In Europe, the recent debate on globalisation of the economy has - ironically - given a notable push for various concepts of regionalisation. Regions always played a strong role in people's perceptions of a good life, but regions were predominantly understood as political boundaries of states, provinces or counties. Bioregionalism, however, addresses the biological basis for a sustainable future. This concept gains in importance with the acknowledgement that ecological limits exist and that the ecological footprint of modern society is too large to be sustained in the future. Some preliminary steps have been made in Europe to define - or even impose - such limits, which in the end could lead to new and different patterns of regional development.
