From countercultural ecovillages to mainstream green neighbourhoods - a view on current trends in Denmark

Abstract This paper describes how the ecovillage model for sustainability is currently spreading in Denmark through two different avenues. The first avenue the creation of new eco-communities inspired by the ecovillage movement. While traditional ecovillages have been established through bottom-up grassroot engagement, eco-communities are usually created through top-down municipal support or from the side by the involvement of professional community builders. A commercial market for eco-communities is emerging, creating a diverse range of eco-communities that attracts segments of the Danish population that the traditional bottom-up ecovillage model does not. The second avenue is the spread of some aspects of the ecovillage model to “mainstream” housing neighbourhoods through the green neighbourhood movement, when neighbours meet, discuss what kind of sustainable interests they share, and act together to change their environmental practices and to live more sustainably. Although eco-communities and green neighbourhoods will probably achieve lower carbon footprint reductions than ecovillages, they are exploring interesting avenues through which the spread of the ecovillage model, which is slow, costly, and exclusive, can be sped up and reach a tipping point. This evolution of ecovillages can trigger a mass movement that has the potential of bringing widespread changes, on a scale compatible with what is required to address the current climate crisis.