Prison degrowth is both a concept exploring counter-experiences of prison reduction in the global context of mass incarceration, and a political horizon of transformation, as set forth by the Prison Degrowth research team anchored at the University of Geneva. Rooted in participatory action research, we use mixed method approaches to producing and diffusing knowledge in partnership with key participants from the political sphere, judicial sector, civil society and prisoners’ families, in order to work for transparency in penal data access and policy practices, and to fuel the circulation of evidence-based solutions to reduce the use of prisons, especially in Switzerland. This session will discuss how the Prison Degrowth project contributes to the field of carceral geography, and more generally to reflections on the role of engaged research in a context of uncertainty and concern about the democratic and environmental future of societies.
