In the Political Ecology & Degrowth Master, readings and topics for the classes often initiate recurrent discussions amongst the students and teachers, touching upon the class material with different critical lenses. Amongst the discussions that come up the most, there is the following question; how to get out of the development discourse and enhance Degrowth […]