The Role of Local Communities in Sustainable Development 

This course critically examines the vital, yet often underestimated, role of local communities as foundational drivers in mitigating climate change. Purely technological, economically driven, or top-down governance models are challenged by foregrounding collective action, grassroots innovation, and alternative socio-economic models. The course provides a theoretical framework, introducing social science perspectives on development and facilitating a critical reflection on the political, economic, technological, and social dimensions of the “sustainable development” paradigm. Theories of social movements, resilience, climate justice, and alternative economies will be introduced. This theoretical lens will help us to analyse how societal pressure from below shapes policies, stimulates certain solutions, and transforms cultural norms and lifestyles towards greater sustainability.

The core of the course is a hands-on, applied research project that directly connects theory to practice. Each student will identify, investigate, and analyse a local community-led sustainability initiative in their own region. This could include energy cooperatives, urban gardening networks, repair cafés, local currency programmes, or environmental social movements. Guided by the theoretical concepts, students will assess their chosen project’s structure, impact, challenges, and its embodiment of participatory sustainability.

The course is assessed through a research essay and an oral presentation, in which students synthesise their findings to provide a concrete case study of community-led action, thereby contributing to a comparative analysis of grassroots strategies within the EU-CONEXUS framework.

General learning outcomes

• Be able to apply social science theories of development in research;
• Understand and critically evaluate the concepts of development, sustainability, and climate justice;
• Analyse the interconnected impacts of climate change on both ecosystems and social systems (and vice versa);
• Assess the potential and limitations of bottom-up initiatives as drivers of climate change mitigation and adaptation;
• Compare and contrast different community-based organisational models and their approaches to sustainability;
• Design and conduct small-scale research on a local sustainability initiative;
• Synthesise theoretical insights and empirical research findings into a coherent written essay and oral presentation.