Experiments in Everyday Mobility: Social Dynamics of Achieving a Sustainable Lifestyle

Abstract

This article presents the results from an experimental project in Jyväskylä, Finland in which five 'pioneer households' aimed to reduce their environmental impacts by a variety of trials in different domains of daily consumption. The article analyses this 'home lab' experiment from a practicetheoretical perspective, focusing particularly on everyday mobility and the social interplay that occurs in mobility practices in different contexts. In so doing, the article explores the reasons behind the various outcomes of experimentation and discusses the potential of such experimentation to facilitate transformation in mobility practices. The results suggest that in order to shift daily mobility onto a more sustainable path, the social dynamics related to mobility practices should be better addressed. For example, the negotiations both inside and outside the participating households proved important in challenging the ways of doing mobility. Moreover, the potential for the diffusion of alternative mobility practices was shown to depend on a variety of factors that maintained the normality and acceptability of private driving. Utilising practice-theoretical insights in living laboratories can open new areas for experimentation and facilitate understanding of the shift in everyday practices towards greater sustainability.

Reconfigurations in sustainability transitions: a systematic and critical review

“…Here, the internal stickiness of practices (i.e., the strength of linkages between the constituent elements), as well as the external dynamics between the interlinked practices, is of relevance as these both have consequences for the stability of the practice (e.g., ; see also Laakso 2017; Mylan 2015; Shove and Walker 2010). Consequently, the practices that share elements with other practices are likely to be more resistant to change than those that are less interlinked (Laakso 2019) and for transitions, it is indeed important to understand the forms of connections that innovative processes have with each other, as well as with the existing systems . have emphasized that new products or services may diffuse more easily if they align with ongoing internal practice dynamics, and for this to happen, it is essential to address the stickiness maintaining the practices.…”

Fostering Cultures of Sustainability in a Multi-Unit Office Building: A Theory of Change

“…2 With agreement from the building citizens and leadership team, a living lab concept was incorporated into the building design and operation and served as a mechanism for both the implementation and evaluation of our approach. Thus establishing an onsite laboratory for experimentation in sustainable transformations and practical solutions for real-world problems ( Heiskanen et al, 2018 ; Laakso, 2019 ). In a forthcoming paper, we will be sharing our experience and the challenges of operationalizing and implementing this theory of change.…”

What is clean and comfortable? Challenging norms and conventions in everyday life toward sustainability

“…The practices are constantly negotiated against expectations in various social situations and surroundings (Heiskanen et al, 2020;Laakso, 2019). Heating practices in apartments are highly dependent on housing associations, and work communities have a lot of power in steering how people dress: do they need warm clothes also at work, how formal are the clothing requirements, and is it acceptable to wear the same shirt for more than one day.…”

“…To steer consumption towards sustainability, for example, in residential heating, the focus should thus not be solely on people's pro-environmental values, energy-efficient technologies or using them properly, but also on the shared understandings of normality, acceptability and appropriateness that steer the daily need for energy services such as warmth, and that are reproduced and maintained at different levels of the society (Hargreaves, 2018;Moloney and Strengers, 2014;Shove and Walker, 2014). Although personal motivations and values are undeniably important factors in changing energy consumption, they are nonetheless results of social processes and relationships (Jack, 2013;Laakso, 2019). For the more sustainable practices to diffuse within society and become the 'new normal', these underlying norms and conventions need to not only be understood, but also collectively challenged and changed (Aro, 2017;Jack, 2018).…”