Contesting aeromobility, constructing alternatives: the prefigurative politics of staying on the ground
(2024) In Environmental Politics- Abstract
- The concept of prefiguration has gained attention within environmental politics as a way to describe how everyday activism can enable transformation of unsustainable consumption practices, particularly around material necessities. Drawing on the case of Sweden’s flight-free movement, this article extends the research on prefigurative environmentalism to activism aimed at changing non-essential, yet culturally embedded, consumption practices. Through key informant interviews and document analysis, I show that prefigurative attempts to reduce flying go beyond finding more sustainable ways of travel, to experimenting with an alternative way of life where the need or desire for long-distance travel in itself is reconsidered. As such, the... (More)
- The concept of prefiguration has gained attention within environmental politics as a way to describe how everyday activism can enable transformation of unsustainable consumption practices, particularly around material necessities. Drawing on the case of Sweden’s flight-free movement, this article extends the research on prefigurative environmentalism to activism aimed at changing non-essential, yet culturally embedded, consumption practices. Through key informant interviews and document analysis, I show that prefigurative attempts to reduce flying go beyond finding more sustainable ways of travel, to experimenting with an alternative way of life where the need or desire for long-distance travel in itself is reconsidered. As such, the flight-free movement illustrates a form of prefigurative environmentalism focused on avoiding rather than merely replacing non-essential consumption. This analysis contributes to literature on everyday environmental activism by highlighting the importance of cultural change, rather than just material change, in attempts to prefigure low-carbon ways of life. (Less)
Please use this url to cite or link to this publication:
https://lup.lub.lu.se/record/20f7106c-572a-4880-bece-d0d946965694
- author
- Ullström, Sara LU
- organization
- publishing date
- 2024-03-22
- type
- Contribution to journal
- publication status
- epub
- subject
- keywords
- Everyday environmentalism, prefiguration, sustainable consumption, social change, flying less
- in
- Environmental Politics
- pages
- 22 pages
- publisher
- Taylor & Francis
- external identifiers
-
- scopus:85188272769
- ISSN
- 0964-4016
- DOI
- 10.1080/09644016.2024.2328502
- language
- English
- LU publication?
- yes
- id
- 20f7106c-572a-4880-bece-d0d946965694
- date added to LUP
- 2024-04-08 18:02:35
- date last changed
- 2024-04-18 11:50:19
@article{20f7106c-572a-4880-bece-d0d946965694, abstract = {{The concept of prefiguration has gained attention within environmental politics as a way to describe how everyday activism can enable transformation of unsustainable consumption practices, particularly around material necessities. Drawing on the case of Sweden’s flight-free movement, this article extends the research on prefigurative environmentalism to activism aimed at changing non-essential, yet culturally embedded, consumption practices. Through key informant interviews and document analysis, I show that prefigurative attempts to reduce flying go beyond finding more sustainable ways of travel, to experimenting with an alternative way of life where the need or desire for long-distance travel in itself is reconsidered. As such, the flight-free movement illustrates a form of prefigurative environmentalism focused on avoiding rather than merely replacing non-essential consumption. This analysis contributes to literature on everyday environmental activism by highlighting the importance of cultural change, rather than just material change, in attempts to prefigure low-carbon ways of life.}}, author = {{Ullström, Sara}}, issn = {{0964-4016}}, keywords = {{Everyday environmentalism; prefiguration; sustainable consumption; social change; flying less}}, language = {{eng}}, month = {{03}}, publisher = {{Taylor & Francis}}, series = {{Environmental Politics}}, title = {{Contesting aeromobility, constructing alternatives: the prefigurative politics of staying on the ground}}, url = {{http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/09644016.2024.2328502}}, doi = {{10.1080/09644016.2024.2328502}}, year = {{2024}}, }