Regenerative Space

= "the space required for humans to adequately meet their needs in harmony with other life forms, while restoring the earth’s life supporting capacity".

Description

Inez Aponte:

"Regenerative Space is a key component of any attempts to build Regenerative Culture. In order for us to adequately meet our fundamental needs we need access to the earth and her gifts, either directly by accessing the land or indirectly by accessing the means through which we can exchange our time for the products of the earth."

Characteristics

Inez Aponte:

"For the sake of this argument Regenerative Space consists of two elements: Place and Time.

Place is activated by access to land. Without land we cannot create places for ourselves – to live, work, play, gather. Land is the material aspect of Place, but Place is more than the land and its location, as it incorporates multiple layers of meaning: our relationships with the land, the function it serves, its history, its current more-than-human inhabitants. Place is land made particular. This understanding of place and place making is crucial to the reclaiming of regenerative space and culture. Language matters. Our economic system presents the acquisition of land as natural and necessary to a market economy. We might be less willing to accept this as a given if we saw it for what it really is – the buying and selling of places.

“Land is the basis of all independence. Land is the basis of freedom, justice, and equality.”

- Malcolm X, A Message to the Grassroots (Malcolm X, 1963)

Time encompasses the length of one’s life and the hours one has available in the day. Whereas the former is variable, the latter is constant for all. Time is activated by good health, education and support structures that enable us to develop skills and use our bodies, hearts and minds to their full potential. The less access we have to land the more of our time has to be handed over to meet our needs.

We cannot be truly free without Regenerative Space (RS). Our access to RS stands in direct relation to our capacity to meet our needs and influence the direction of our lives. Regenerative Space gives us power."

(https://growinggoodlives.com/communities-as-hothouses-for-regenerative-culture-part-2/)