Ecovillages

Check out this peer-reviewed academic journal that discusses ecovillages, which are defined by the United Nations as communities centered on sustainability.

Image: (Shrivastava & Shukla, 2025).

This study reviewed the data from ecovillage descriptions from the Global Ecovillage Network (GEN) to form a Comprehensive Ecovillage Description Dataset (CEDD). Then they used GPT-4o to extract key terms, and applied BERTopic for topic modeling to identify major themes, collaborated to build a Unified Ecovillage Map (UEM) via Participatory Modeling and Fuzzy Cognitive Maps (FCMs). They then did hypothetical scenario analyses using a Mental Modeler to simulate the potential outcomes from different sustainability practices. They found that "permaculture and renewable energy positively impact ecological balance and energy use," and "tourism can increase financial outcomes, but might disrupt the system." The study's goal was to provide stakeholders with feedback and policy recommendations for better ecovillage management.

Citation:

Shrivastava, V., & Shukla, S. (2025). Illuminating themes of ecovillages by leveraging participatory modeling: A convergent Gen-AI and Fuzzy Cognitive Maps approach. Journal of Environmental Management, 385. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jenvman.2025.125650