Format/Structure

We plan to have 5-6 presentations (10-15 minutes) and afterwards a collective Q & A at the end of the session.

Long Abstract

REAL EXISTING DEGROWTH (RED) describes and analyses various contemporary territorial constellations that resist, adapt to, or simply live well in the absence of economic growth. These imperfect and incomplete processes resist economic growth, adapt to its end, or live well without it through tentative alternatives unfolding across multiple scales. By “real existing,” we aim to distinguish between idealised future transition scenarios of degrowth and actually existing—contradictory and messy—constellations that are akin to, and speak to, degrowth. We understand degrowth transitions as context-specific and bounded by space and time, thereby complementing more universalistic approaches prevalent in degrowth literature, such as DLSs, ecological macro-economic models, and generic policy proposals.

Empirical studies can help us move beyond thinking about degrowth in abstract terms and contextualise transition processes and possible associated policy schemes. Methodologically, we employ quantitative and qualitative approaches inspired by ethnography, social ecology, ecological economics, urban studies, and sociology.

The session invites contributions from diverse socio-spatial contexts. Using a shared conceptual framework, we aim to enhance the comparability of cases that are currently unconnected or unsystematically linked. Our preliminary typology structures territories around formations that can be described as liminal, nowtopian, insurgent, a-developed or ecosocialist.

Leading questions:

- To what extent do these examples reflect degrowth in their organisational, spatial, and social-ecological composition?

- What conditions and characteristics (such as local histories, ecologies, governance) define Real Existing Degrowth territories across different socio-spatial contexts?

- To what extent do organisational structures, spatial arrangements, and social-ecological practices reflect principles of degrowth, adaptation, or resistance to economic growth?

- To what extent can research on RED integrate and foster inclusive, context-sensitive perspectives across North-South divides?

This Panel has 10 pending paper proposals.
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