Social Sustainability in Ecovillages: A Systematic Scoping Review of Collective Processes and Contextual Conditions

ABSTRACT Ecovillages merge ecological practices with alternative modes of collective living, but their sustainability cannot be solely attributed to environmental commitments. This systematic scoping review synthesizes findings from 96 publications identified through Scopus and Web of Science. It examines five social process domains—governance and power, conflict and relational dynamics, collective identity, membership and justice, and everyday practices—alongside economic, institutional, and spatial conditions, as well as various formation pathways. The synthesis reveals context‐dependent configurations: collective arrangements can promote cooperation while also leading to unequal workloads, exclusion, or organizational strain. Conflict does not necessarily result in dissolution, and institutional adaptation does not equate to settlement disappearance. I conceptualize social sustainability as the ongoing organization and renegotiation of collective life, without attributing it primary causative importance over material or ecological factors. The findings advocate for process‐sensitive assessment and planning that distinguish between community continuity, transformation, and disruption.