Presentation short abstract

Degrowth needs the state, yet research focuses on grassroots movements. This paper examines La Foresta in Rovereto, Italy - a public-commons partnership that is repurposing a train station into a community academy - to explore the role of municipalities in experimenting with nowtopias.

Presentation long abstract

There is no degrowth transition without the state. Yet, research on local degrowth experiments has prioritised grassroots movements, trapping the degrowth transition in a binary of with/against the state. This paper challenges this false dichotomy by examining how local degrowth experiments can emerge through collaboration with what I term the "experimental local state": local authorities willing to question the growth imperative and support nowtopias.

Nowtopias are real existing prefigurative initiatives that materialize post-growth futures. A promising avenue for the establishment of nowtopias is public-commons partnerships, where local authorities collaborate with grassroots groups. We lack empirical analysis and theoretical frameworks to understand what types of support can local authorities provide to nowtopias, and whether collaborating with institutions may advance or undermine their degrowth ambitions.

This research addresses these gaps through a case study of La Foresta in Rovereto, Italy, a community academy born from collaboration between the Municipality and a grassroots organization. Inside the spaces of the train station of Rovereto, members of La Foresta experiment with commons, self-sufficiency, local food systems, multispecies justice, and transfeminist practices. Using Participatory System Dynamics Modelling and Q-methodology, this study illuminates a case of "real existing degrowth" where the municipality functions as an enabling stakeholder.

By documenting how La Foresta operates as a public-commons partnership, this research reveals a third path beyond the sterile with/against binary: collaborative experimentation that leverages the resources of municipalities while preserving the radicalism of nowtopias. This is essential to build the institutional infrastructure where nowtopias can develop.