Cities for Change
#CitiesForChange Change the world, start with the city!
An economic transformation that promotes human flourishing for all on a thriving planet is urgently needed. Doughnut Economics is an important source of inspiration for an emerging global movement of new economic thinking and doing that is aimed at meeting the needs of all people, within the means of the planet.
Being the first city to embrace the ‘doughnut’, Amsterdam plays a pivotal role in this network. Many Amsterdam-based initiatives and enthusiastic citizens have joined forces in the Amsterdam Donut Coalition: a community of changemakers who are turning the ideas of Doughnut Economics into transformative action while learning with and from others through experiments in co-creating a new economy.
On May 10, 11 and 12 the Amsterdam Donut Coalition will host three workshops to help neighborhoods and places in Amsterdam to develop local solutions and collaborations, based on the ideas of Doughnut Economics. During these workshops we will be experimenting with a new set of (beta) canvasses that has been designed specifically to help local changemakers and policymakers to take action on a local level – while taking into account the impact of their ideas on all dimensions of the doughnut: global, local, social and ecological.
During these workshops we will host a diverse group of citizens, policymakers, entrepreneurs, activists and connectors from three distinct different neighborhoods in Amsterdam, such as Plein ’40-’45 and Marineterrein.
The Donuttables are being organized and facilitated by Zinzi Stassen and Mats Siffels representing the Amsterdam Donut Coalition.
Doughnut Economics originated in this book written by Kate Raworth. She is also the co-founder of the Doughnut Economics Action Lab which shares an impressive and still growing collection of tools and stories to help you put the Doughnut into practice. In 2020 the Municipality of Amsterdam embraced the Doughnut and was the first city to present its own City Doughnut. Over 400 Doughnut-supporters in Amsterdam have joined the Amsterdam Donut Coalition, collaborating to get the whole metropolitan area ‘into the doughnut’.
Date, location, time:
The workshops will be held during the afternoon on May 10, 11 and 12. Participation in the workshops is based on personal invitations.
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Conversation with Wouter
Interesting hypothesis, Koos. Why do you think it would not be feasible, to fit the current world population in a thriveable economy on a thriveable planet? You come with the hypothesis that it would fit with 1 billion people, so that raises questions about Why you think so. Curious to see your references to underpin this.
Hi Wouter,
Thanks for your reply. For me, the donut economy implies economic equality. Considering the present ecological footprint of the Western society, it is completely impossible for 8 or 9 billion people to have that same standard of living in a sustainable way. We would destroy our habitat in not time; World Overshoot Day would be somewhere in early February. One could argue that it is rather Eurocentric or USA-centric to think that way, or even racist. I agree that there is no reason to look down on societies with a smaller ecological footprint - on the contrary, I am convinced we can be much happier and healthier than we are now with less consumption, living a much simpler life. The problem is that I don't see a way to make Western societies scale down their consumption enough to make it possible. People are not willing to let go of all the things they think are making them happy; caught in a vicious cycle of consumption - unhappiness - more consumption.
In the eighties, I read a research article (can't find the source any more) saying that, if we wanted every person in the world to have the same standard of living as the people in Europe and the USA, we would need 9 planets Earth to sustain that. At that point, world population was estimated between 4.5 and 5 billion people. This would amount to 0.5 billion people for one whole planet (4.5/9). Considering we have made some progress since then, we could probably do better now, which leads me to a feasible world population with a Western consumption pattern of 1 billion (in stead of 0.5 billion in the eighties).
For the donut economy to work for everyone, one of two things needs to happen: either radically scale down our consumption, or radically scale down the population. Otherwise, there will be no donut for all.
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