Resources

Degrowth

“Degrowth implies decolonization of the imaginary and the implementation of other possible worlds”

The degrowth movement is for a “democratically led redistributive downscaling of production and consumption”. By downscaling consumption and production, there will be more opportunities for environmental sustainability, social injustice and overall well-being. A degrowth society is against the fetishism of growth and for a society of frugal abundance: the abundance of things in smaller sections.
The existing economy is a material reality with an imperialist discourse. Degrowth is not a new economic project, but an escape from the old one. This society would thrive on the “sharing” economy, simplicity, conviviality, care and the “commons” ; less division and more sharing.

Bio-economics: A progressive branch of social science that aims for resource management and the avoidance of resource depletion.

Ecological macroeconomics: Population stabilization, limited consumption, and major investments in environmental protection and social priorities

Social metabolism: The set set of flows of materials and energy that occur between nature and society, between different societies, and within societies.

Degrowth integrates bio-economics and ecological macroeconomics, but it is a
Non- economic concept. It implies an equitable redistribution of wealth within and across the global North and South, as well as a stable equality for present and future generations. Degrowth’s objective is to remind people of the meaning of limits, but it is not for a negative growth. The word should not be interpreted literally. The degrowth transition is a transition FROM a growth-based society to one of convivial, more equal societies living in common. It is not a sustained trajectory of descent. In a Degrowth society, it is essential to rediscover diversity and pluralism, because the degrowth society will not look the same in any country.

Degrowth in design: the 8R’s
Re-evaluate – reconceptualize, restructure, relocate, redistribute, reduce, reuse and recycle.

A summary I wrote of the chapter "Degrowth (pages 148 - 150) from Pluriverse: A Post–Development Dictionary. I include it here because it shows where I got the terms in bold in my essay from.

Pluriverse: A Post–Development Dictionary Delhi. pp. 148-150. Tulika Books, 2019

Rizmi, Uzma. “Decolonization as Care.” Slow Reader: A Resource for Design Thinking and Practice, Eds. Strauss, Carolyn and Pais, Ana Paula. Amsterdam: Valiz, 2017

Studio Marco Vermeulen. Ruimte voor Biobased Bouwen: een strategische verkenning. Studio Marco
Vermeulen, 2020, marcovermeulen.eu/files/pub/0255/RuimtevoorBiobasedBouwen.pdf.