Robert Gilman
Writer on sustainability (born 1945)
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Robert C. Gilman (born 1945) is a thinker on sustainability who, along with his late wife Diane Gilman, has researched and written about ecovillages.[1] The Gilmans’ work was important in giving definition to the ecovillage movement and shaping the direction of the Global Ecovillage Network.[2] In 1991, the Gilmans co-authored Eco-Villages and Sustainable Communities, a seminal study of ecovillages for Gaia Trust.[3]
Also in 1991, Gilman, who was publisher of the magazine In Context, wrote an article entitled “The Eco-village Challenge” that set out a definition of an ecovillage as a:
- human-scale
- full-featured settlement
- in which human activities are harmlessly integrated into the natural world
- in a way that is supportive of healthy human development and can be successfully continued into the indefinite future.[4][5]
This definition was to become the standard definition on which the ecovillage movement was founded and is still considered by many to be the most authoritative.[6]
From astrophysics to global sustainability
Gilman's academic training is in astrophysics. He graduated from the University of California, Berkeley in 1967 with a bachelor's in astronomy. He received a Ph.D. in astrophysics from Princeton University in 1969.[7] Gilman has taught and conducted research at the University of Minnesota, the Harvard Smithsonian Astrophysical Observatory and was a research associate at NASA's Institute for Space Studies.[8]
Another phase of Gilman's life began in the mid 1970s when he decided that "the stars could wait, but the planet couldn't."[9] He turned his attention to the study of global sustainability, futures research and strategies for positive cultural change. He and Diane designed and built their own solar home in 1975.[10] In 1979, they founded the Context Institute, one of the earliest NGOs to focus on sustainability.[11]
In Context magazine
The institute launched In Context: A Quarterly of Humane Sustainable Culture in 1983, with Gilman as editor.[12] The journal won the Utne Reader Alternative Press Award for “Best Coverage of Emerging Issues” in 1991 and 1994.[13]
Global Action Plan and GEN
In 1989–92 Gilman co-developed the **Global Action Plan Household EcoTeam Program**, an early behavior-change model that organized neighbors into teams to cut household waste, water, and energy use;[14] the model was later adopted nationwide in the Netherlands and other countries.[15]
Building on their Gaia Trust study, Robert and Diane helped convene the 1995 Ecovillages and Sustainable Communities conference at Findhorn, Scotland, which formally launched the Global Ecovillage Network.[16] Gilman later spent three years living in Winslow Cohousing on Bainbridge Island, Washington, to test ecovillage principles firsthand.[17]
Recent initiatives
Since 2016 Gilman has led Bright Future Now, an online six-week course and alumni network that trains change-makers in what he calls the transition from an “Empire Era” to a “Planetary Era.”[18] He continues to speak internationally on regenerative design and cultural evolution, including at Pakhuis de Zwijger’s “Regenerative Design” forum in Amsterdam (2023)[19] and in Vicki Robin’s 2020 *CoVida Conversations* interview series.[20]
Diane Gilman
Diane Gilman (1945–1998) was a painter, potter and writer, co-founded the Context Institute, co-authored the 1991 Gaia Trust report, and served as initial coordinator of GEN after the 1995 Findhorn conference.[21]
