Abstract

Research on degrowth has developed a strong conceptual vocabulary for envisioning alternatives, centered on life-making and collective autonomy within ecological and societal limits. Looking into the past and engaging with anarchism, we argue, can further enrich the degrowth imaginary on transformation beyond the state. A historical approach to political ecology – where delving into the past reclaims suppressed practices and is oriented at imagining other futures – is particularly fitting for this task. We call for renewed attention to collectivizations during the Spanish social revolution of 1936, whose legacy was silenced following Franco's victory in the Spanish Civil War (1936-1939). Drawing on a historical approach to political ecology and the conceptual vocabulary of degrowth, in dialogue with anarchism, we zoom in on the case of tramway collectivization in the city of Barcelona, which is also a space for radical imaginaries today. We draw on extensive archival research, complemented by historical press and secondary sources. Tramway collectivization was an experience of rapid worker-led ruptural transformation of transport provisioning at city scale, from private to collectivized ownership. This experience was characterized by pursuing autonomy in relation to tramway provisioning, work and technology, resonating with degrowth. Some changes were rooted in longer-term worker struggles while others came as a result of adapting to the wartime crisis between 1936 and 1939. Despite organizing beyond the state, a relationship with this institution had to be navigated throughout. The collectivized company's changing dependency on the state marked the limits on workers' autonomy. Overall, the case of tramway collectivization opens up degrowth imaginaries on organization of provisioning systems and larger-scale transformations beyond the state.

Keywords: Spanish Civil War, historical political ecology, degrowth, collectivisations, anarchism

How to Cite:

Kenkel, J., Chertkovskaya, E. & Gorostiza, S., (2026) “Opening up degrowth imaginaries with historical political ecology: Collectivization of tramways during the anarchist revolution in Barcelona (1936–1939)”, Journal of Political Ecology 33(1): 9023. doi: https://doi.org/10.2458/jpe.9023