"Is that a doughnut or a meringue?" No, you were right the first time... Doughnut Economics makes its arrival in Glasgow

Apologies for the old joke in the headline (“a meringue” sounds like “or am I wrong” in Glaswegian…)

But we are delighted to see Glasgow City Council and a range of other actors take on board the challenge of Doughnut Economics, to live well beneath planetary boundaries and above basic social needs. The promo video sets our the Glasgow Doughnut approach well (embed above), but here’s more below, from their main report:

More from the report:

The Doughnut asks how humanity can thrive, and in the Portrait process, we ask ‘what would it mean for Glasgow to thrive?’ In social and ecological terms, what would a thriving Glasgow look like? The Portrait tries to answer this question holistically, considering different perspectives on wellbeing and bringing them together.

To consider the Doughnut framework more locally, from a city’s perspective, we ‘unroll’ it and break it down into four lenses.

The Portrait methodology has been used internationally by progressive city governments, community groups, academics, activists, and policymakers, depending on the location (for example, Amsterdam, Brussels, Nanaimo, Melbourne, Barcelona).

In Glasgow, several different groups and sectors have contributed to the creation of this Portrait, and it is hoped that even more will get involved now it has been published.

A truly diverse ‘Glasgow Doughnut Coalition’ will be needed, bringing together many different types of knowledge, understanding, and expertise, in order to both set the parameters, and make the necessary progress, to achieve the overarching goal of getting Glasgow into the Doughnut.

Each of the four lenses, which are distinct but interconnected, deals with a slightly different definition of social or ecological wellbeing, from either a local or a global point of view.

Local-Ecological

The local-ecological lens asks how to make the most of Glasgow’s surrounding natural ecosystems. How can we work with the wetlands of the Clyde, and all the native wildlife and biodiversity, or use our weather systems, in ways that allow the city to replicate the generosity of nature’s functions?

Local-Social

This lens asks how all the people of Glasgow can thrive – how can everyone’s essential social needs be met in a way that is fair, and that considers the particular strengths and challenges of Glasgow’s local-social context?

Global-Ecological

This lens asks us to think about the activity of our city and its environmental impact on the rest of the world, from things like burning fossil fuels, or the chemicals and pollution that are embodied in the products Glasgow imports and then the streams of waste that come out. How can we reduce our impact on global resources so we don’t use more than our fair allocation, or contribute more than our share of harm?

Global-Social

In the global-social lens, we ask how we can respect the wellbeing of people worldwide, and how our interactions in this interconnected world could be either harmful or beneficial to our fellow global citizens. What can we do here to build solidarity globally, and where do we risk undermining it?

More here. Much of this is rooted in the GALLANT initiative, undertaken between Glasgow University and the council (standing for ‘Glasgow as a Living Lab Accelerating Novel Transformation’) - see their website for plans and progress.