This paper introduces the concept of an alternative milieu in order to provide a more thorough account of the nature and development of ‘alternative’ places. It argues that such places have been generally neglected within geography, and that where they have been the object of research it is usually through a narrow conceptual lens. It is argued that the concept of an alternative milieu provides three analytical benefits. Firstly, it highlights the diversity of alterity within a given locality, a factor that is obscured by simplistic place images or narrower analytical frames. Secondly, it emphasises the significance of geographically fixed institutions in the formation of alternative places. Thirdly, it provides an anchor concept around which the processes that lead to the formation of alternative places can be orientated. The utility of the concept is illustrated through a case study of the emergence of an alternative milieu around the market town of Totnes in the United Kingdom.
AdamsR, 1982The New Times Network: Groups and Centre for Personal Growth (Routledge, London)
2.
AminAThriftN, 1994, “Living in the global”, in Globalisation, Institutions and Regional Development in Europe Eds AminAThriftN, (Oxford University Press, Oxford) pp 1–22
3.
AndrewsG, 2003, “Placing the consumption of private complementary medicine: Everyday geographies of older people's use”Health and Place9337–349
4.
BarkerP, 2012Hebden Bridge: A Sense of Belonging (Frances Lincoln, London)
5.
BelascoWJ, 2007Appetite for Change (Cornell University Press, Ithaca, NY)
6.
BerryO, 2008Devon, Cornwall and Southwest England (Rough Guides, London)
7.
Bonham-CarterV, 1958Dartington Hall: The History of an Experiment (Phoenix House, London)
BrooksD, 2000Bobos in Paradise (Simon and Schuster, New York)
10.
BrownT, 1957, “Holy and notable wells of Devon”Transactions of the Devonshire Association for the Advancement of Science, Literature and Art89205–215
11.
BuechlerSM, 2000Social Movements in Advanced Capitalism (Oxford University Press, Oxford)
12.
CampbellC, 2002 [1972], “The cult, the cultic milieu and secularization”, in The Cultic Milieu: Opposition Subcultures in an Age of Globalization Eds KaplanJLööwH, (Altamira Press, Oxford) pp 12–25
13.
CastellsM, 1983The City and the Grassroots (Edward Arnold, London)
14.
ChatzidakisAMaclaranPBradshawA, 2012, “Hetertopian space and the utopics of ethical and green consumption”Journal of Marketing Management28494–515
15.
ClarkeJHallSJeffersonTRobertsB, 1976, “Subcultures, cultures and class: A theoretical overview”, in Resistance through Rituals Eds HallSJeffersonT, (Hutchinson, London) pp 9–74
16.
ClarkeNClokePBarnnettCMalpassA, 2008, “The spaces and ethics of organic food”Journal of Rural Studies24219–230
17.
Clifton-TaylorA, 1978Six English Towns (BBC Publications, London)
18.
ConfordP, 2008, “‘Somewhere quite different’: The seventies generation of organic activists and their context”Rural History19217–234
19.
CorrywrightD, 2004, “Network spirituality: The Schumacher–resurgence–Kumar nexus”Journal of Contemporary Religion19311–327
20.
CoxL, 1995, “Towards a sociology of counter cultures?”, in All Ireland Post-graduate Conference, Studying Ireland: Social Perspectives Eds McKennaEO'SullivanR, (Queen's University Belfast, Belfast) pp 15–24
21.
CrickmayC, 2003, “‘Art and social context’, its background, inception and development”Journal of Visual Art Practice2119–133
22.
D'AndreaA, 2007Global Nomads (Routledge, London)
23.
DesmondJMcDonaghPO'DonohoeS, 2000, “Counter-culture and consumer society”Consumption, Markets and Culture4207–343
24.
DohertyBPlowsAWallD, 2007, “Environmental direct action in Manchester, Oxford and North Wales: A protest event analysis”Environmental Politics16805–825
25.
EdgarA, 1999, “Counterculture”, in Key Concepts in Cultural Theory Eds EdgarASedgewickP, (Routledge, London) page 90
26.
EdwardsA, 2007, “Wizards of the wacky West”The Daily Telegraph, Property Supplement 10 November, page 5
27.
EslerA, 1971Bombs, Beards and Barricades (Stein and Day, New York)
28.
FaullT, 2004Secrets of the Hidden Source (Halsgrove, Tiverton, Devon)
29.
FranzénM, 2005, “New social movements and gentrifiaction in Hamburg and Stockholm: A comparative study”Journal of Housing and the Built Environment2051–77
GelderK, 2007Subcultures: Cultural histories and Social Practices (Routledge, London)
33.
GreenJ, 1998All Dressed Up: The Sixties and the Counter-culture (Jonathan Cape, London)
34.
GroierD, 1996, “the impact of urban incomers and hobby farmers on rural regions”, paper presented at IX World Congress for Rural Sociology, Bucharest, copy available from Bundesanstalt für Bergbauernfragen Marxergasse 2, 1030 Wien
35.
GuthmanJ, 2004Agrarian Dreams: The Paradox of Organic Farming in California (University of California Press, Berkeley, CA)
36.
HalfacreeK, 2001, “Constructing the object: Taxonomic practices, ‘counterurbanisation’ and positioning the marginal rural settlement”Internationaljournal of Population Geography7395–411
37.
HalfacreeK, 2006, “From dropping out to leading on? British counter-cultural back-to-the-land in a changing rurality”Progress in Human Geography30309–336
38.
HalfacreeK, 2007a, “Back-to-the-land in the twenty-first century-making connections with rurality”Tijdschrift voor Economische en Sociale Geografie983–8
39.
HalfacreeK, 2007b, “Trial by space for a ‘radical rural’: Introducing alternative localities, representations and lives”Journal of Rural Studies23125–141
40.
HarmanC, 1988The Fire Last Time: 1968 and After (Cox and Wyman, Reading, Berks)
41.
HeelasP, 1996The New Age Movement (Blackwell, Oxford)
42.
HemeryE, 1982Historic Dart (David and Charles, Newton Abbott, Devon)
HortonD, 2002Searching for Sustainability: An Ethnography of Everyday Life Among Environmental Activists PhD, Department of Sociology, University of Lancaster
49.
IvakhivAJ, 2001Claiming Sacred Ground: Pilgrims and Politics at Glastonbury and Sedona (Indiana University Press, Bloomington, IN)
50.
KempD, 2004New Age: A Guide (Edinburgh University Press, Edinburgh)
51.
KockelU, 1991, “Countercultural migrants in the West of Ireland”, in Contemporary Irish Migration Ed. KingR, (Geographical Society of Ireland, Dublin) pp 70–82
52.
KoppJJ, 2004, “Documenting utopia in Oregon: The challenges of tracking the quest for perfection”Oregon Historical Quarterly105308–319
LangT, 1999, “Plots of resistance: Food culture and the British”, in Richer Futures Ed. WorpoleK, (Earthscan, London) chapter 8
55.
LangleyA, 1999, “Strategies for theorizing from process data”The Academy of Management Review24691–710
56.
LazerfeldPaulFMertonRK, [1954] 1964, “Friendship as social process: A substantive and methodological analysis”, in Freedom and Control in Modern Society Eds BergerMAbelTPageCH, (Octagon, New York) pp 18–66
57.
LeesL, 1999, “The Pacific Northwest: Rural backwater to urban ecotopia”, in North America: A Geographical Mosaic Eds BoalFWRoyleSA, (Edward Arnold, London) pp 239–248
LloydR, 2002, “Neo-Bohemia: Art and neighborhood redevelopment in Chicago”Journal of Urban Affairs24517–532
62.
LonghurstN, 2010Twinned with Narnia? The Postcapitalist Possibilities of a Countercultural Place PhD thesis, School of Geography, University of Liverpool
63.
LowersonJ, 1992, “The mystical geography of the English”, in The English Rural Community: Images and Analysis Ed. ShortB, (Cambridge University Press, Cambridge) pp 152–174
64.
McKayG, 1996Senseless Acts of Beauty: Cultures of Resistance Since the Sixties (Verso, London)
65.
McPhersonMSmith-LovinLCookJM, 2001, “Birds of a feather: Homophily in social networks”Annual Review of Sociology27415–444
66.
MaillatD, 1995, “Territorial dynamic, innovative milieus and regional policy”Entrepreneurs hip and Regional Development7157–165
67.
MaillatDLecoqBNemitiFPfisterM, 1995, “Technology district and innovation: The case of the Swiss Jura Arc”Regional Studies19251–263
68.
MannB, 2009, “The unfolding folklore of the Leechwell”Totnes Review 13–15 July
69.
MarwickA, 1998The Sixties: Cultural Revolution in Britain, France, Italy, and the United States c.1958–c.1974 (Oxford University Press, Oxford)
70.
MichellJ, 1983The New View over Atlantis (Thames and Hudson, London)
MusgroveF, 1974Ecstasy and Holiness: Counter Culture and the Open Society (Methuen, London)
73.
NichollsW, 2009, “Place, networks, space: Theorising the geographies of social movements”Transactions of the Institute of British Geographers, New Series3478–93
74.
O'DohertyRKDurrschmidtJJowersPPurdueDA, 1999, “Local exchange and trading schemes: A useful strand of community economic development policy?”Environment and Planning A311639–1653
75.
PilkingtonE, 1990, “Run of the river: Against the tide”The Guardian 29 August
PrinceRRichesD, 2001The New Age in Glastonbury: The Construction of Religious Movements (Burghahn, Oxford)
78.
RoszakT, 1970The Making of a Counter Culture (Faber and Faber, London)
79.
RussellP, 1963The Good Town of Totnes The Devonshire Association for the Advancement of Science, Literature and Art, Exeter, Devon
80.
SaundersN, 1975Alternative England and Wales (Nicholas Saunders, London)
81.
Savills, 2008, “Second homes account for half some parishes housing stock”, Savills, 14 March
82.
SchmiedD, 2005, “Incomers and locals in the European countryside”, in Winning and Losing: The Changing Geography of Europe's Rural Areas Ed. SchmiedD, (Ashgate Aldershot, Hants) pp 141–166
83.
ShieldsR, 1991Places on the Margin: Alternative Geographies of Modernity (Routledge, London)
84.
SmithDP, 2007, “The ‘buoyancy’ of ‘other’ geographies of gentrification: Going ‘back-to-the water’ and the commodification of marginality”Tijdschrift voor Economische en Sociale Geografie9853–67
85.
SmithDPPhillipsDA, 2001, “Socio-cultural representations of greentrified Pennine rurality”Journal of Rural Studies17457–469
86.
South Hams District Council, 2006, “Retail study”, South Hams District Council, Totnes, Devon
87.
South Hams District Council, 2007, “South Hams Tourism Strategy”, South Hams District Council, Totnes, Devon
88.
StottM, 1986Spilling the Beans: A Style Guide to the New Age (Fontana, London)
89.
SuriJ, 2009, “The rise and fall of an international counterculture, 1960–1975”American History Review February, pages 45–68
90.
The Ideas Pool, 1973A Book of Visions, Directory of Alternative Society Projects 1973The Ideas Pool, London
91.
TiyceMDimmockM, 2000, “Nimbin Mardi Gras Festival: The impacts”, in Events Beyond 2000: Setting the Agenda, Eds AllenJHarrisRJagoLKVealAJ, Proceedings of Conference on Event Evaluation, Research, and Education, Sydney, pp 222–228
92.
TrufferBDürrenbergerG, 1997, “Outsider initiatives in the reconstruction of the car: The case of lightweight vehicle milieus in Switzerland”Science, Technology and Human Values22207–234
93.
TwiggJ, 1981The Vegetarian Movement in England 1847–1981London School of Economics, London
94.
WareCF, 1935 [1965] Greenwich Village 1920–1930 (Harper Colophon, New York)
95.
WattsM, 2001, “1968 and all that …”Progress in Human Geography25157–188
96.
WilliamsCC, 1995, “Local purchasing schemes and rural development: An evaluation of local exchange and trading systems (LETS)”Journal of Rural Studies12231–244
97.
WolfeT, 1968 [1993] The Electric Kool-Aid Acid Test (Black Swan, London)
98.
YoungM, 1996The Elmhirsts of DartingtonDartington Hall Trust, Totnes
