Bioregionalism
by
Bioregionalism is a social movement and action-oriented field of study focused on enabling human communities to live, work, eat, and play sustainably within Earth’s dynamic web of life. At the heart of the matter is this core guiding principle: human beings are social animals; if we are to flourish as a species, we need healthy relationships and secure attachments in our living arrangements with one another and with the land, waters, habitat, plants, and animals upon which we depend. Unfortunately, we have lost our way. Humanity’s collective capacity to nurture healthy relationships and secure attachments is not being realized. Thus, bioregionalists argue, we need to establish new, just, ethical, and ecologically resilient ways to reconnect with one another and with the land. Bioregionalism’s core commitments include (1) rebuilding urban and rural communities—at a human scale—to nurture a healthy sense of place and to secure attachments and rootedness among community inhabitants; (2) reintegrating nature and human settlements in ways that holistically instill eco-efficiency, equity, and green cultural values into systems of production, consumption, and daily life; (3) making known (and valuing) the way wildlands, working landscapes, ecosystems, and rural dwellers and resources enable cities to exist; (4) developing authentic community-based participatory...
This essay may be found on page 25 of the printed volume.