The Role of Public Art in Solar Commons Institution-Building: Community Voices from an Essential Partnership among Artists, Community Solar Researchers, and Activists

In this urgent decade when American democracy faces the challenge of decarbonizing the U.S. electric grid and assuring that the economic benefits of our energy transition are equitably shared, many solar energy researchers and activists are searching for new ways to partner with the civic sector. Instead of treating energy users as passive customers, experts understand the importance of engaging community as active decision-makers, beneficiaries, and communicators for a just energy transition. Distributed solar technology offers more democratic potential than small savings on individuals’ electric bills. Energy experts working on the Solar CommonsÔ community solar model at the University of Minnesota are piloting demonstration projects with community partners in Arizona and Minnesota. These solar commons aggregate savings through power purchase agreements that create 25-year peer-governed revenue streams to support mutual aid and reparative justice work in neighborhoods. This article describes a Solar Commons research project in Arizona, with a conversation among the public artists who partnered with the legal research team to co-create communication and peer governance tools that will allow DIY Solar Commons to iterate throughout the US as a new institution in our civic sector. Images of the Solar Commons public art demonstrate how the artists helped expand the vision of solar energy from the iconic individual solar panel to a technology embedded in community justice and in a complex human-more-than-human environment

Solar Commons: Designing Community Trust Solar Ownership for Social Equity

In the United States, the sun shines for everyone, but many are left out from the economic benefits of the renewable energy transition. Community solar, meant to provide ownership and subscription options to those without the means, often stretch the imagination in how they use the word “community.” Is an investor-owned utility that offers its customers the opportunity to subsidize the utility’s solar-generated electricity with a higher price on their electricity bill really an example of “community solar”? What do we mean when we say “community solar” in the United States today? And how can we build a model of community solar that serves low-income communities and “the common good”? This study introduces a new model of community solar called “Solar Commons.” Solar Commons are solar energy systems that use community trust-ownership to deliver commonwealth benefits to low-income communities. Using the cultural history of community land trusts and the creative potential of trust law as a backdrop, this study demonstrates the particular progress of a Solar Commons demonstration project which the Solar Commons nonprofit proposes for the Rural Renewable Energy Alliance and the Leech Lake Band of Ojibwe.Prepared in partnership with the The Rural Renewable Energy Alliance (RREAL) by the Community Assistantship Program (CAP), which is administered by the Center for Urban and Regional Affairs (CURA) at the University of Minnesota

Artist's Statement: Warli Village Solar Trust

Artist’s Statement for the cover art of IJPS volume 8, issue 2: Warli Village Solar Trust, rice paste on parchment

ROCK MUSIC AND NATIONAL IDENTITY IN HUNGARY

Marxism and nationalism. The political form and meaning of the discourse of national identity in Hungary as it appears in popular culture. Hungarian rock and shamanpunk. The debate over the national flag.Marxisme et nationalisme. La forme et la signification du discours d’identité nationale en Hongrie tel qu’il apparait dans la culture populaire. Rock hongrois et « shamanpunk ». Le débat autour du drapeau national

A Scoping Review Examining Governance, Co-Creation, and Social and Ecological Justice in Living Labs Literature

Living Labs (LLs) are increasingly being used as an approach to address complex sustainability-related challenges. Inspired by existing knowledge and practice gaps, calls for further examination of governance and co-creation in relation to LLs work, and our experiences in the Lake Superior Living Labs Network, we conducted a scoping review of the recent (2015–2019) LLs literature. This review focused on peer-reviewed LLs literature aimed at addressing sustainability-related challenges and involving universities as key collaborators specifically. This scoping review addressed the research questions: how are LLs conceptualized, described, and applied? how are LLs governed? How is co-creation supported in LLs work? and, are social and/or environmental justice considered in LLs work? From the 729 citations gathered in the electronic database searches, 48 papers were identified as relevant through the screening and eligibility assessment. We found that this literature is growing rapidly, highly interdisciplinary, and predominantly taking place within European urban centres. We summarize the findings in relation to our research questions and outline implications for interrogating governance, unpacking co-creation, and working towards social and ecological justice in LLs research and practice. We conclude by outlining four key research directions to advance LLs work, including, (1) expanding research across a greater diversity of settings; (2) examining and analyzing governance and power dynamics; (3) exploring how learning evolves via co-creation; and (4) examining how universities are impeding and/or supporting advances in relation to governance, co-creation, and justice in LLs work