Redefining social and environmental relations at the ecovillage at Ithaca: A case study

Abstract The goal of the recently constructed ecovillage at Ithaca (EVI) is to create a “socially harmonious, economically viable and ecologically sustainable settlement that will demonstrate that human beings can live cooperatively with each other and with the natural environment.” (EVI Housing Cooperative, undated) This paper examines the blend of social vision and personal factors that brought the 30 households together to realize this project. Interviews were conducted with residents that explored their initial motivations in becoming involved with the project, and solicited their impressions of the first 5 years of the ecovillage's existence. The interplay of personal and ideological factors emerges, revealing an implicit and explicit critique of the existing social mode, as residents seek reconnection with each other and with the natural environment. This paper explores the nature of the community that has been created, socially, spatially and imaginatively. In so doing, it reveals the challenges, rewards and disappointments that residents have experienced in realizing their vision. The various ways that residents seek to connect with the world are enumerated, and these are proposed as the dimensions that constitute a sustainable lifestyle.