{"id":7121,"key":"Ecovillages","title":"Ecovillages","latest":{"id":1223943,"timestamp":"2026-01-08T23:44:55Z"},"content_model":"wikitext","license":{"url":"https://www.appropedia.org/Appropedia:Copyrights","title":"CC-BY-SA-4.0"},"source":"[[File:Govardhan Ecovillage.jpg|thumb]]\n\n'''Ecovillages''' are a kind of sustainable neighbourhood, which are typically planned and managed cooperatively. They are intended to be socially, economically and ecologically [[Sustainability|sustainable]] [[intentional communities]]<ref>[https://web.archive.org/web/20170702195456/http://www.ic.org/wiki/ecovillage-2/ What Is Ecovillage? by Tony Sirna]</ref><ref>[https://web.archive.org/web/20170702224124/http://www.ic.org/wiki/ecovillage-retrofit-los-angeles-healing-inner-city-neighborhood/ An Ecovillage Retrofit for Los Angeles: Healing an Inner-City Neighborhood by Lois Arkin]</ref> - though they include models that may be less intense and offer more privacy than some intentional communities. Compared to [[sustainable cities]], they are smaller and typically aim for a population of no more than 150 individuals, which is considered to be the maximum social network according to findings from sociology and anthropology (Hill & Dunbar, 2002). However, cooperative [https://ecovillage.org/ networks of ecovillages] do exist.\n\nEcovillage members are united by shared ecological, social or spiritual values (''see'' [[Intentional community]]). An ecovillage is often composed of people who have chosen an alternative to centralized power, water, and sewage systems. Many see the breakdown of traditional forms of community, wasteful [[Consumerism|consumerist]] lifestyles, the destruction of natural habitat, urban sprawl, factory farming, and over-reliance on fossil fuels, as trends that must be changed to avert ecological disaster. They see small-scale communities with minimal ecological impact as an alternative.\n\nIn 1991, [http://www.context.org/about/who-we-are/robert-gilman/ Robert Gilman] set out a definition of an ecovillage that was to become a standard. Gilman defined an ecovillage as a settlement:\n\n* Which is human-scale\n* Which is full-featured\n* In which human activities are harmlessly integrated into the natural world\n* In a way that is supportive of healthy human development, and\n* Which can be successfully continued into the indefinite future<ref>[http://www.context.org/iclib/ic29/gilman1/ \"The Eco-village Challenge\" by Robert Gilman]</ref>\n* Which has multiple centers of initiative<ref>[http://www.ecovillagenewsletter.org/wiki/index.php/Robert_Gilman_on_%22Multiple_Centers_of_Initiative%22 Robert Gilman on \"Multiple Centers of Initiative\"]</ref>\n\n==== Characteristics ====\n\nThe principles on which ecovillages rely can be applied to urban and [[rural]] settings, as well as to developing and developed countries. Advocates seek infrastructural independence and a sustainable lifestyle (for example, of [[voluntary simplicity]]) for inhabitants with a minimum of trade outside the local area, or [[ecoregion]]. Rural ecovillages are usually based on [[organic farming]], [[permaculture]] and other approaches which promote [[ecosystem]] function and [[biodiversity]]. Some ecovillages integrate many of the design principles of [[cohousing]], but with a greater ecological focus and a more \"organic\" process, typical of permaculture design.\n\nAn ecovillage usually relies on:\n\n* \"Green\" infrastructural capital\n* [[autonomous building]] or clustered housing, to minimize [[ecological footprint]]\n* [[renewable energy]]\n* [[permaculture]]\n* [[cohousing]] or other forms of supportive community\n\nThe goal of most ecovillages is to be a sustainable habitat providing for most of its needs on site. Its organization also usually depends upon some instructional capital or moral codes - a minimal civics sometimes characterized as eco-anarchism:\n\n* local purchasing so as to support the local economy\n* [[local food]] production and distribution\n* moral purchasing to avoid objectionable consumption\n* consensus decision-making for governance\n* a choice to respect diversity\n\nThe term ''ecovillage'' should not be confused with micronation, a strictly legal, not infrastructural, concept.\n\n==== Map of ecovillages ====\n\n{{Excerpt|Ecovillages map}}\n\n==== See also ====\n\n* List of ecovillages\n* [[Ecovillages & Intentional Communities Energy and Climate Action Research Project]]\n* [[Sustainable cities]]\n* [[Intentional communities]]\n* Bioneers\n* [[Cohousing]]\n* [[Eco-municipality]]\n* Types of communities\n* [[Sustainable cities]]\n* [[Sustainable development]]\n* [[Sustainable design]]\n* [[Green living]]\n* Green communities\n* [[Appropriate technology villages]]\n* [[Sustainable city living]]\n\n==== External links ====\n\n* [https://web.archive.org/web/20080725040608/http://wiki.ic.org/ Intentional Communities wiki]\n* [https://www.ekopedia.fr/wiki/Écovillage Ecovillages on Ekopedia]\n* [[Wikipedia:Ecovillages]]\n* [http://ecovillage.wikia.com/wiki/Main_Page Ecovillage Wiki] - Dead wiki intended to facilitate ecovillages to develop regional and global networks\n* [https://ecovillage.org/ Global Ecovillage Network]\n* [https://web.archive.org/web/20200417101452/https://gen-europe.org/home/index.htm GEN-Europe]\n* [http://www.ic.org Intentional Communities website]\n* [http://www.ic.org/directory/ecovillages/ Ecovillage Directory] - List of Ecovillages in the [http://directory.ic.org Intentional Communities Directory]\n* [http://livinginthefuture.org/shop.php DVDs about Ecovillages worldwide]\n* [http://www.context.org/iclib/ic29/ Living Together: Sustainable Community Development]\n* [http://www.habiter-autrement.org/05.eco-village/03_eco.htm The Ecovillage Model]\n* [https://vimeo.com/ondemand/voicesofcohousing Voices of Cohousing: Rebuilding villages in the city] - Documentary on mainstream urban ecovillages (cohousing)\n* [http://rihmasto.fi/ Network in Suomi]\n* [https://www.context.org/iclib/ic29/cluster/ A Cluster Of Eco-villages]\n* [https://web.archive.org/web/20170703234404/http://www.ic.org/community-bookstore/product/eurotopia-2/ Eurotopia: Living in Community - A Directory of European Intentional Communities]\n* [https://permaculturenews.org/2017/09/14/revolutionary-civilizational-paradigm-eco-villages/ THE REVOLUTIONARY CIVILIZATIONAL PARADIGM ECO VILLAGES]\n* [https://permies.com/f/162/ecovillage Ecovillages forum]at [https://permies.com Permies.com]\n* [https://permies.com/f/6/intentional-community Intentional Communities forum]at [https://permies.com Permies.com]\n\n==== Books ====\n\n* Christian, D. 2003. ''[https://ecovillage.org/resources/market/creating-a-life-together/ Creating a Life Together: Practical Tools to Grow Ecovillages and Intentional Communities]'' New Society Publishers. ISBN 0-86571-471-1\n* Hill, R. and Dunbar, R. 2002. \"[https://www.researchgate.net/publication/281203308_Social_Network_Size_in_Humans Social Network Size in Humans.]\" Human Nature, Vol. 14, No. 1, pp. 53-72.\n* Jackson, H. and Svensson, K. 2002. ''Ecovillage Living: Restoring the Earth and Her People''. Green Books. ISBN 1-903998-16-6\n\n==== References ====\n\n<references />\n\n{{Page data\n| license = CC-BY-SA-3.0\n| keywords = intentional communities, utopian communities, urban planning, environmental design, intentional communities, rural community development, ecovillages, simple living, green living, sustainable agriculture\n| sdg = SDG11 Sustainable cities and communities\n| description = Ecovillages thrive through cooperation and ecology. Appropedia shows how shared living supports sustainability and resilience.\n}}\n\n[[Category:Intentional communities]]\n[[Category:Urban planning]]\n[[Category:Rural community development]]\n[[Category:Ecovillages]]\n[[Category:Simple living]]\n[[Category:Green living]]\n[[Category:Sustainable agriculture]]"}