VAKKI Publications (Dec 2023)

Ilmastoviisaan asumisen teemat ja kontekstit – Kun systeemimaailma kohtaa elämismaailman julkisessa keskustelussa

  • Merja Koskela,
  • Eveliina Salmela,
  • Liisa Kääntä,
  • Henna Syrjälä

Journal volume & issue
Vol. 15
pp. 189 – 206

Abstract

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This study examines which topics climate-wise housing is connected to in public speech. Climate-wise housing stands for housing choices that take social, ecological and economic perspectives into account. The data of the study consists of a variety of journalistic texts and online discussions collected in a larger research project. Content analysis is used as a method, and the findings are discussed applying Habermas' concepts of system and lifeworld. The results show that in the journalistic media, the system-level starting point is strong and the individuals’ point of view comes to the fore only in certain types of stories. Economics and technology in particular are important ways of understanding climate-wise housing. In online discussions, the starting point is citizens' own lifeworld, which is connected to their everyday experiences. However, the topics of the discussions are also connected to the system through the presence of the (market) economy, which leads to seeing citizens in the role of consumers. As a whole, our analysis shows that climate-wise living becomes a part of citizens' everyday life both through the system, for example as a result of political decisions, and through grassroot level choices. From both starting points, efforts can be made towards more climate-wise living.

Keywords