Not for Sale: How home grown Scandinavian eco-cities take climate change imaginaries beyond market mechanisms

Abstract: Inter-governmental climate talks have, over a twenty-year period, had little success in implementing measures to mitigate human-induced climate change. Their fundamental perspective, one of economic rationality, has not provided a compelling or effective basis for achieving their desired goals. Over the same interval, at the local scale, various constituencies have come together to address climate change by developing communities that allow their residents to live a lifestyle that includes concrete measures that do deal with the problems of climate change. By taking a perspective that emphasises ecological rationality, these eco-communities and eco-villages are challenging the status quo. This thesis examines four Scandinavian eco-city case sites and uses narrative walking interviews (where in-person observations were made of the characteristics of the built environment), the results of Google Web searches (to examine how these sites are characterised in English digital media), critical literature review, and comparative analysis. It then applies the theoretical frameworks of Critical Institutional Theory and Strategic, Values-based Planning Theory to examine how it is that these efforts have succeeded, to determine who were the key decision makers and who benefited from these projects, and to see what lessons about equity can be drawn from these local actions.