Reembedding Through Reinhabitation: Towards a Bioregional Planning

ABSTRACT The article aims to make explicit connections between bioregionalism and Karl Polanyi’s work, through an avenue, which has been unexplored so far. A combination of his lesser-known work on regional planning and his ecologically informed ideas about habitation on the one hand, and core ideas of bioregionalism on the other, provide a prospective basis for a future beyond global capitalism. The main argument is that, with such a combination “reembedding through reinhabitation” emerges as a substantial strategy for regional planning. I will then consider this strategic idea further in the article as the substance of the politics of regionalism. I will discuss the crucial questions of bioregional formation along these lines and elaborate conclusions regarding their relevance for political strategy.