Ecovillages, Restitution, and the Political Economic Opportunity Structure: An Urban Case Study in Mitigating the Metabolic Rift
In cities around the world, environmental concerns have spurred urban activists to organize alternative forms of settlement. Here, we assess efforts by one ecovillage in the Pacific Northwest to change their lifestyles in accordance with ecological principles. Drawing from the concepts of restitution and the political economic opportunity structure (PEOS) we find that ecovillagers intend to mitigate the antagonism between humans and nature, but they face limitations from the larger urban and political economic contexts. As such, this study describes the routine practices and experiences of urban ecovillagers as an example of the micro level dynamics and tensions implied in metabolic rift theory.