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The Rooted University

Human beings are social animals; if we are to survive as a species, we need healthy relationships and secure, “rooted” attachments with one another and with the land, waters, habitat, plants and animals upon which we depend. Rootedness exists when people feel a sense of meaningful and affectionate attachment—in secure and healthy ways—to the place they inhabit socially and ecologically.

A 21st century bioregionalism calls for rooted community development enabled by place-based civically engaged planning and design, sustainability science and technology, cultural transformation and economic innovation.  Promising new frontiers in bioregional theory, research and action address the urgent need to generate equitable livelihood opportunities while sustainably coupling the socio-economic, cultural and ecological systems we need for healthy and resilient human settlements and habitat.

 

Bioregional Center’s Forward-Looking Agenda

The Bioregional Center’s Forward-Looking Agenda is to connect, communicate, innovate, and act in transformational ways that...

  • advance sustainability and resilience in economic relation, resource use, and governance
  • value rural places, working landscapes, and wildlands in relation to urban and metropolitan needs
  • couple nature and the built environment—physically and aesthetically— such that life and livelihood are sustainably embedded (rooted) in a place’s landscapes, watersheds and ecosystem, literally and imaginatively
  • enable authentic participatory planning and networking necessary to eradicate root causes of economic, social and cultural stresses; ecosystem degradation, health disparities and climate change