TY - JOUR

T1 - Sustainable lifestyles

T2 - towards a relational approach

AU - Böhme, Jessica

AU - Walsh, Zack

AU - Wamsler, Christine

N1 - The research was supported by two projects funded by the Swedish Research Council Formas: (i) Mind4Change (grant number 2019-00390; full title: Agents of Change: Mind, Cognitive Bias and Decision-Making in a Context of Social and Climate Change), and (ii) TransVision (grant number 2019-01969; full title: Transition Visions: Coupling Society, Well-being and Energy Systems for Transitioning to a Fossil-free Society). In addition, we thank the two anonymous reviewers whose critical feedback helped to improve and clarify this manuscript.

PY - 2022/9

Y1 - 2022/9

N2 - The concept of sustainable lifestyles is said to have reached the limits of its usefulness. As commonly understood, it impedes an effective response to our increasingly complex world, and the associated societal challenges. In this context, the emerging paradigm of relationality might offer a way forward to renew our current understanding and approach. We explore this possibility in this study. First, we systematize if, and how, the current dominant social paradigm represents a barrier to sustainable lifestyles. Second, we analyze how a relational approach could help to overcome these barriers. On the basis of our findings, we develop a Relational Lifestyle Framework (RLF). Our aim is to advance the current knowledge by illustrating how sustainable lifestyles are a manifestation of identified patterns of thinking, being, and acting that are embedded in today’s “socioecological” realities. The RLF revitalizes the field of sustainable lifestyle change, as it offers a new understanding for further reflection, and provides new directions for policy and transformation research.

AB - The concept of sustainable lifestyles is said to have reached the limits of its usefulness. As commonly understood, it impedes an effective response to our increasingly complex world, and the associated societal challenges. In this context, the emerging paradigm of relationality might offer a way forward to renew our current understanding and approach. We explore this possibility in this study. First, we systematize if, and how, the current dominant social paradigm represents a barrier to sustainable lifestyles. Second, we analyze how a relational approach could help to overcome these barriers. On the basis of our findings, we develop a Relational Lifestyle Framework (RLF). Our aim is to advance the current knowledge by illustrating how sustainable lifestyles are a manifestation of identified patterns of thinking, being, and acting that are embedded in today’s “socioecological” realities. The RLF revitalizes the field of sustainable lifestyle change, as it offers a new understanding for further reflection, and provides new directions for policy and transformation research.

KW - Eco-justice

KW - Inner-outer transformation

KW - Paradigms

KW - Relational ontology

KW - Relationality

KW - Systems thinking

KW - Biology

UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=85126355571&partnerID=8YFLogxK

UR - https://www.mendeley.com/catalogue/458777d4-4a10-3f9c-9ae3-25931ceda730/

U2 - 10.1007/s11625-022-01117-y

DO - 10.1007/s11625-022-01117-y

M3 - Journal articles

AN - SCOPUS:85126355571

VL - 17

SP - 2063

EP - 2076

JO - Sustainability Science

JF - Sustainability Science

SN - 1862-4065

IS - 5

ER -