Gestionando el buen vivir en un entorno local. Estrategia transdisciplinaria y colaboración en red en la periferia de Xalapa, México

Abstract

This paper contributes to the intercultural dialogue about the possibilities of constructing alternative worlds, starting from the notion of “good living” (buen vivir) and its resignification through local actions in the city of Xalapa (Veracruz, Mexico). The open character of the concept, coined by the native peoples of the Andean area as an alternative to development, is retaken here as a pertinent horizon in the field of defense and co-management of diverse spaces of life, such as rural areas adjacent to big cities. The work highlights the leading role of organized civil society and informal neighborhood networks in co-managing the good living on a local scale and recognizes the role of the university in the construction of dialogic and transdisciplinary strategies towards a more sustainable and fair life. In this context, we share experiences and learnings of the project named “Knowledge for Dialogue for Good Living”, considered as a strategy for local resistance threatened by the effects of urban spot growth in the rural periphery of the city. The author explores the process of "overflowing" of collaborative actions in everyday times and spaces and the necessary involvement of the facilitator in the transformation processes that she promotes.