The Emotional Consumption of vulnerable Spaces – ECOS

This research project aims to understand the emotional experiences of individuals related to spaces particularly impacted by environmental change, and how these experiences shape lifestyles and consumption patterns. Distress and nostalgia have been identified during long-lasting and uncontrollable spatial mutations, impacting not only consumption but also market dynamics, particularly in certain sectors such as tourism. This project will be based on extensive qualitative data collection in four French territories considered as particularly vulnerable for various reasons: glacier melt in Savoie, coastal erosion in Martinique, drought in the Pyrénées Orientales and violent climatic episodes in Pas de Calais. In each of these regions, the transformation of the space is visible even to non-experts. Data collection will be based on semi-structured, longitudinal interviews and participant observation using an ethnographic approach with local residents, as well as with tourism and agricultural players, associations and public authorities, all of whom being stakeholders in the environmental changes taking place in these areas.
Adopting an exploratory approach, this project mobilizes two currents of research in consumer behavior: the emotional dynamics of consumption and the consumption of space. Based on a consortium of three laboratories that have already developed networks in the territories concerned, the project aims to establish concrete recommendations for stakeholders in the above-mentioned territories to better integrate emotional vulnerability into environmental transition. The dissemination of results will be operationalized through participatory research seminars, communications and publications, and the production of a documentary film.