scholarly journals Growing Together: Community Coalescence and the Social Dimensions of Urban Sustainability

2020 ◽  
Vol 12 (22) ◽  
pp. 9680
Author(s):  
Charlotte Glennie
Keyword(s):  
Urban Agriculture ◽  
Environmental Sustainability ◽  
Political Process ◽  
Community Gardens ◽  
Urban Sustainability ◽  
Community Formation ◽  
Social Benefits ◽  
Policy Makers ◽  
The Social ◽  
Biodiversity Maintenance

Urban sustainability is most often measured using a series of social, economic, and ecological indicators. Assessment methods for urban sustainability typically factor in the ecological dimensions of greenspace, such as biodiversity maintenance, stormwater management, and/or air quality—yet indicator schemas that consider only the ecological dimensions largely overlook the social benefits of some types of urban greenspace, particularly community gardens and orchards. This article makes the case that the process of community formation and strengthening that occurs in shared growing spaces is an important element of urban sustainability in its own right. Based on 55 interviews of community garden advocates, policy-makers, and development professionals involved in urban agriculture planning, this article traces the widespread understanding among practitioners that shared growing spaces strengthen social as well as environmental sustainability, though the social benefits are often difficult to measure. The latter concern was most frequently expressed by urban agriculture advocates who, after involvement in the political process, perceived the need for such metrics in order to communicate persuasively with planners and policy makers. The social values of shared growing spaces, at once self-evident to garden advocates and difficult for them to demonstrate with quantitative data, may be theorized by drawing on insights from sociology: A truly sustainable city requires community coalescence among diverse citizens, and such community is fostered particularly well in shared growing spaces.

scholarly journals Displaying Roads

Transfers ◽  
2015 ◽  
Vol 5 (1) ◽  
pp. 46-50
Author(s):  
Massimo Moraglio ◽  
Bruce Seely
Keyword(s):  
Special Section ◽  
Political Process ◽  
Technical Information ◽  
The Political ◽  
Policy Makers ◽  
The Social ◽  
Symbolic Value

We argue that road engineers—in the cases presented in the articles in this special section—were acting as cultural actors, playing a greater role than experts and especially policy makers. Even as they utilized technical information in cultural debates, road representation had huge symbolic value in driving the social and political discussions. However, once road experts used and accepted such political tools, they could not disconnect themselves from the political process, which determined success and failure in these projects.

Can drip irrigation technology be socially beneficial? Evidence from Southern India

Water Policy ◽  
2010 ◽  
Vol 13 (4) ◽  
pp. 571-587 ◽  
Author(s):  
D. Suresh Kumar ◽  
K. Palanisami
Keyword(s):  
Environmental Sustainability ◽  
Drip Irrigation ◽  
Social Benefit ◽  
Southern India ◽  
Management Policy ◽  
Social Benefits ◽  
Cost Ratio ◽  
Resource Saving ◽  
Irrigation Technology ◽  
The Social

Drip irrigation has received considerable attention from policy makers because of its significant contribution towards resource saving, enhanced agricultural productivity and environmental sustainability. This paper explores the potential benefits of drip irrigation adoption by addressing the social benefits and costs in Southern India. The study shows that adoption of drip irrigation technology has resulted in significant external and private benefits. The social benefit–cost ratio (SBCR) ranged from 4.33 to 5.19 at a 2% discount rate under different scenarios across regions. This confirms that a wide adoption of drip irrigation produces sufficient social benefits to justify the subsidization of drip irrigation. Water management policy should focus attention on the promotion of drip irrigation in regions where water and labour scarcity are critical.

scholarly journals The Components of Social Dimension for Community Gardens in Housing Residential

2018 ◽  
Vol 3 (7) ◽  
pp. 209
Author(s):  
Shafa Marzidah Abdullah Ayeop ◽  
Halmi Zainol ◽  
Nur Huzeima Mohd Hussain
Keyword(s):  
Sustainable Development ◽  
Community Gardens ◽  
Social Dimension ◽  
Social Benefits ◽  
Community Garden ◽  
Urban Neighbourhoods ◽  
The Social ◽  
Vegetables And Fruits

Community gardens are known as space for people to plant vegetables and fruits for their daily use. Various social benefits could be obtained through the implementation of community gardens in the urban neighbourhoods. This paper aims to give a better understanding relationship between the social dimension and community garden. The objectives of this paper are to identify the social dimension elements of sustainable development and to explore the benefits from community garden implementation towards social dimension. This paper analyses established references from previous articles and theses to identify a relationship between the social dimension and community garden.

scholarly journals The Mobility Industry Trends Through the Lens of the Social Analysis: A Multi-Level Perspective Approach

SAGE Open ◽  
2022 ◽  
Vol 12 (1) ◽  
pp. 215824402110691
Author(s):  
Javier Turienzo ◽  
Pablo Cabanelas ◽  
Jesús F. Lampón
Keyword(s):  
Social Exchange ◽  
Cost Reduction ◽  
Social Benefits ◽  
Connected Vehicles ◽  
Social Analysis ◽  
Policy Makers ◽  
The Social ◽  
Multi Level ◽  
The Impact ◽  
Industry Trends

The mobility industry is experiencing an in-depth transformation looking for higher efficiency, and this evolution has relevant impact from the economic and social perspective. Nevertheless, technological and mobility trends involve uncertainty on users, policy makers, and businesses. Thus, the analysis of the technologies and their associated trends is relevant for enabling a general understanding of new features and social benefits that can shape the mobility trends toward a better experience. This paper intends to forecast and understand the impact of the new trends on general public through qualitative research deployed with experts from different European countries. It aims at clarifying the predisposition to adapt daily habits to adopt autonomous and connected vehicles, electrical motorizations and servitization. Those areas of deployment in the mobility industry represent relevant dilemmas in terms of social exchange. Businesses, technical and physical infrastructures, public services and regulations are among those areas highly affected by this evolution. Despite the reported advantages of those trends, those innovations will only be supported by specific groups of population and policy-makers unless they show similar benefits to traditional mobility means. Mobility-as-a-Services will be widespread in parallel with the improvement of the service offered, cost reduction, and geographical coverage.

From the Holy Trinity to Microgreens

2020 ◽  
pp. 111-131
Author(s):  
Pamela Arnette Broom ◽  
Yuki Kato
Keyword(s):  
Adverse Effects ◽  
New Orleans ◽  
Urban Agriculture ◽  
Local Food ◽  
Urban Sustainability ◽  
Cultural Dimensions ◽  
Holy Trinity ◽  
The Social ◽  
The City

This chapter focuses on gentrification of the foodways in post-Katrina New Orleans, particularly how the emerging narrative of urban agriculture presented the practice as a new idea, despite the long-standing tradition of local food production and procurement practices in the city. We combine a personal experience of being a long-term urban gardener in the city with grower interviews to illuminate what aspects of the new urban agricultural scene in the city are distinct from the tradition of growing and eating locally that predates the storm. With its emphasis on geographic dimension (e.g., grown locally), the new notion of locality associated with urban agriculture tended to dissociate from the social and cultural dimensions of the preexisting local folk foodways (e.g., native plants grown by the locals). As a result, we argue that the popularity of urban agriculture among the newcomers, albeit well-intended, had adverse effects of discouraging many long-term residents from getting engaged with urban agriculture, keeping them from opportunities such as entrepreneurialism, community health, and urban sustainability.

Changing Institutions

2019 ◽  
pp. 166-186
Author(s):  
Susana Borrás ◽  
Charles Edquist
Keyword(s):  
Social Dynamics ◽  
Social Economic ◽  
Innovation Policy ◽  
Innovation System ◽  
Careful Analysis ◽  
Innovation Systems ◽  
Social Benefits ◽  
Policy Makers ◽  
The Social ◽  
Key Issues

Institutions (including regulations) are constitutive elements of innovation systems. Some institutions are influenced by public actors, and they are elements of innovation policy. Focusing on (soft and hard) regulation, the chapter identifies the most salient regulatory areas from the perspective of the innovation system. When asking about the effects of regulation on innovation, the chapter argues that there are three key issues that need careful analysis, namely, whether regulation is effective and efficient in terms of reducing uncertainty and generating incentives; whether it is able to generate ultimately wider social benefits for the innovativeness of the system at large; and the extent to which regulation is adapting to new (social, economic, and technological) contexts and is socially legitimate and accepted. This provides guidance for the design and redesign of innovation policy, so that policy-makers analyse empirically the social dynamics actually generated by regulation rather than simply assuming deductively their effects.

Gardening as More than Urban Agriculture: Perspectives from Smaller Midwestern Cities on Urban Gardening Policies and Practices

2019 ◽  
Vol 3 (1) ◽  
pp. 1-8
Author(s):  
Christopher Strunk ◽  
Ursula Lang
Keyword(s):  
Urban Agriculture ◽  
Green Space ◽  
Private Property ◽  
Community Gardens ◽  
Public Land ◽  
Vacant Lots ◽  
Urban Gardening ◽  
Privately Owned ◽  
Policies And Practices

For the most part, research and policymaking on urban gardening have focused on community gardens, whether in parks, vacant lots, or other public land. This emphasis, while important for many Midwestern cities, can obscure the significance of privately owned land such as front yard and back yard and their crucial connections with gardening on public land. In this case study, we examine how policies and practices related to gardening and the management of green space in two Midwestern cities exceed narrow visions of urban agriculture. The article explores the cultivation of vacant lot gardens and private yards as two modes of property in similar Midwestern contexts and argues that the management of green space is about more than urban agriculture. Instead, we show how urban gardening occurs across public/private property distinctions and involves a broader set of actors than those typically included in sustainability policies. Gardening also provides a key set of connections through which neighbors understand and practice sustainability in Midwestern cities.

Political psychology in the digital (mis)information age: A model of news belief and sharing

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jay Joseph Van Bavel ◽  
Elizabeth Ann Harris ◽  
Philip Pärnamets ◽  
Steve Rathje ◽  
Kimberly Doell ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Risk Factors ◽  
Cognitive Psychology ◽  
Information Age ◽  
Policy Research ◽  
Integrative Model ◽  
Future Research ◽  
Fake News ◽  
Policy Makers ◽  
Conspiracy Theories ◽  
The Social

The spread of misinformation, including “fake news,” propaganda, and conspiracy theories, represents a serious threat to society, as it has the potential to alter beliefs, behavior, and policy. Research is beginning to disentangle how and why misinformation is spread and identify processes that contribute to this social problem. We propose an integrative model to understand the social, political, and cognitive psychology risk factors that underlie the spread of misinformation and highlight strategies that might be effective in mitigating this problem. However, the spread of misinformation is a rapidly growing and evolving problem; thus scholars need to identify and test novel solutions, and work with policy makers to evaluate and deploy these solutions. Hence, we provide a roadmap for future research to identify where scholars should invest their energy in order to have the greatest overall impact.

Sentencing Policy as a Force for Social Cohesion

2018 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ralph Henham
Keyword(s):  
Social Cohesion ◽  
Policy Making ◽  
Social Values ◽  
Social Reality ◽  
Social Forces ◽  
Top Down ◽  
Policy Makers ◽  
Normative Approach ◽  
The Social ◽  
Sentencing Policy

This chapter sets out the case for adopting a normative approach to conceptualizing the social reality of sentencing. It argues that policy-makers need to comprehend how sentencing is implicated in realizing state values and take greater account of the social forces that diminish the moral credibility of state sponsored punishment. The chapter reflects on the problems of relating social values to legal processes such as sentencing and argues that crude notions of ‘top down’ or ‘bottom up’ approaches to policy-making should be replaced by a process of contextualized policy-making. Finally, the chapter stresses the need for sentencing policy to reflect those moral attachments that bind citizens together in a relational or communitarian sense. It concludes by exploring these assertions in the light of the sentencing approach taken by the courts following the English riots of 2011.

Social Science Theory for Environmental Sustainability

2018 ◽  
Author(s):  
Marc J. Stern
Keyword(s):  
Social Science ◽  
Environmental Sustainability ◽  
Persuasive Communication ◽  
Practical Applications ◽  
Social Science Theory ◽  
Science Theory ◽  
The Social ◽  
Communication Conflict ◽  
To Come ◽  
Sustainability Challenges

Social science theory for environmental sustainability: A practical guide makes social science theory accessible and usable to anyone interested in working toward environmental sustainability at any scale. Environmental problems are, first and foremost, people problems. Without better understandings of the people involved, solutions are often hard to come by. This book answers calls for demonstrating the value of theories from the social sciences for solving these types of problems and provides strategies to facilitate their use. It contains concise summaries of over thirty social science theories and demonstrates how to use them in diverse contexts associated with environmental conflict, conservation, natural resource management, and other environmental sustainability challenges. The practical applications of the theories include persuasive communication, conflict resolution, collaboration, negotiation, enhancing organizational effectiveness, working across cultures, generating collective impact, and building more resilient governance of social-ecological systems. Examples throughout the book and detailed vignettes illustrate how to combine multiple social science theories to develop effective strategies for environmental problem solving. The final chapter draws out key principles for enhancing these efforts. The book will serve as a key reference for environmental professionals, business people, students, scientists, public officials, government employees, aid workers, or any concerned citizen who wants to be better equipped to navigate the social complexities of environmental challenges and make a meaningful impact on any environmental issue.

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