How can the sense of togetherness be restored through environmental action?

I think it was in the 70s we acknowledged our resources were empty, that we needed to shift to another kind of system. We started questioning capitalism, society, the commons, ecology: everything. […] And we didn’t listen.

Joanne Pouzenc, an architecture teacher and director of the House of Architecture in Toulouse (France), underlines climate change becoming more and more of a challenge, and the urgent need to take action upon that as well as social problematics.

In addition to that, a 2023 Gallup & Meta survey reports that “Nearly one in four people worldwide — which translates into more than a billion people — feel very or fairly lonely” with young people seeming more prone to it. Living alone is also associated with a higher loneliness rate, showing that in a more and more individualistic society, the longing for social connection is louder than ever, that we need to go back to the basics of Human life and take better care of our surroundings.

Change is not merely a desire, but a necessity in today’s world.

Over the years, people’s habits and routines seem to have shifted to more ego-centered, overprotective patterns oftentimes fuelled by alarming TV news reports. Joanne used to live in the same building block as me today, and reports on her childhood: “Children would play outside and our parents would give us a shout from the windows at dinnertime”. When I look outside now, this big patch of grass is empty. It gives the feeling that it has become hard to connect with people outside of the household. She adds: “It seems to me that if you lose touch with loved ones, you are not able to live fully and healthily anymore“.

Tackling social media is inevitable, as it undeniably encourages loneliness: “People can find it easier to isolate themselves because we get spoon-fed with constant entertainment on our screens” says Rory Marsh, an English filmmaker and storyteller from Brighton (UK). He mentions the importance of getting involved in creative initiatives to come out refreshed from a shared experience. He also says:

We are raised to see everything as a competition. At school, you’re never congratulated for doing your best, you’re only congratulated if what you do is good. […] When in reality socialising is not a competition, it’s just meant to be joyful.

But it is also important to maintain a balance between socialising and spending time alone, especially when it comes to creating art. When talking with Liz Kruger from South Africa, who devoted her career to nature-based projects and finding sustainable ways of envisioning life, she emphasises that working alongside other artists on a project that is meaningful to oneself is a magical experience in itself. Yet, when asked what she was most proud of, she thought about the time she built an installation from scratch, all by herself, for a festival in South Africa: from designing the installation to harvesting bamboo, to looking for plastic wastes and treating them and finishing up the last details. She felt huge satisfaction in proving to herself she was capable of doing it.

One might get confused with what “autonomy” truly means. To Joanne, autonomy doesn’t necessarily mean individuality, it’s “being able to gather the necessary resources to get somewhere. […] People are resources, oftentimes”.

Indeed, the best way to learn is through others, and through making. Everyone agrees that getting exposed to people with different backgrounds, ways of life, visions, and interests, opens your mind and favours tolerance. Rory brings up the example of some football team supporters who would get a sense of belonging in finding a community but would only interact with people of the same interests and mindsets, therefore narrowing their minds and limiting their chances to expand their perspectives. He believes this sort of behaviour slowly destroys independent thought.

Open minds come from going out of your comfort zone.

When mentioning the privilege some European countries have on a certain level, Liz Kruger highlights it is eventually driving people apart: “For the most part, people are okay: you’re gonna eat, you’re gonna have a place to stay. If things fall apart for you, the government can probably help you. In South Africa, there isn’t that safety net, so we have to help each other”. To her, the latter situation leads people to be more motivated to get things done, which is an energy she felt much less in Europe.

The desire to rethink the way we interact with each other and with Nature is not only trending now, but has been updated and brought to the front mostly thanks to social media. Through photography and educational posts, some accounts aim to romanticise country life or promote more sustainable ways of living: Fern Freud (UK), Alice Montanha (Portugal), and Mastic Lifestyle Magazine (France) are only a couple of examples.

The 1970s saw the emergence of ecological and social awakenings, with movements opposing society, its rules and inequalities. The Guerilla gardening movement originated in 1973 with the First Community Garden in New York City, its main figure being Liz Christy. The goal was to denounce space privatisation by ornamenting wastelands with plants with no prior permission from the city’s authorities, thus becoming an act of activism. Whoever wanted to join could take part in it, as no permission is required to oppose the system. Guerilla gardening also enhances a social fight: by planting fruit and vegetables, gardeners provide those in need with food they can harvest. The movement is still alive nowadays in derived forms and has even reached Europe in cities like Paris.

So, dream or reality? What even is reality? Is it how you’re being told life should be lived? If so, does that mean your ambitions are out of reach?

Community gardens also became of educational value, like with the HABESHA’s (pan-African organisation) Sustainable Seeds program, which operates for “cultural education, sustainable agriculture, entrepreneurship, holistic health and technology” in Atlanta (USA).

More recent initiatives have developed to favour slow travel and encourage outdoor activities. Volunteering is one of them and allows you to meet locals and other travellers, discover alternative ways of living and get your hands on activities that you don’t usually get exposed to in cities. Through platforms like Wwoofing and Worldpackers, you can experience new cultures and lifestyles, surrounded by international volunteers or locals who are willing to share with you a corner of their lives.

My first solo trip was in Denmark in 2023. I was hosted by a couple who had bought a piece of land with an old farm turned into a house. Another Danish guy is also living on the land and from time to time, they welcome volunteers from around the world. We worked together on exciting projects in the house and in the garden (building a kiln with bamboo fibres, building a greenhouse out of windows from the dumpster, …).

Volunteering gets you out of your comfort zone, as you have to adapt to different lifestyles and routines. It is also a transformative experience, that can be as challenging as rewarding, seeing yourself evolve through socialising with strangers, learning new skills and discovering new places. And these are the enriching experiences that had me questioning community living around sustainable projects.

In architecture, too, there is a need to review the way housing is being created and defined. Some architects’ collectives are taking action to rethink who to build for, as the definition of the “household” is widening and doesn’t refer to a family only anymore. Architectural productions need to be open to more various schemes.

A 2024 set of conferences led by the House of Architecture of Toulouse shed light on Lacol, a collective based in Barcelona (Spain) promoting cooperative housing through a community-led space. They see housing as a human right, not a speculative item. It is said this initiative helped them live happily during the lockdown.

It is a transformational event: everybody that goes to Boom festival feels very impacted by the festival on one level or another.

Liz Kruger talks about her experience in the production of the Boom Festival, a huge psychedelic festival which takes place in Portugal every other year, and tries its best to remain as sustainable as possible. Together with other professionals and artists, they built compost toilets among other things and designed the whole festival from an eco-friendly perspective. She underlines how inspiring coming together in a creative endeavour is, surrounding oneself with a large diversity of craftsmanship, thus imparting the festival a multidisciplinary approach.

“Exposing people to new ideas and new ways of doing things, especially from a sustainability point of view. But [the festival] also brings together art, sustainability and music: people are always exposed to cutting-edge sound”. Liz highlights the fact that everyone, whether it be the staff members or the attendants of the festival, returns home with new inspiration from the diversity of visions, skills, and crafts that the festival offers. After turning plastic wastes into light decorations, Liz went back to South Africa and started doing upcycle lighting.

Coming together in acts of activism, co-creation, or learning, is what allows humans to connect in an ever-changing society. It is beneficial in that it fuels creativity, an open spirit, and helps one discover oneself. By questioning society, you realise there is always room to grow and change usual customs.

Each one of us plays a role in shaping the future we want.

Cover photo credit: “My Life Through A Lens” (@bamagal), Unsplash