Retracing Critical Energy Fictions with Youth through a Comparative Analysis of Community-Based Interventions

Abstract

Understanding both human and ecological histories in the Anthropocene demands participatory methods that include diverse voices. This research examines community interventions using worldbuilding, which is a systems-thinking approach that imagines alternative realities and challenges existing assumptions through multi-scale analysis using a timeline tool, which is based on Cultural-historical activity theory (CHAT) as an analytical lens to examine chronological triggers in selected case studies. Through comparative analysis of six case studies (four Belgian, two Turkish), we investigated how participatory design and youth engagement create critical fictions that question current paradigms and explore alternatives for ongoing energy transitions. We examine the role of emotions in transitions, mostly related to energy, and analyze how worldbuilding tools can deepen or change emotional layers related to participatory transition processes. The analysis identifies design strategies where material and embodied elements make speculative practices concrete and generate emotional resonance. Results demonstrate that worldbuilding serves as an effective participatory methodology for fostering critical dialogue and envisioning just futures rooted in community knowledge while confronting systemic inequalities. The research particularly emphasizes youth agency, often overlooked but vital in shaping these transformative processes.