Mobilising sense of place for degrowth? Lessons from Lancashire's anti-fracking activism

This article foregrounds sense of place as a key concept to further advance spatial theorisations within both ecological economics and degrowth. We delineate the scope of the concept and apply it to the fracking controversy in Lancashire, UK. Specifically, we elucidate how sense of place associations were mobilised by pro- and anti-fracking actors to legitimate and advance their respective positions. Our study makes three contributions. First, we review an extensive body of work in humanistic and cultural geography, developing an integrative analytical framework which can be adopted by ecological economics/degrowth scholars. Second, drawing on insights from Lancashire's anti-fracking movement, we illustrate how sense of place became critical for actors involved in degrowth-minded activism. In doing this, our work contributes towards narrowing the gap between degrowth theorisations and the enactment of degrowth-minded activism within real world complexities. Finally, we conclude by reflecting on the ideological implications of incorporating a global sense of place within degrowth politics, particularly in the context of rising ethnonationalism and right-wing populism