Just sustainabilities: development in an unequal world

By D. Orvos. 2003

407 citations recorded by the source corpus.

Ultimately, if human sustainability is ever to become a way of life, particularly in my country, the case for it must be iron clad and indisputable by elected and appointed government officials. Less developed countries (LDCs) and more developed countries (MDCs) must agree on issues of inequity and injustice for the long-term survival of our species. The case presented in Just sustainabilities is powerful and provides such an indisputable and referenced source. It thoroughly examines the link between racial oppression and exploitation. I particularly appreciated the continued emphasis on environmental justice and its role in sustainable development. How can we have one without the other? Just sustainabilities argues that justice – environmental and socioeconomic – must be first and foremost when countries enter into policy formulating discussions of sustainable development. The case is overwhelming as presented in the book and well supported with case histories from several continents. I was intrigued by the evolving nexus of environmental justice and sustainable development and the evidence of lack of social justice in the case histories. The editors and authors of Just sustainabilities are established and respected colleagues in this relatively new discipline. The diversity of views supercedes any discontinuity from using so many authors. The book is well organized with the introductory theories, concepts, and challenges quite amenable to reading by a student in any introductory environmental class. The remainder of the book discusses local and regional examples and examines in depth the lack of justice and equity in each. I believe the text should be required reading in any significant sustainable development course as it offers a plethora of possibilities for an instructor using the included case histories to facilitate discussion and research. I was consistently challenged by the diverse views of the authors and appreciated the documented references. The concluding chapter serves as an excellent summary of the book. However, this is not light reading! For the general public Just sustainabilities is probably too intense and overly detailed. However, the message is important enough that I hope the editors consider a ‘lighter’ version in the future for the lay public. It is the public that must ultimately support the policies that will evolve from the message of this book. Few books link scholarly research, theory, and activism in the manner that Just sustainabilities successfully accomplishes. This is indeed a seminal achievement that I highly recommend. The authors have generated a significant work whose message must be disseminated to the world. It is a plan for equitable sustainable development that we must incorporate!

Subfields: Development, Management, Monitoring, Policy and Law, Sociology and Political Science

View Paper: https://www.semanticscholar.org/paper/6d54624e115f308078002791bb60a7e5bfe68bf4

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Citations in the corpus

Social Justice-Oriented Interaction Design: Outlining Key Design Strategies and Commitments (2016, background): “In working towards just sustainabilities [2], our attention is drawn to the systemic and relational rather than to the individual; we are asked to explicitly grapple with the ways that a project of sustainable design might lead to the entrenchment or creation of socioeconomic disparities; we are pro”
Using the sustainable development goals towards a better understanding of sustainability challenges (2018, background): “class, gender and other characteristics), beyond their involvement and recognition of environmental issues (Agyeman et al. 2002; Agyeman 2005; Elvers et al. 2008; Schlossberg, 2013).”
Modifying Argentina: GM soy and socio-environmental change (2014, background): “However, the benefits of GM-induced soybean expansion become less certain when other criteria – particularly socio-environmental considerations such as the protection of livelihoods, social equity, and ecological integrity – are taken into account (Agyeman et al., 2003; Daly, 1996; Redclift, 1992).”
The Just Transition and its work of inequality (2020, background): “As a result, environmental justice has been placed on the public agenda as the fair treatment and meaningful involvement of all people—regardless of race, gender, nationality, or income—in the development, implementation, and enforcement of environmental policies (Bullard 2008; Agyeman et al. 2003).”
Ecological Unequal Exchange: International Trade and Uneven Utilization of Environmental Space in the World System (2007, background): “Others attach a normative dimension to the concept, arguing conceptualization of environmental space boundaries is useful for illustrating the inequitable access of industrialized countries to ecological services at a global scale (Daniels 2002; McLaren 2003; Sachs 1999).”
Is there a global environmental justice movement? (2016, background): “Christian churches, saw themselves as militants of EJ (Bullard 1990; Bryant and Mohai 1992; Agyeman et al. 2003; Pellow 2000, 2002).”
The Role of Inclusive Innovation in Promoting Social Sustainability (2019, positive): “…sustainability, which Agyeman and colleagues define, in a variation of the Brundtland definition, as “the need to ensure a better quality of life for all, now and into the future, in a just and equitable manner, whilst living within the limits of supporting ecosystems” (Agyeman et al. 2003, p. 5).”
Sustainable development: mapping different approaches (2005, background): “The poor also have to bear the heaviest burden of ill-health, war and ecological problems (Sachs, 1999; UNDP, 2002; Agyeman et al., 2003).”