Social science concepts and frameworks for understanding urban ecosystems

Abstract

Cities are a potent demonstration of humanity's domination of nature; they are also the source of a wide range of environmental problems that enmesh city residents in a process of globalisation capable of touching even the most remote and rural of communities. In the context of the agreement reached at the International Summit at Rio in 1992 that all nations should move in the direction of sustainable development, cities also have a critical role to play in determining the rate and nature of that change. For example, were city residents to adopt more pro-environmental lifestyles, then considerable progress would be made towards achieving sustainable development. Against this background, education and communication strategies which seek to promote understanding of the linkages between how people live their lives and the quality of our environment have a potentially important role to play in moving society in the direction of sustainable development. The purpose of this chapter is to explore some of the concepts and frameworks social scientists use to understand how city residents make sense of their own attitudes, values, and behaviors toward the environment. It does this first by drawing on recent research in the social sciences that support contextualist approaches to society, and second by using the findings of a cross-cultural study undertaken in two European cities: Nottingham in the United Kingdom and Eindhoven in the Netherlands. This study was designed to compare how local residents and decision makers in each city discuss their responsibilities and behaviors toward the environment. By offering a cross-cultural comparison, the study serves to highlight the role that social, political, and cultural factors play in influencing people's willingness or reluctance to adopt more pro-environmental behaviors. It also serves to demonstrate how education strategies designed to promote public understanding of urban ecosystems can be informed by arguments individuals employ to challenge exhortations by governments and other agencies for citizens to "go for green". © 2008 Springer Science+Business Media, LLC.