The purpose of this study is to improve understanding of how (a) principles of sustainable development (SD) have been implemented in an ecovillage setting, as well as (b) to analyze internal and external challenges faced by the ecovillagers in their pursuit of sustainable living. The specific research objectives of this study are these: i) examine the sustainable practices of an ecovillage according to Agenda 21 principles; ii) document key and unique elements of the ecovillage approach to SD; iii) identify challenges faced by O.U.R. Ecovillage residents in SD practices implementation and recognise opportunities to improve the implementation of SD principles in the ecovillage. To meet these objectives the study was carried out in one of the most developed ecovillages in Canada - O.U.R. ecovillage, located in the Cowichan Valley region, British Columbia. Multiple research methods that were used included: interviews, focus group, participant observation, research photography and document analysis. Research findings revealed numerous innovative sustainable practices implemented in the ecovillage. Discussed areas include shelter provision, governance, construction practices, environmental infrastructure, human resource development, planning in disaster prone areas, land-use management as well as energy and transportation systems. Many processes initiated by the ecovillage are only in the experimental stage and require improvement. However, O.U.R. Ecovillage is an important educational center for sustainability due not only to specific practices but also its holistic approach to SD that balances the needs of individuals, community, and the environment. The research also presents various internal and external challenges that obstruct SD of the community. Main difficulties faced by the community throughout its development are related first to strong individualistic cultural values dominant in western society that contradict many sustainable practices applied in the ecovillage. A second obstacle to SD in the community is posed by the inflexibility of regulatory authorities that greatly complicates implementation of innovative holistic practices. Lessons learned from O.U.R. Ecovillage might assist other groups in Canada and abroad to proceed with local initiatives towards sustainability.

A organização das ecovilas desafia o conceito de comunidade, tanto no campo da Sociologia quanto da Filosofia. A definição formal identifica as ecovilas como comunidades intencionais, tradicionais ou rurais resultantes de projetos coletivos e com o objetivo de regenerar o ambiente social e natural. Esta definição é produzida paradoxalmente por uma grande corporação, a Global Ecovillage Network (GEN) detém a legitimidade da enunciação do que significa ser uma ecovila, e certifica experiências ao redor do mundo. Esta pesquisa problematiza a apropriação do termo comunidade pelo movimento das ecovilas, a partir de duas perspectivas: a primeira é teórica e analisa a literatura produzida pela GEN; a segunda é empírica e compreensiva, produzida através de observação participante numa ecovila situada no sul do Brasil. A conclusão situa as ecovilas como manifestação comunitária contemporânea. Isto quer dizer que ecovilas sobrevivem em meio a contradições. Enquanto o discurso contido no material produzido pela GEN apresenta indícios de uma concepção romântica da comunidade, o caráter de sua precipitação fenomênica se situa numa espécie de interstício social e organizacional, lugar em que a experiência do ser-em-comum e a propriedade vivem no limite de uma síntese impossível. / The ecovillage organization challenges the concept of community in the field of Sociology as well as in Philosophy. The formal definition identifies ecovillages as intentional, traditional or rural communities resulting from collective projects and aiming to regenerate the social and natural environment. This definition is produced paradoxically by a large corporation, Global Ecovillage Network (GEN) holds the legitimacy of the enunciation of what it means to be an ecovillage and certifies experiences around the world. This research problematizes the appropriation of the term community by the movement of the ecovillage, from two perspectives: the first is theoretical and analyzes the literature produced by GEN; the second is empirical and comprehensive, produced through participant observation in an ecovillage situated in the south of Brazil. The conclusion places ecovillages as a contemporary community manifestation. This means that ecovillages survive amid contradictions. While the discourse contained in the material produced by GEN presents a romantic conception of the community, the character of its phenomenal precipitation lies in a kind of social and organizational interstice, a place where the experience of being-in-common and property live in the limit of an impossible synthesis.

In this dissertation, I make an argument for strong sustainability, which emphasizes environmental and social justice concerns, by distinguishing it from weak sustainability. I critique the global neoliberal sustainable development project, a weak form of sustainability that prioritizes economic growth, using Marx's theory of metabolic rift. However, I find this theory lacking in its ability to engage forms of oppression outside of class, such as gender. Because of this, I employ theories on gender and environment and environmental justice to explore systemic and cultural aspects of oppression. I use qualitative cross-national comparative methods to examine two alternatives to neoliberal sustainable development. The two cases working toward strong sustainability are an urban ecovillage in the United States and an urban farm in Havana, Cuba. I assess the viability of these projects and their strengths and weaknesses toward a rigorous theory of strong sustainability. I find that the structure of society matters in determining the opportunities for equity and sustainability projects. As postulated by metabolic rift theory, my cases suggest that capitalism is a structural barrier to sustainability, but eliminating capitalism is an insufficient condition for nations attempting to attain equity or environmental protection. While structural change is necessary, any discussion of structural power dynamics that fails to consider real people embedded in on-the-ground social power dynamics would be incomplete. Specifically, I find that in Cuba--a nation where capitalism was disbanded over fifty years ago in favor of more equal economic relations--gender equity is limited by cultural expectations of gender roles and government suppression of democratic processes. My findings suggest that if the goal is to create socially just environmental change, it must be done deliberately. The instituting of laws is important but insufficient because cultural factors may restrict minorities' participation in democratic processes. Inequality and disregard for the environment are culturally entrenched social processes that must be addressed simultaneously and with specialized attention in order for lasting change to occur. Goals toward economic restructuring, equality, and environmental reform should be methodically phased in with constant democratic discussion and progress assessment. This dissertation contains previously published and unpublished co-authored material.

Henri Lefebvre’s radical call for “the right to the city” as a step in his wider utopian project of societal transformation has attracted much academic interest in the 21st century. A central problematic for advancing this idea, however, is how to take the leap from experimental heterotopies to a new form of urban commons that could provide the foundation for this new society. This thesis draws from Lefebvre’s extensive writings as well as from five weeks of ethnographic fieldwork, including a focus group and five semi-structured interviews conducted at Suderbyn ecovillage to deliver a comparative discussion on the process of establishing a common social relation to place (and ultimately space) and how it relates to scale. The main conclusion is that the dominance of use-values in combination with a synthesis of the connection of elements such as work, leisure and learning plays a central role in the process of establishing a common social relation to place in Suderbyn and that this in turn is a crucial aspect of consideration for tackling the scalar problematic.

Background: The myriads of environmental and social predicaments that came together with the rise of energy consumption and global capitalism now calls for a radical paradigm shift. Though this shift has been discussed over the last few decades under the concept of “sustainable development”, it appears that the focus has merely been put on “sustaining the unsustainable”. Hence, exploring alternative sustainability paradigms and their viability appears as a necessity to navigate in the Anthropocene era.    Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to explore the strategies employed by Swedish ecovillages to achieve financial viability in the context of a strong sustainability paradigm. The focus is put on understanding how these organizations manage to avoid bankruptcy without compromising their values and purpose.    Method: This thesis is qualitative in nature and is based on an interpretivist paradigm. More specifically, the researchers followed the Grounded Theory approach proposed by Strauss & Corbin to analyze their data and find a plausible theory. Therefore, the theory introduced by the authors is rooted in the primary data collected through in-depth interviews with a total of six residents from three different Swedish ecovillages.   Conclusion: The results of this research shows that the Swedish ecovillages studied achieved financial viability by channeling money from the capitalist market economy to their communal economy, while simultaneously relying on their ideology and resources to prevent this money from “leaking out”.

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This dissertation considers the subject of ecovillages, intentional ecologically-oriented sustainable communities developed in the U.S., and the different understandings of community involvement, structure, and challenges that members of these communities confront in their efforts at managing these time and labor-intensive settlements. Informed by the work of performance ethnographers and critical phenomenologists, I consider twelve interviews I conducted on-site and electronically with people living in ecovillage settlements. Taking these interviews and my own observations from on-site visits to two ecovillages as entry points, I conducted a phenomenological analysis informed by a critical phenomenological ethos of these accounts, highlighting five motifs that recurred across their recollections of their lived experiences: (1) intentional design; (2) happenings; (3) community; (4) motivations; and (5) political and environmental ethos. I then considered how these motifs suggested several contingent foundations that underwrite the experience of ecovillage community formation more generally. I identified three such contingent foundations: (1) intention; (2) boundaries; and (3) becoming. From these foundations, I propose a phenomenological rendering of community in ecovillages as a purposive act of ongoing relating between the human and more-than-human world that is cultivated through an attention to articulated principles, enacted through actions and behaviors that follow from these principles, and reaffirmed through mutual witnessing and commitment to the aforesaid principles. Such an understanding of community poses interesting implications for communication studies and related sub-disciplines. I consider some of these implications in the conclusion to my dissertation, before outlining some of the future work I hope to pursue relating to ecovillages and intentional communities more generally.

Dancing Rabbit Ecovillage, an intentional community of roughly 70 members in Northeastern Missouri, is working to create societal change through radical sustainable living practices and creation of a culture of eco-friendly and feminist norms. Members agree to abide by a set of ecological covenants and sustainability guidelines, committing to practices such as using only sustainably generated electricity, and no use or storage of personally owned vehicles on community property. Situated within the context of a sustainability study, this thesis explores how Dancing Rabbit is creating a more socially and ecologically just culture and how this lifestyle affects happiness and well-being.

Thesis (Ph. D.)--State University of New York at Binghamton, Anthropology Department, 2006. / Includes bibliographical references.

In the wake of the Great Recession of 2008, the ‘new normal’ left many Americans deflated after losing their financial savings and general confidence in the political system. There is a growing movement saying the traditional path to the American Dream is no longer satisfying. From coast to coast families are moving from sleepy towns to so-called ‘intentional communities’ in search of alternatives. They are building new lives in spiritual enclaves, nudist havens, eco-wonderlands and other unorthodox societies while seeking like-minded souls and a better way of making a living. Although they don’t often reflect the traditional lifestyle of most citizens, they do represent the widespread frustration with the status quo. The United States has long been a safe haven for these nonconformists and continues to attract those seeking escape from the mainstream each year. Intentional communities throughout Texas and the U.S. are flourishing despite harsh economic times elsewhere. This report documents daily life in three intentional communities during 2011 and 2012, all focused on achieving their individual goals of environmental protection, building community bonds, and achieving spiritual enlightenment. / text