Eco-settlement
An eco-settlement ( ecological settlement , eco-village ) is a village or district that is based on ecological criteria such as sustainability .
To the concept
The concept of eco-settlement concerns in particular the Transport Planning (z. B. neighborhoods without cars) and energy standards (ie, for example, low-energy houses , passive houses ) and a regional power (with renewable energy sources or cogeneration ). Sometimes eco-settlements are intentional communities , i. H. those who live there have come together consciously to orient their lives according to certain values. But even “normal” parts of the city are called “eco-settlements” if they meet high ecological standards in their construction and spatial planning.
The term eco-village is often used to distinguish it from such “eco-settlements” . The idea of the ecovillage is to integrate as many areas of life as possible . So not only to live ecologically and then drive to work every day, but also to organize production, education, social security, etc. within the community. There are many such projects around the world.
Examples of eco-settlements are the ecological settlement in Lilienthal , the Freiburg district of Vauban and the ecological settlement Friedrichsdorf in Germany and “Der Lebensraum” in Austria.
Examples of eco-villages in Germany are Sieben Linden , Krummenhagen and Tempelhof as well as in Austria the project “Schönwasser” (formerly “Keimblatt Ökodorf”).
In Spain, for example, the village of Matavenero should be mentioned, in Colombia the settlement of Gaviotas , in the USA for example the “Ecovillage at Ithaca” in Ithaca, New York State.
Ecovillages and settlement projects are increasingly organizing themselves around the world in order to learn from one another: especially in regions with experiences of severe environmental pollution , desertification and deforestation, ecologically oriented pioneers are trying to counteract sustainable development and ecological agriculture . In Senegal , ecovillages are part of government policy. 14,000 rural communities are to be converted into eco-settlements. For example, they have come together in the Global Ecovillage Network . In December 2012, another network was founded in Sekem for Africa.
See also
literature
- Michael Würfel (Ed.): Eurotopia. Directory of European Communities and Ecovillages. ISBN 978-3-9816860-0-5 .
Web links
- Global Ecovillage Network
- Fellowship For Intentional Communities
- Hermes Project - Ökodorf start-up portal