Mobilising Sense of Place for Degrowth? Lessons From Lancashire's Anti-fracking Activism

This article foregrounds sense of place as a key concept to further advance spatial theorisations within both ecological economics and degrowth. We delineate the scope of the concept and apply it to the fracking controversy in Lancashire, UK. Specifically, we elucidate how sense of place associations were mobilised by pro- and anti-fracking actors to legitimate and advance their respective positions. Our study makes three contributions. First, we review an extensive body of work in humanistic and cultural geography, developing an integrative analytical framework which can be adopted by ecological economics/degrowth scholars. Second, drawing on insights from Lancashire's anti-fracking movement, we illustrate how sense of place became critical for actors involved in degrowth-minded activism. In doing this, our work contributes towards narrowing the gap between degrowth theorisations and the enactment of degrowth-minded activism within real world complexities. Finally, we conclude by reflecting on the ideological implications of incorporating a global sense of place within degrowth politics, particularly in the context of rising ethnonationalism and right-wing populism

Berlin ville verte et durable : utopie ou réalité ?

Au gré des périodes et des coalitions au pouvoir dans la ville-Land de Berlin, le thème de la « ville verte et durable » a été mis sous le boisseau ou au contraire sur le devant de la scène. La première décennie après la chute du Mur est celle de la reconstruction et des grands travaux. La ville verte et durable n’est alors pas à l’ordre du jour. Les années 2000 amorcent un tournant. Avec la crise économique qui affecte la capitale, l’heure n’est plus aux « chantiers du siècle » mais au Small is beautiful. Il s’agit de promouvoir la « ville créative » et la « ville sociale ». C’est par ce biais que le thème de la durabilité (Nachhaltigkeit) s’introduit dans le débat politique. Dans les années 2010, le succès du référendum pour le maintien à l’état de friche urbaine de l’ancien aéroport de Tempelhof témoigne de manière éclatante de l’intérêt des Berlinois pour les espaces verts et ouverts. Mais ce n’est que dans les dernières années qu’une vraie politique urbaine durable se met en place, notamment sur la question cruciale du logement ou de la mobilité, mais aussi par exemple des jardins communs. Une question demeure cependant : avec les prochaines élections communales à l’horizon (automne 2021) et un possible changement de coalition, quelle durabilité accorder à la politique durable

The Ambiguities of ‘Sustainable’ Berlin

International audienceCity marketing has a strong tradition in Berlin, with two organizations, Berlin Partnerand Visit Berlin, responsible for designing and implementing relevant strategies. Sustainability hasbeen on and off the city marketing agenda, almost exclusively in its environmental dimension. Inthis article, we examine the current representations of Berlin as a “sustainable city” in the officialcity marketing strategies. We look at how sustainability is used and instrumentalized to create aspecific city profile and also to attract particular target groups in tourism. We propose an analysis ofsustainable planning in Berlin since reunification to show how it has moved into different directionsover time and how this has (or has not) been followed by city marketing. In this endeavor, we movebetween the existing, and as we argue deeper and more sophisticated, environmental planning of thecity on one hand, and the reductions and simplifications of city marketing representations on theother. Finally, we argue that there are inherent contradictions in marketing a sustainable city, whereboth in terms of tourism and economic development, the concept of growth seems to be reaching environmental limit