St Andrews Research Repository

St Andrews University Home
View Item 
  •   St Andrews Research Repository
  • University of St Andrews Research
  • University of St Andrews Research
  • University of St Andrews Research
  • View Item
  •   St Andrews Research Repository
  • University of St Andrews Research
  • University of St Andrews Research
  • University of St Andrews Research
  • View Item
  •   St Andrews Research Repository
  • University of St Andrews Research
  • University of St Andrews Research
  • University of St Andrews Research
  • View Item
  • Login
JavaScript is disabled for your browser. Some features of this site may not work without it.

Radical social innovations and the spatialities of grassroots activism : navigating pathways for tackling inequality and reinventing the commons

Thumbnail
View/Open
Apostolopoulou_2022_JoPE_Radical_social_innovations_CC.pdf (666.0Kb)
Date
05/04/2022
Author
Apostolopoulou, Elia
Bormpoudakis, Dimitrios
Chatzipavlidis, Alexandros
Cortés Vázquez, Juan José
Florea, Ioana
Gearey, Mary
Levy, Julyan
Loginova, Julia
Ordner, James
Partridge, Tristan
Pizarro Choy, Alejandra
Rhoades, Hannibal
Symons, Kate
Veríssimo, Céline
Wahby, Noura
Keywords
Social-environmental movements
Social innovation
Grassroots activism
Resistance
Reworking
Resilience
Environmental justice
Social justice
Commons
HN Social history and conditions. Social problems. Social reform
3rd-DAS
NIS
NCAD
Metadata
Show full item record
Altmetrics Handle Statistics
Altmetrics DOI Statistics
Abstract
In this article, by drawing on empirical evidence from twelve case studies from nine countries from across the Global South and North, we ask how radical grassroots social innovations that are part of social movements and struggles can offer pathways for tackling socio-spatial and socio-environmental inequality and for reinventing the commons. We define radical grassroots social innovations as a set of practices initiated by formal or informal community-led initiatives or/and social movements which aim to generate novel, democratic, socially, spatially and environmentally just solutions to address social needs that are otherwise ignored or marginalised. To address our research questions, we draw on the work of Cindi Katz to explore how grassroots innovations relate to practices of resilience, reworking and resistance. We identify possibilities and limitations as well as patterns of spatial practices and pathways of re-scaling and radical praxis, uncovering broadly-shared resemblances across different places. Through this analysis we aim to make a twofold contribution to political ecology and human geography scholarship on grassroots radical activism, social innovation and the spatialities of resistance. First, to reveal the connections between social-environmental struggles, emerging grassroots innovations and broader structural factors that cause, enable or limit them. Second, to explore how grassroots radical innovations stemming from place-based community struggles can relate to resistance practices that would not only successfully oppose inequality and the withering of the commons in the short-term, but would also open long-term pathways to alternative modes of social organization, and a new commons, based on social needs and social rights that are currently unaddressed.
Citation
Apostolopoulou , E , Bormpoudakis , D , Chatzipavlidis , A , Cortés Vázquez , J J , Florea , I , Gearey , M , Levy , J , Loginova , J , Ordner , J , Partridge , T , Pizarro Choy , A , Rhoades , H , Symons , K , Veríssimo , C & Wahby , N 2022 , ' Radical social innovations and the spatialities of grassroots activism : navigating pathways for tackling inequality and reinventing the commons ' , Journal of Political Ecology , vol. 29 , no. 1 , pp. 144–188 . https://doi.org/10.2458/jpe.2292
Publication
Journal of Political Ecology
Status
Peer reviewed
DOI
https://doi.org/10.2458/jpe.2292
ISSN
1073-0451
Type
Journal article
Rights
Copyright © 2022 The Authors. Open Access article licensed under Creative Commons Attribution CC-BY 4.0.
Description
Funding: Hellenic Foundation for Research and Innovation & General Secretariat for Research and Technology (grant GSRT code 235, KE 275 ELKE). Royal Geographical Society (grant Environment and Sustainability Grant).
Collections
  • University of St Andrews Research
URI
http://hdl.handle.net/10023/25304

Items in the St Andrews Research Repository are protected by copyright, with all rights reserved, unless otherwise indicated.

Related items

Showing items related by title, author, creator and subject.

  • Strength in a weakened state : interpreting Hizb’allah’s experiences as a social movement and governing coalition in Lebanon 1985-2013 

    Bernhoff, Arthur (University of St Andrews, 2015-06-23) - Thesis
    This study investigates Hizb’allah’s successful but competing dual development as an extra-institutional Shi’a social movement and an institutional political party. Hizb’allah has traditionally been studied from the ...
  • Wellbeing and social network characteristics in rural communities : findings from a cohort in social housing in Cornwall, United Kingdom 

    Long, Emily; Stevens, Sebastian; Topciu, Raluca; Williams, Andrew James; Taylor, Timothy; Morrissey, Karyn (2022-05-19) - Journal article
    Background: The mental wellbeing of those living in resource poor and rural localities is a public health priority. Despite evidence of a link between social networks and mental wellbeing, little is known about this ...
  • Spatial underpinnings of social inequalities : a vicious circles of segregation approach 

    Tammaru, Tiit; Knapp, David; Silm, Siiri; Van Ham, Maarten; Witlox, Frank (2021-05-13) - Journal article
    A paradigm shift is taking place in spatial segregation research. At the heart of this shift is the understanding of the connectedness of spatial segregation in different life domains and the availability of new datasets ...
Advanced Search

Browse

All of RepositoryCommunities & CollectionsBy Issue DateNamesTitlesSubjectsClassificationTypeFunderThis CollectionBy Issue DateNamesTitlesSubjectsClassificationTypeFunder

My Account

Login

Open Access

To find out how you can benefit from open access to research, see our library web pages and Open Access blog. For open access help contact: openaccess@st-andrews.ac.uk.

Accessibility

Read our Accessibility statement.

How to submit research papers

The full text of research papers can be submitted to the repository via Pure, the University's research information system. For help see our guide: How to deposit in Pure.

Electronic thesis deposit

Help with deposit.

Repository help

For repository help contact: Digital-Repository@st-andrews.ac.uk.

Give Feedback

Cookie policy

This site may use cookies. Please see Terms and Conditions.

Usage statistics

COUNTER-compliant statistics on downloads from the repository are available from the IRUS-UK Service. Contact us for information.

© University of St Andrews Library

University of St Andrews is a charity registered in Scotland, No SC013532.

  • Facebook
  • Twitter