We think globalization is just as important as going back to the local level. Globalization has both positive impacts and negative impacts that are not meaningful or beneficial and exacerbate global disparities and environmental issues. Eco City sees itself as a model to counter some of these negative impacts. One aspect is local value creation: in this way, money no longer travels through global commodity flows, but stays local and benefits the region. For example, regional food production with the help of technologies such as solar thermal energy or bioenergy already enables year-round, CO2-neutral cultivation of even heat-demanding crops.
Furthermore, globalization as we know it today is predominantly accompanied by large-scale, linear systems (“tanker society”). These systems lead to loneliness, anonymity and often the feeling of a personal “loss of meaning”. One no longer sees one’s work as a tiny cog in the machinery and feels left behind in the global competition of talents. Therefore, the Eco City requires a human scale again: not according to the definition of today’s architecture and urban planning (“pedestrian”, “two-story”), but a holistic one, which includes natural materials, human structures, a reflection on traditional sustainability and a new appreciation of work through local cycles.