Projecting Circular Futures: Circular Economy Imaginaries in Shaping Community Involvement

The concept of prefiguration is drawing increasing interest as a lens to study the collective dynamic and transformative potential of alternative organizing. This study explores the interplay between bottom-up and top-down visions of alternative futures, focusing on the craft and circular economy communities on the Danish island of Bornholm. The research investigates how these communities influence each other's visions of desirable futures and contribute to the diffusion of alternative forms of organizing. Utilizing socio-technical imaginaries as a framework, the study examines the tensions and synergies between the craft community's emphasis on beauty, slowness, and purpose, and the circular economy's focus on circularity, resource efficiency, and green growth. Through fieldwork, interviews, and document analysis, the research highlights the emergence of co-prefiguration, where both communities collaboratively shape sustainable futures. The findings reveal that the craft community's vision often prevails, transforming the circular economy concept to align with local values and practices. This study contributes to the understanding of how ecological visions can be reimagined and adapted in specific contexts, emphasizing the role of community engagement and mutual influence in shaping sustainable futures.

This research project investigates the interplay between bottom-up and top-down visions of alternative futures, focusing on the craft and circular economy communities on the Danish island of Bornholm. The study aims to understand how these communities influence each other's visions of desirable futures and contribute to the diffusion of alternative forms of organizing. The project is grounded in the HorizonEU funded HEPHAESTUS project, which aims to research, preserve, and innovate the craft sector across Europe. The research employs socio-technical imaginaries as a framework to analyze the tensions and synergies between the craft community's emphasis on beauty, slowness, and purpose, and the circular economy's focus on circularity, resource efficiency, and green growth (Jasanoff & Kim, 2015). Through a combination of ethnographic fieldwork, interviews, and document analysis, the study explores the concept of co-prefiguration, where both communities collaboratively shape sustainable futures. Key findings indicate that the craft community's vision often prevails, transforming the circular economy concept to align with local values and practices. This highlights the flexibility and adaptability of ecological visions, suggesting that their strength lies in their capacity to be reimagined and reworked in specific contexts (Gümüsay & Reinecke, 2022). The project underscores the importance of community engagement and mutual influence in shaping sustainable futures (SchillerMerkens, 2022; Schiller-Merkens, 2024; Yates, 2015).