localtoglobal

Localtoglobal is a framework and practice that emphasizes integrating local contexts, knowledge, and capacities with global processes, scales, and systems. The term describes approaches that begin with local conditions and communities and seek to influence wider policy, markets, and knowledge networks, while global frameworks, standards, and information shape local decisions.

The concept draws on participatory development, translocalism, and the adage think globally, act locally. Although not a formal discipline with standardized definition, localtoglobal is used in development studies, urban planning, sustainability, and networked activism to describe the bidirectional flow of knowledge, resources, and influence between localities and larger systems.

Practices commonly associated with localtoglobal include participatory planning, co-design, local data collection, open data and transparency, knowledge exchange networks, cross-scalar governance, and pilots that are evaluated and scaled to other contexts.

Applications span climate adaptation, urban resilience, and economic development. Local risk assessments and community-led pilots can inform national policy; local producers connect to global markets through traceable supply chains; open-source projects and education networks adapt globally while meeting local needs.

Critiques focus on challenges of aligning scales, attribution of impact, cultural sensitivity, governance fragmentation, and disparities in resources. Critics warn against homogenization or performative mechanisms that co-opt local voices without meaningful change.

Related concepts include think globally, act locally, translocalism, and the global-local nexus.