Cities & Regions

Local governments in action

Pioneering places around the world are turning Doughnut Economics into practice. Local governments at many scales - from villages to megacities - are adopting the tools and concepts of Doughnut Economics in order to help bring about a thriving future. DEAL’s Cities & Regions work focuses on supporting these administrations, experimenting and learning together on many journeys of transformation. This page gives an overview of what Doughnut Economics means for local governments, what are the core concepts and tools to get started with, what other places are already doing and what DEAL can do to support you.

Contents

Map of places engaging with the Doughnut

This map shows local and regional governments that have publicly started working with the concepts and tools of Doughnut Economics, click on each place to read their stories of action. Around 40 more places from all over the world have already begun internally exploring the potential of the Doughnut and we will be updating this map as their work evolves.

If you believe your place should also be on this map, do get in touch.

Can cities and regions live within the Doughnut?

The journey for any city or region aiming to live within the Doughnut starts with the ambition of this question: How can our place be a home to thriving people, in a thriving place while respecting the wellbeing of all people and the health of the whole planet?

This question, which is central to the Doughnut Unrolled set of tools, invites every place to explore its local aspirations in the context of its global responsibilities, recognising that every place is connected to people and planet worldwide.

What’s the vision of a city or region that lives within the Doughnut? It’s a place that meets the essential needs of every person – from food, education and housing to social equity and political voice – so that every resident can lead a life of dignity, opportunity and community. It’s a place whose buildings and infrastructures are as generous as the living world, managing water, storing carbon, and housing wildlife just like the surrounding natural habitat. It’s a place that respects the rights of people whose lives it affects worldwide, from workers in global supply chains to refugees seeking safety. And it’s a place that lives within planetary boundaries, by using renewable energy and recirculating materials effectively.

Many indigenous societies have learned to live and thrive this way, but today there are – as far as is known – no towns, cities, regions or nations that succeed in doing so. Some are starting out now on a journey towards this vision, recognising that the ambition is clear but complex, that the journey is urgent but it takes time, and that it demands taking action here, even in the face of wider constraints.

Click here to view the guide

How local governments are getting started

DEAL has now developed a guide for all those working with or within local and regional government who is inspired by Doughnut Economics and wants to better understand how to put it into practice. It is intended as a starting point for those who are new to Doughnut Economics, as well as those who are already familiar and engaging with the concepts.

This guide brings together our most current understanding of how Doughnut Economics is being put into practice by local and regional governments, along with examples from places already in action. It lays out nine pathways for engaging with Doughnut Economics - from learning and testing, to developing metrics and strategy, to using the Doughnut as a unifying framework for policy-making. Each pathway sets out a series of potential actions, real-world examples from local governments around the world, as well as key available tools and resources. These pathways are not a step-by-step approach, but rather a catalogue of possibilities - a library of options - allowing each mayor, councillor, head of department and ambitious civil servant to identify the possibilities and opportunities in their own locality. You can see some of the stories of action below, illustrating the diverse approaches being taken in different places - to read more about the nine pathways and the various stories of action, check out the guide.

Click here to view the guide

How the DEAL Team can support you

As a small team we focus on supporting places by:

Creating open-access tools and resources
Engaging one-to-one with local governments
Being a strategic friend to places and initiatives
Hosting peer-to-peer learning events
Amplifying shared learning through public events

In return, we ask all changemakers to share back their stories of action and learning, to inspire others.

If you are a local government, an organisation working with local governments or someone working in the built environment, and are interested in getting started, do contact us, and Leonora, our Cities and Regions Lead, will get in touch.

Working with others

Any local government aiming to thrive within the Doughnut will need to work with its many residents, communities and organisations.

Explore how communities, researchers, and businesses are engaging with the core concepts and tools of Doughnut Economics.

Dos and Donts for local governments

Engage with all four lenses of the Doughnut Unrolled

Work with local residents and stakeholders to put the tools into practice in your own context

Feel free to bring in complementary tools that are conceptually aligned with Doughnut Economics

Share back your adaptations and learning with the DEAL community

Follow DEAL’s guidelines and licensing rules, including the Doughnut Principles of Practice

Follow DEAL’s policy for consultancies & advisors if you are using these tools as a consultant

Don’t use the Doughnut simply for branding

Don’t use the Doughnut as an add-on to traditional growth-focused strategies

Don’t refer to your city or place as a ‘Doughnut City’, instead communicate your ambitions and commitments (e.g. 'we want to bring our place into the Doughnut', 'we are using the Doughnut as a guiding framework' etc.)

Doughnut Principles of Practice

To ensure the integrity of the ideas of Doughnut Economics, we ask that the following principles are followed by any initiative that is working to put the ideas of Doughnut Economics into practice.

Embrace the 21st Century Goal

Aim to meet the needs of all people within the means of the planet. Seek to align your organisation's purpose, networks, governance, owner-ship and finance with this goal.

See the big picture

Recognise the potential roles of the household, the commons, the market and the state – and their many synergies – in transforming economies. Ensure that finance serves the work rather than drives it.

Nurture human nature

Promote diversity, participation, collaboration and reciprocity. Strengthen community networks and work with a spirit of high trust. Care for the wellbeing of the team.

Think in systems

Experiment, learn, adapt, evolve and aim for continuous improvement. Be alert to dynamic effects, feedback loops and tipping points.

Be distributive

Work in the spirit of open design and share the value created with all who co-created it. Be aware of power and seek to redistribute it to improve equity amongst stakeholders.

Be regenerative

Aim to work with and within the cycles of the living world. Be a sharer, repairer, regenerator, steward. Reduce travel, minimize flights, be climate and energy smart.

Aim to thrive rather than to grow

Don’t let growth become a goal in itself. Know when to let the work spread out via others rather than scale up in size.

Be strategic in practice

Go where the energy is - but always ask whose voice is left out. Balance openness with integrity, so that the work spreads without capture. Share back learning and innovation to unleash the power of peer-to-peer inspiration.