Social Sustainability: Linking Research to Policy and Practice
Dr Andrea Colantonio Oxford Institute for Sustainable Development (OISD) Oxford Brookes University
'Sustainable Development - a Challenge for European Research' , 26-28 May 2009, Brussels
Todays presentation
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Background
Social Sustainability Theory and Definition Theory-Policy Linkages Assessment Methods and Practice Metrics Conclusions
Background
The paper draws upon our EIBURS (European Investment Bank University Research Sponsorship Programme) study
Three year research project examining best practices to measure and monitor socially sustainable urban regeneration (e.g. assessment methods, metrics etc.)
http://www.brookes.ac.uk/schools/be/oisd/sustainable_communities/
Why is social sustainability important?
Emerging concept although least studied and often overlooked dimension of Sustainable Development
At the heart of the sustainable communities agenda (Bristol Accord, 2005)
What is Social Sustainability?
the social preconditions for sustainable development or the need to sustain specific structures and customs in communities and societies? (Sach, 1999) the finality of development whilst economic and environmental sustainabilities are both goals of sustainable development and instruments to its achievement (Assefa and Frostell, 2007)? Is it an end state? or a socio-economic process?
Definitions of Social Sustainability
Fuzzy understanding of the concept and no general agreement over its definition
Our definition:
how individuals, communities and societies live with each other and set out to achieve the objectives of development models, which they have chosen for themselves taking also into account the physical boundaries of their places and planet earth as a whole
Social Sustainability Key Themes and Domains
Traditional
Basic needs, including
Housing
Emerging
Demographic change (ageing
and international migration)
Education and skills Equity Employment Human rights Poverty Social justice
Empowerment, Participation and Access Identity, Sense of Place and Culture Health and Safety Social mixing and cohesion Social Capital Well being, Happiness and Quality of life
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Theoretical Research Approaches to Social Sustainability
Approach
Equity and Human Rights (e.g. poverty studies
and unequal development)
Main Authors
Sen (1985, 1992), Sachs (2001)
Timeline
Since mid-1980s
Capital Stock
(e.g. Social Capital, Environmental capital equity and cities footprint)
Coleman (1988), Putnam (1993), Rees and Wackernagel (1996)
Since late 1980s
Institutional Theory and Governance
(e.g. participation and stakeholder analysis)
Chambers (1992) Healey (1992)
Since early 1990s
Business and Corporate studies
(e.g. Triple Bottom Line, Corporate Social Responsibility)
Elkington (1994)
Since mid-1990s
Behavioural and Social Sciences
(Well-being, health and happiness perspective)
Layard (2005)
Since late 1990s
Transition Theory
Rotmans, Loorbach et al. (2006)
2000s
Theory-Policy Linkages
The linkages between theory and policy depend on
Level of abstraction of the theory Feasibility and implementation costs Complexity and sophistication Nature of the dialogue and communication channels existing between researchers and policy-makers
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Social Sustainability Assessment
There is paucity of specific social sustainability assessment (SSA) methodologies
The assessment is often conducted (i) through social impact assessment (SIA), which is extended to include other sustainability pillars by stretching Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) and Strategic Environmental Assessment (SEA) to incorporate social issues
(ii)
(iii) by broadening the definition of environment, and hence the thematic coverage of theme-specific assessment such as SIA Hacking and Guthrie (2007)
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The scope of SIA content has widened since the 1990s, however,
limited methodological information there is insufficient analysis of the links between socio-economic components quantification is limited and mainly focused on demographics, employment, services and facilities provision, and limited community engagement and reduced involvement of a wide range of stakeholders (Glasson and Wood, 2008)
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Recent Sustainability Assessment-Related Legislation in the EU
Environmental Impact Assessment, since 1985 through Directives 85/337/EEC and 97/11/EC Strategic Environmental Assessment since mid 1990s and formally adopted in 2001 through the SEA Directive 2001/42/EC Sustainability Impact Assessment, introduced by DG trade in 1999 EU Impact Assessment System introduced in 2003 to enhance the quality of the Commission regulatory activity
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Social Sustainability Metrics
Early emphasis on basic needs vs recent attention towards governance, representation and other institutional factors Trade-offs: technical weights vs recent emphasis on sound judgement, as well as leadership and communication skills (Egan, 2004).
Reemergence of community and the local level
Shift from purely statistics-based indicators toward hybrid sets of indicators that mix quantitative data and qualitative information
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Social Sustainability Indicators
Traditional
Static Mainly Quantitative Product Descriptive Mono-dimensional Target oriented Top down selection
Emerging
Intergenerational with uncertainty Hybrid Process Strategic Multi-dimensional Principles and Objectives driven Deliberative and reiterative selection
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Draft of
Social Sustainability Assessment Framework (SSAF)
(not included in the paper)
Colantonio (2009)
Social Sustainability
Practice
Methods, Themes and Indicators
Social mixing/ cohesion
Identity, Image, Heritage
Well-being
Empowerment, Participation, Access
Housing & Health and Education Employment Demography Environment Safety
Sustainability Assessment
Policy
Principles and Objectives
Recognition Protection and Intra- and interand Promotion of Generational Preservation of Health and Equity Diversity Safety
Uncertainty Principle
Precautionary Principle
Theory
Approaches
Equity and Human Rights Capital Stock
Institutional Theory and Governance
Business Behavioural and and Welfare Corporate studies Economics
Transition Theory
Conclusions
Emerging soft themes are becoming central to the social sustainability debate, together with traditional hard themes
Future growing importance of softer themes as societies become more affluent and less worried about basic needs
Importance of principles, objectives, themes and indicators for policymaking
Need for a systematic study of the linkages between theory, policy and practice at EU level
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Contacts
Dr Andrea Colantonio Email: [email protected]
Oxford Institute for Sustainable Development (OISD) Oxford Brookes University United Kingdom
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