Grassroots innovations for sustainability in the United States : A spatial analysis

Abstract

In response to unsustainable dominant systems of production and consumption, grassroots innovations for sustainability (GIs) experiment with new forms of sustainable living. A wide variety of GIs have emerged recently addressing a range of possible solutions, from new systems of provision and economic forms, to social organization and housing. The main motivation of this research is to better understand what place-based conditions may facilitate the emergence of GIs, as a whole, and amongst different types. Using county-level data, we find that i) the demographic, political, and spatial contexts in which GIs emerge differ significantly from US averages and to some extent vary amongst the types of GIs, and ii) the spatial distribution of GIs across the United States is uneven.