Facilitating Low-Carbon Living? A Comparison of Intervention Measures in Different Community-Based Initiatives

Martina Schäfer, Sabine Hielscher, Willi Haas, Daniel Hausknost, Michaela Leitner, Iris Kunze and Sylvia Mandl
Additional contact information
Martina Schäfer: Center for Technology and Society, Technische Universität Berlin, Sekr. HBS 1, Hardenbergstraße 16-18, D-10623 Berlin, Germany
Sabine Hielscher: Center for Technology and Society, Technische Universität Berlin, Sekr. HBS 1, Hardenbergstraße 16-18, D-10623 Berlin, Germany
Willi Haas: Institute for Social Ecology, University of Natural Resources and Life Sciences (BOKU), Schottenfeldgasse 29, A-1070 Vienna, Austria
Daniel Hausknost: Institute for Social Change and Sustainability (IGN), Vienna University of Economics and Business, Welthandelsplatz 2, A-1020 Vienna, Austria
Michaela Leitner: Austrian Institute for Sustainable Development, Lindengasse 2/12, A-1070 Wien, Austria
Iris Kunze: Center for Global Change and Sustainability (gW/N), University of Natural Resources and Life Sciences (BOKU), Borkowskigasse 4/4, A-1190 Vienna, Austria
Sylvia Mandl: Austrian Institute for Sustainable Development, Lindengasse 2/12, A-1070 Wien, Austria

Sustainability, 2018, vol. 10, issue 4, 1-23

Abstract: The challenge of facilitating a shift towards sustainable housing, food and mobility has been taken up by diverse community-based initiatives ranging from “top-down” approaches in low-carbon municipalities to “bottom-up” approaches in intentional communities. This paper compares intervention measures in four case study areas belonging to these two types, focusing on their potential of re-configuring daily housing, food, and mobility practices. Taking up critics on dominant intervention framings of diffusing low-carbon technical innovations and changing individual behavior, we draw on social practice theory for the empirical analysis of four case studies. Framing interventions in relation to re-configuring daily practices, the paper reveals differences and weaknesses of current low-carbon measures of community-based initiatives in Germany and Austria. Low-carbon municipalities mainly focus on introducing technologies and offering additional infrastructure and information to promote low-carbon practices. They avoid interfering into residents’ daily lives and do not restrict carbon-intensive practices. In contrast, intentional communities base their interventions on the collective creation of shared visions, decisions, and rules and thus provide social and material structures, which foster everyday low-carbon practices and discourage carbon-intensive ones. The paper discusses the relevance of organizational and governance structures for implementing different types of low-carbon measures and points to opportunities for broadening current policy strategies.

Keywords: low-carbon municipalities; intentional communities; ecovillages; social practice theories; interventions in practices; low-carbon measures (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: O13 Q Q0 Q2 Q3 Q5 Q56 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2018
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (8)

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Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:gam:jsusta:v:10:y:2018:i:4:p:1047-:d:139199

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