7
GREEN TRANSFORMATIONS
FROM BELOW?
The politics of grassroots innovation
Adrian Smith and Adrian Ely
Introduction
Throughout the history both of modern environmentalism and development
there has existed an insistent undercurrent of practical, grassroots initiatives seeking
socially just and environmentally sustainable forms of production and consumption (Smith, 2005; Hess, 2007; Rist, 2011). In North and South, in cities and
rural settings, networks of activists, development workers, community groups and
neigh bours have been generating bottom-up solutions for sustainable development
– solutions that respond to the local situation and the interests and values of the
communities involved. Initiatives have flourished, and struggled, in sectors as diverse
as water and sanitation, housing and habitats, food and agriculture, energy, mobility,
manufacturing, health, education, communications, and many other spheres of
activity. We call this grassroots innovation (Gupta et al., 2003; Seyfang and Smith
2007).
Some grassroots innovations have developed into widespread practices, such as
car clubs across many cities in Europe. In a few cases, what began as grassroots
activity has evolved into substantial green commercial activity in new industrial
sectors, such as wind energy, whose dominant designs can be traced back to grass -
roots activism and alternative energy cooperatives. On occasions, the mainstreaming
of grassroots innovation can involve input from and hybridization with research
and development in more conventional institutions for science, technology and
innovation (Ely et al., 2013). Hybrid forms emerge through scaling-up that, while
sometimes denuded of the grassroots vision, remain novel to other adopters, such
as socially responsible corporations operating to different frameworks. In the case
of wind turbines, while smaller scale, community-based initiatives continue, engin -
eering development and commercial mainstreaming has scaled up into the form
of much larger turbines in utility-scale wind farms relatively less disruptive to adop -
tion within prevailing energy institutions.
DOI: 10.4324/9781315747378-7
GREEN TRANSFORMATIONS
FROM BELOW?
The politics of grassroots innovation
Adrian Smith and Adrian Ely
Introduction
Throughout the history both of modern environmentalism and development
there has existed an insistent undercurrent of practical, grassroots initiatives seeking
socially just and environmentally sustainable forms of production and consumption (Smith, 2005; Hess, 2007; Rist, 2011). In North and South, in cities and
rural settings, networks of activists, development workers, community groups and
neigh bours have been generating bottom-up solutions for sustainable development
– solutions that respond to the local situation and the interests and values of the
communities involved. Initiatives have flourished, and struggled, in sectors as diverse
as water and sanitation, housing and habitats, food and agriculture, energy, mobility,
manufacturing, health, education, communications, and many other spheres of
activity. We call this grassroots innovation (Gupta et al., 2003; Seyfang and Smith
2007).
Some grassroots innovations have developed into widespread practices, such as
car clubs across many cities in Europe. In a few cases, what began as grassroots
activity has evolved into substantial green commercial activity in new industrial
sectors, such as wind energy, whose dominant designs can be traced back to grass -
roots activism and alternative energy cooperatives. On occasions, the mainstreaming
of grassroots innovation can involve input from and hybridization with research
and development in more conventional institutions for science, technology and
innovation (Ely et al., 2013). Hybrid forms emerge through scaling-up that, while
sometimes denuded of the grassroots vision, remain novel to other adopters, such
as socially responsible corporations operating to different frameworks. In the case
of wind turbines, while smaller scale, community-based initiatives continue, engin -
eering development and commercial mainstreaming has scaled up into the form
of much larger turbines in utility-scale wind farms relatively less disruptive to adop -
tion within prevailing energy institutions.
DOI: 10.4324/9781315747378-7