Making Transformative Geographies

In the light of social and environmental unsustainability and injustice, the continuing attachment to the idea that a growth-based economy is reconcilable with ecological limits seems increasingly implausible. Tracing and dissecting the complexities of social change, Benedikt Schmid speaks about the development of visions, alternatives, and strategies for a radical transformation beyond growth-based economies. Covering an empirical sample of 24 eco-social organizations, projects, and groupings in the city of Stuttgart (Germany), the study drills down into the social, spatial, and strategic dimensions of transformation. It advances a conceptually and empirically grounded assessment of the possibilities and limitations of community activism and civil engagement in shifting transformative geographies towards a degrowth trajectory.

Benedikt Schmid holds a doctorate in geography from the University of Luxembourg and is a post-doctoral researcher at the chair of Geography of Global Change at the Universität Freiburg. His research focuses on the role of community initiatives and social enterprises for the transition towards a post-growth economy.