Return to Home Page
Case Studies Available here
Local Policy Paper here

Project Summary: The emergence of "green technology" poses new choices in the politics of design, yet the choices have not yet been fully analyzed and articulated as political. As the business world moves to embrace green technology, this project explores the potential for green technology and design that is guided less by the values of profits for large corporations and more by the values of economic localism.  We define localism as an orientation toward poverty reduction, public and/or local ownership, renewal of social bonds in civil society, and/or the development of networks of national and transnational grassroots enterprises.

This project will create publications by Hess and Winner as well as a series of case studies. The case studies examine organizational, technological, design, and social change where the goals of environmental sustainability and economic localism intersect.

This project is supported by a grant from the National Science Foundation through the programs on the Societal Dimensions of Engineering, Science, and Technology and Science and Technology Studies (SES 0425039). Four graduate students--Colin Beech, Rachel Dowty, Govind Gopakumar, and Richard Hernandez--conducted some interviews and received training as part of the project. Any opinions, findings, and conclusions or recommendations expressed in this material are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the views of the National Science Foundation.