 Convivial innovation in sustainable communities: Four cases in FranceRoxana Bobulescu and Aneta Fritscheova Ecological Economics, 2021, vol. 181, issue C Abstract: The current globalized, competitive economic system has resulted in a focus on innovation policies, with some approaches considering sustainable communities, such as eco-villages as social innovation laboratories. This perspective considers innovation as an end and primarily focuses on strategies to achieve it. However, the establishment of sustainable communities is neither market-driven nor innovation-focused; instead, it is motivated by a desire for a simpler life. Thus, a different conceptual framework must be developed to study innovation in these settings. This study therefore elaborates on Illich's concept of “tools for conviviality” and Vetter's concept of “convivial technologies” to highlight the “convivial innovation” process in four communities in southeastern France. In these communities, convivial innovation refers to adaptable, accessible, and locally available innovation. The inhabitants of these communities view convivial innovation as a means, not an end, and their needs drive the development of new tools for conviviality. Convivial innovation can be envisioned as degrowth-oriented innovation. Keywords: Conviviality; Illich; Eco-Village; Sustainable Community; Convivial Innovation; Convivial Technology; Degrowth (search for similar items in EconPapers) Downloads: (external link) Related works: Export reference: BibTeX RIS (EndNote, ProCite, RefMan) HTML/Text Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:eee:ecolec:v:181:y:2021:i:c:s0921800920322230 DOI: 10.1016/j.ecolecon.2020.106932 Access Statistics for this article Ecological Economics is currently edited by C. J. Cleveland More articles in Ecological Economics from Elsevier |
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