Eco-Communities: The Changing Temporalities of an Ecological Life

This project is led by Jenny Pickerill, but the questions have been driven by the residents of the eco-communities and it takes place in England, Wales, Scotland and Ireland.

People eating a meal around a table
On

 Principal investigator

The project

Our experience of time in contemporary society is marked by many as one of increased speed and scarcity.

At the same time, ecologically we are in an era where we are running out of time to prevent (or adequately adapt to) climate change.

This experience of time can increase people’s sense of stress and unhappiness and is leading to ecological damage. It is therefore vital to understand those who are building different relationships to time (experiencing different temporalities) and to the environment.

We can then use this to identify alternative ways of relating to time and living a more ecological life.

The objective is to answer these questions:

  1. What is it like living in an eco-community?
  2. What are the different stages, processes and practices of an
  3. eco-community?
  4. How is time used, experienced and measured in eco-communities?
  5. What can the rest of society learn from such experimental spaces?

The impact anticipated is to identify different ways of living and alternative possibilities offered by a more ecological way of life.

Duration

July 2018 - present

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