CASES or wish to choose their purchases according to precise ethical principles. For example, in Fidenza, Italy, the Rete Gas-Gruppo di acquisto solidale (Solidarity purchasing group) has been set up to purchase organic produce and fair trade products. In Finland, communities have set up Ruokapin (food circles) in a similar way to the Italian GAS.
Hybrid communities Meet Up is a telematic platform existing in 561 cities in 34 countries throughout the world. Its aim is to bring together people with similar interests (from book crossing to cycling or silent movies, to name a few) who live in the same city. Being residents in the same city means that participants in the scheme, as well as interacting on the net, can also interact physically, organising real meetings. In this way, interest groups are set up that in turn lead to the creation of new kinds of hybrid, virtual-real, community.
Surplus exchange Plant a row, Grow a row in Edmonton, Canada, proposes a system whereby excess produce from vegetable gardens is sent to a ‘food bank’, which in turn distributes it to other people, especially those in need. So a traditional form of mutual assistance among neighbours is reproduced in an organised way.
Practicability The concept of elective neighbourhood presents a balance between various demands: the demand for individual freedom, i.e. flexibility and reversibility in life choices; community, i.e. sense of identity and belonging; localisation, i.e. a local support network, which everybody feels the need of when faced with the problems of everyday life. The keywords are: » Electivity, i.e. the possibility of choosing how, when, who with, and how long for, to genera-
te a close social relationship. Accessibility, i.e. the possibility of rendering neighbourhood interaction more fluid among subjects who are becoming increasingly mobile, and whose routines differ more and more widely. » Low cost, i.e. the possibility of accessing “services” based (completely or partly) on forms of social economy, which can provide solutions that are generally cheaper than those available through similar services offered by a totally market economy. »
86 ı SUSTAINABLE EVERYDAY