www.glamurs.eu 1

Green Lifestyles, Alternative Models and Up-scaling RegionalSustainability

Ricardo García Mira

www.glamurs.eu 2

General objectivesGLAMURS

1. D

eter

min

ants

of l

ifest

yles Explore the

complex interactions among economic, social, cultural, political and technological factors influencing sustainable lifestyles and transformations toward a green economy

2. T

rans

itiio

n m

odel

s Develop and evaluate comprehensive models of lifestyle change in key sustainability domains + evaluate them in terms of economic and environmental effects

3. P

olic

y re

com

men

datio

ns Provide recommendations on best governance designs and policy mixes for a sufficiently fast-paced transition.

GLAMURS Workshop, Brussels, November, 19th - 2014

www.glamurs.eu 3

Main research questions (I)

• What are the most important factors influencing sustainable lifestyles, and how do they interact in influencing patterns of time-use and consumption decisions related to them?

• How does time use influence our lifestyles and associated consumption and what kind of changes in patterns of time use would be necessary?

• What types of rebound effects are likely if time-use patterns change and how can we account for them or counteract them in a timely manner? What positive/negative spillover effects are there between temporal, spatial and material components of lifestyles?

GLAMURS Workshop, Brussels, November, 19th - 2014

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Main research questions (II)

• Is environmentally sustainable growth feasible on a world scale, at a sufficiently fast speed?

• If so, under what conditions? • What kind of policies and governance structures

are needed to make this possible? • What alternative systems of consumption and

production need to be implemented for this to be possible?

• How do we as a European society in a global context come to know what it is we have to do to transition to sustainable, green economies and lifestyles?

GLAMURS Workshop, Brussels, November, 19th - 2014

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Developing theory, models and evidence

• GLAMURS will develop theory, models and evidence on key processes of transitions to sustainable lifestyles and a green economy.

• This will be done through multi-scale, multi-region integrated research involving:

Social psychologists,

Agent-based modelers

Economists

Industrial ecologists

Policy experts

www.glamurs.eu 6

Steps in GLAMURSIn

tegr

ating Integrating

theory on the complex relationships between determinants of lifestyles and lifestyle change.

Qua

ntify

ing Quantifying

relationships and developing models of lifestyle change.

Testi

ng Testing models of transition through empirical research and simulation approaches –micro- and macro-economic models and ABMs

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Modeling approaches

Develop micro-economic models of individual behavior governing lifestyle choice

Study interactions and dynamics through macro-economic modeling

Simulations of micro and macro processes using agent-based modeling

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Phases of research

I

• Develop an empirical base • On determinants of lifestyle patterns – by

conducting empirical research in seven diverse European regions.

• On alternative sustainable lifestyle initiatives and systems of consumption-production across the regions. • motivations, development over time, and prospects for

up-scaling

II

• Test alternative lifestyle trajectories and systems of production and consumption for macro-economic effects and develop robust recommnedations for upscaling

9

Six lifestyle categories

www.glamurs.eu

CATEGORIES

Work-leisure balance

Status of home

(fabric and conditions)

Energy use in homes

Mobility

Nutrition

Consumption of manufac-

tured products

After an analysis of time-use patterns and their relationship to consumption, the project will generate stakeholder-informed combinations of lifestyle choices on the six dimensions that will be assessed for environmental impact.

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Case study regions

Danube-Bohemian Forest (Austria)

Saxony-Anhanlt (Germany)

Banat-Timis (Romania)

Lazio (Italy)

Rotterdam-Delft-The Hague (The Netherlands)

Aberdeenshire (Scotland, UK)

Galicia (Spain)

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Interacting with stakeholders and policymakers

GLAMURS will engage policymakers and stakeholders at European and regional levels, with a knowledge co-production mindset

– A set of workshops with relevant European stakeholders: policy-makers, third sector, academics

– Meetings with local stakeholders, policymakers and activists in case-study regions.

GLAMURS Workshop, Brussels, November, 19th – 2014

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Analyzing the production of knowledge

GLAMURS will evaluate the context the project creates to understand how citizens, researchers, stakeholder organizations and policymakers come to know what it is they need to do to bring about individually, socially, environmentally, and economically sustainable living

GLAMURS Workshop, Brussels, November, 19th – 2014

Early development of an integration ontology, as a formalized set of relationships evolving over time.

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Context for the first European stakeholder workshop:Knowledge co-production

• Knowledge co-production envisions knowledge exchange as a process by which knowledge is created through the interactions of stakeholders and scientists. (Hage et al., 2010) 

GLAMURS Workshop, Brussels, November, 19th - 2014

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Sponsorship and duration

• FP7 – Social Sciences and Humanities – European Commission

• Coordinator: University of A Coruña, Spain– www.people-environment-udc.org– ricardo.garcia.mira@udc.es

• January 2014 to December 2016.

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The consortium

GLAMURS Workshop, Brussels, November, 19th - 2014

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ricardo.garcia.mira@udc.eswww.glamurs.eu

www.people-environment-udc.org