Talk:Sustainability/social

Social concerns
Social issues affecting sustainability are many and closely interrelated through many scales, from international law to local and individual lifestyles and ethical consumerism (see global goals in Principles and concepts section and side bars in this section): "The relationship between human rights and human development, corporate power and environmental justice, global poverty and citizen action, suggest that responsible global citizenship is an inescapable element of what may at first glance seem to be simply matters of personal consumer and moral choice." The following major social topics receive attention in the sustainability literature:

Peace, security, social justice
Broad-based strategies for more sustainable social systems include: improved education and the political empowerment of women, especially in developing countries; greater regard for social justice notably equity between rich and poor both within and between countries; and intergenerational equity. Social disruptions like war, crime and corruption divert resources from areas of greatest human need and generally threaten human well-being and the environment while diminishing resources increase the likelihood of “resource wars”: this aspect of sustainability has been referred to as environmental security and partly as a result of this, management of environmental problems is becoming more global (see global environmental agreements).

Large-scale technology and infrastructure
Infrastructure as part of increasing urbanization and more sustainable urban planning includes sustainable building and construction, sustainable cities, sustainable transport and systems as migration and movement from rural to urban situations continues to increase and as, in some regions, there is a  coalescence of urban centres into continuous built environment, the  megalopolis.

Local efforts
At the more local levels there are many movements encouraging simpler, less consuming life-style changes (see side bar).

Social concerns - alternative (TP) version
The problems of sustainability are often expressed in scientific terms, but solving these problems is a challenge for human societies at all scales and many different contexts from international and national law, urban planning and transport, to local and individual lifestyles, ethical consumerism etc.

"The relationship between human rights and human development, corporate power and environmental justice, global poverty and citizen action, suggest that responsible global citizenship is an inescapable element of what may at first glance seem to be simply matters of personal consumer and moral choice." The following major social topics receive attention in the sustainability literature:

Peace, security, social justice
Social disruptions like war, crime and corruption divert resources from areas of greatest human need, damage the capacity of societies to plan for the future and generally threaten human well-being and the environment. Broad-based strategies for more sustainable social systems include: improved education and the political empowerment of women, especially in developing countries; greater regard for social justice notably equity between rich and poor both within and between countries; and intergenerational equity. Depletion of natural resources including fresh water increases the likelihood of “resource wars”: This aspect of sustainability has been referred to as environmental security and creates a clear need for  global environmental agreements to manage resources such as aquifers and rivers which span political boundaries, and to protect global systems including oceans and the atmosphere.

Sustainable human settlements (this is still pretty rough)
One approach to sustainable living, embodied by urban and rural ecovillages, seeks to create self-reliant communities based on principles of simple living, which maximise self-sufficiency particularly in food production. Most real examples are small in scale, although some larger communities also aspire to become sustainable cities.

Other approaches, loosely based around new urbanism, are successfully reducing environmental impacts by altering the built environment to create and preserve livable cities which support sustainable transport. Residents in compact urban neighbourhoods drive a third fewer miles, and have significantly lower environmental impacts across a range of measures, compared with those living in sprawling suburbs.

Ultimately, the degree of human progress towards sustainability will depend on large scale social movements which influence both community choices and the built environment. for change. Eco-municipalities may be one such movement. Eco-municipalities take a systems approach, based on sustainability principles. The eco-municipality movement is participatory, involving community members in a bottom-up approach. In Sweden, more than 70 cities and towns — 25 per cent of all municipalities in the country — have adopted a common set of sustainability principles and implemented these systematically throughout their municipal operations. There are now twelve first eco-municipalities in the United States were the municipalities of Ashland, Washburn, and Madison, Wisconsin. T and the American Planning Association has adopted sustainability objectives based on the same principles. Whistler, British Columbia, recently won first place for its long-term comprehensive sustainability plan, “Whistler 2020,” in a United Nations international competition. Eco-municipalities are emerging in Japan, Estonia, and New Zealand.

Infrastructure as part of increasing urbanization and more sustainable urban planning includes sustainable building and construction, sustainable cities, sustainable transport and systems as migration and movement from rural to urban situations continues to increase and as, in some regions, there is a  coalescence of urban centres into continuous built environment, the  megalopolis.

===Local efforts=== At the more local levels there are many movements encouraging simpler, less consuming life-style changes (see side bar).

Comments
This is remaining material that fits under a social banner of some sort - it is just a suggestion so that we have "slots" for remaining topics. Please make suggestions for more appropriate organisation, headings etc. Granitethighs (talk) 21:55, 22 January 2009 (UTC)


 * Alot of this material may end up being inadvertently incorporated into our proposed sections. I suggest that we remove anything that is currently incorporated. Anything that isn't incorporated will remain here and we can see if we can find a place for it if it's crucial. Nick carson (talk) 12:15, 25 January 2009 (UTC)


 * The population material cold be condensed as there is an entire Overpopulation article we can direct readers to, we've mentioned it in the barriers to sustainability section too, but the summary here is fantastic, perhaps there is a place for it? The graph of human population would be useful though if we can find a good place for it. Nick carson (talk) 01:30, 1 February 2009 (UTC)


 * I've moved the population stuff to the "Key principles" part of the main article as it dawned on me that this is crucial and it had been left out! As you say it needs to be brief and I've cut it down slightly. This section still needs some work but give me some time. Granitethighs (talk) 01:53, 3 February 2009 (UTC)


 * Cool. Will do. I'd really like to include some information about sustainable social systems and concepts, but I don't have the time to write it out myself, so I'll dot point it and we can work through it. Don't pigeon-hole and confuse utopianism with the inevitable future of an optimistic species! :]
 * - Increasing the importance of education on subject matter outside the human sphere. Needs to be included.
 * - Grassroots politics, activism, increasing awareness (pairs with education really). Mostly covered, I think.
 * - Localisation of communities within larger urban environments. Important. Needs more emphasis.
 * - Social justice, governments making the right decisions based on what needs to be done rather than economic or political motivators. Problematic. Too complicated.
 * - Return to importance of fundamental elements of life; cooking/vegetable gardens, vernacular building, locally grown fresh food and vegetarianism transition, education, vernacular art/music/entertainment. Green building; food security (locally grown food), organic.
 * - Breaking traditional cycles; open relationships, family, shift away from marriage, religion, traditions and doctrines. Let's stay away from this.
 * - Progressive, timely and appropriate governance, minority representation, constitutional/regulatory amendment, appropriate taxation. Should be adequately covered in the economic section.
 * - Shift away from ownership of land, towards Community-owned services, Occupant-owned housing, communal spaces, facilities. Problematic. Differing political perspectives.
 * - Shift away from multinationalism and globalisation back towards regionalism and localism. Already covered, I think.
 * - (This is where it gets controversial but relevant...)
 * - Eugenics. Let's not go there.
 * - Shift away from monetary economic system towards a refined non-market economic trade or credit system. We should cover this.
 * - Progression of current proposed technocratic systems. Difficult to do justice to this. A link, perhaps?
 * - A progression of current justice systems to that which seeks truth, fact, reality. Not possible to touch this, IMO.


 * Most of this is good, though as you note, some of it is controversial. What about a good summary paragraph that covers this (provided we can find such a comprehensive source)? Otherwise, I'm not sure we have space to include the items in this list, except in summary style and in sub-articles. As far as what GT has moved into the article, I think it is about right. Sunray (talk) 07:24, 4 February 2009 (UTC)


 * This section is our last major phase 1 hurdle. A lot of the points look good Nick and they need a mention. Some of the items on the list may be linked together so perhaps we can fuse most of this into a smallish social section with 2-3 headings. I will have a go at this tomorrow. Nick I'm not quite sure what you were suggesting be included in the economic section but add it in. We just need a short sentence? When we read the lot from beginning to end we will find some repetition still so we can shorten yet. Granitethighs (talk) 09:58, 4 February 2009 (UTC)


 * I've added a few comments in blue. Sunray (talk) 17:20, 4 February 2009 (UTC)


 * I've changed the previous effort. The above is a bit better but still needs a lot of work. I've put a fair bit in the side bars. Its not my field! I have tried to incorporate the suggestions from above. Also I added the important bit on local currencies - but to the main article in the economic section. I'm running out of steam if someone else could have a go at cobbling the above together more coherently. I am still unsure about having separate social and economic bits because everything cross-cuts, but I couldn't see a way out. There's always the problem of dealing adequately with scale.Granitethighs (talk) 04:39, 5 February 2009 (UTC)


 * I hadn't seen this for a few days. I like the changes GT has made. I think it is about the level of detail (generality) we need for social concerns. I will ask TP to take a look before we put it up. Sunray (talk) 07:31, 10 February 2009 (UTC)


 * Now this is a topic I feel comfortable with, I was tempted to shift things around whereupon it becomes hard to see what I've changed, so I've created a second copy below the first (yes I remember agreeing not to do this) using purple only for the things I thought were particularly brave. Let me know what you think, I've made it easy for you to revert to the previous version if you want to.
 * Brilliant additions, TP! By all means continue. I will also add something to that last section. Though I am a member of an ecovillage, I have never seen ecovillages as the "next thing" in sustainability — although they are an important response to the problem. The challenges of creating sustainable community are immense at this point in history. What will likely produce a shift are social movements, such as the eco-municipality movement. The reason for that has, I think, to do with a) commitment to a set of principles, b) a comprehensive entity that has all the components of sustainability (e.g., planning, infrastructure, transportation, taxation, etc.), and c) a scale that makes widespread change possible. I am currently looking into how the movement has affected communities in Northern Europe. North American examples are, as yet, few and far between, but there are notable exceptions in Wisconsin and Whistler, BC. Sunray (talk) 17:14, 10 February 2009 (UTC)
 * GT, Nick, we are of course mindful of the tragedies in your own state of Victoria and of the loss of human life, wildlife and the devastation of ecosystems and communities that is not yet brought back under control. I hope all the people and places you love are safe.--Travelplanner (talk) 10:14, 10 February 2009 (UTC)
 * I echo that. I know from reading Nick's comments related to the article he has been working on about the bushfires that he has friends who were affected. The Wikipedia article is a very comprehensive overview and helps to balance the media accounts. Thank you for your good work on that, Nick. Sunray (talk) 16:56, 10 February 2009 (UTC)
 * I've added a section on eco-municipalities. It is a tad long right now, but can be cut down (which I will do if one of you doesn't do it first). Sunray (talk) 08:21, 11 February 2009 (UTC)
 * Recent changes look good! I am reluctant to go nuts and add all sorts of info, we've really got to keep the summary style. I get the feeling there'll be alot of dedicated subsidiary articles that we'll get involved with next. If this team proves successful, I'd be happy to tackle other tasks as part of it.
 * In regards to the bushfires, thanks for your comments :] Not sure if GT knows anyone up that way. I've heard from a few of my friends and they're fine, one nearly had her house destroyed in St. Andrews, the southwesterly saved it. Haven't heard from everyone though, and I spent time in St. Andrews, Yarra Glen and Steels Creek talking to people, families and police and taking photos for WP. It's been a very intense few days really, and I've only really been on the edge of the whole thing. Everyone around here was very sombre from sat-tues, and we've all gone into a bit of a stunned phase. I think it'll be a while until those of us directly and indirectly involved can step back and take in the whole situation, we're all still too involved for it to have sunk in yet. It really is the biggest thing that has happened here, and you can't escape the sight and smell of smoke through the mountains, the biggest ever bushfires right in the heart of extreme bushfire territory.
 * I'm hoping to get involved in advising the reconstruction task force in terms of sustainable building. It's probably worth me mentioning also that we're all very bushfire conscious here, it's not like they weren't prepared, almost all the people who died over the weekend died in the Kinglake complex fire which was literally the perfect firestorm, creating pyro-cumulonimbus cloud, microbursts, wind over 100km/h, etc. it wasn't just an ordinary bushfire like the ones that are still burning. Nick carson (talk) 13:31, 11 February 2009 (UTC)

Wikipedia is not a blog... Please refrain from promoting your advising, paid or unpaid... this is way to much personal information. skip sievert (talk) 17:48, 11 February 2009 (UTC)


 * Welcome back Skip, but please try to have some perspective. I don't believe the Wikipedia guidelines require us to work together as a team without mentioning or caring when one (possibly two) of us are caught up in a national disaster.  Nick, I second Sunray's comments, your work on the bushfires article is brilliant, people at my work are using it to keep track of events and to reassure themselves that friends and family are safe, it's a great example of the best of what Wikipedia can do.--Travelplanner (talk) 20:38, 11 February 2009 (UTC)


 * Its good to know what you are up to Nick. People at work are all stunned. Being "environmental" types we all know people in rural communities who have been affected. My next door neighbours have lost relatives at Marysville. People in the family have lost friends. One of the players in our local orchestra has lost a house ... and so on. Although knowing a little about ecology I know nothing about fires and can't begin to think about how you would rebuild in these areas taking into account fires of this order. I echo what others have been saying Nick about your good work and notice the bushfire WP site has had of the order of 60,000 hits a day. It is clearly a valuable global reliable source of information separate from the mass media accounts. Granitethighs (talk) 21:55, 11 February 2009 (UTC)


 * Apparently you do not care about the guidelines here. The guidelines are used for a reason. skip sievert (talk) 22:42, 11 February 2009 (UTC)


 * Sure don't (in this specific case).


 * I've made another change to the "TP version" of this section above and am wondering, (GT particularly), if this is now the current version and can go to the top of the page?--Travelplanner (talk) 00:12, 12 February 2009 (UTC)


 * The TP version is "the" version now. It is looking much better thanks to your efforts TP (and Sunray). Rather than moving it, my suggestion would be that we all take a last look and then put it up. When we all do a read through of the article from beginning to end as an overview we can make fine adjustments if necessary? Granitethighs (talk) 00:28, 12 February 2009 (UTC)


 * I've made done a few more tweaks to the TP version, including a box for the "Sustainability principles," and added a clean copy for a final look. Sunray (talk) 07:44, 12 February 2009 (UTC)


 * Added a few wiki links and a reference to the first para, looking good now I think.--Travelplanner (talk) 09:06, 12 February 2009 (UTC)


 * Chill out skip. I only mentioned the fires here because they'd impacted upon the time I could devote to this rewrite. Nick carson (talk) 09:29, 12 February 2009 (UTC)

It looks like everyone has given their seal of approval for the current version. I agree with GT we can (and will) continue tweaking and editing. So I will put it up now. Sunray (talk) 16:23, 12 February 2009 (UTC)

Social concerns
The problems of sustainability are often expressed in scientific terms, but solving these problems is a social challenge, at all scales and many different contexts, from international and national law, urban planning and transport, to local and individual lifestyles and ethical consumerism.

"The relationship between human rights and human development, corporate power and environmental justice, global poverty and citizen action, suggest that responsible global citizenship is an inescapable element of what may at first glance seem to be simply matters of personal consumer and moral choice."

Peace, security, social justice
Social disruptions like war, crime and corruption divert resources from areas of greatest human need, damage the capacity of societies to plan for the future and generally threaten human well-being and the environment. Broad-based strategies for more sustainable social systems include: improved education and the political empowerment of women, especially in developing countries; greater regard for social justice notably equity between rich and poor both within and between countries; and intergenerational equity. Depletion of natural resources including fresh water increases the likelihood of “resource wars”: This aspect of sustainability has been referred to as environmental security and creates a clear need for global environmental agreements to manage resources such as aquifers and rivers which span political boundaries, and to protect global systems including oceans and the atmosphere.

Sustainable human settlements
One approach to sustainable living, embodied by urban and rural ecovillages, seeks to create self-reliant communities based on principles of simple living, which maximise self-sufficiency particularly in food production. Most real examples are small in scale, although some larger communities also aspire to become sustainable cities.

Other approaches, loosely based around new urbanism, are successfully reducing environmental impacts by altering the built environment to create and preserve livable cities which support sustainable transport. Residents in compact urban neighbourhoods drive a third fewer miles, and have significantly lower environmental impacts across a range of measures, compared with those living in sprawling suburbs.

Ultimately, the degree of human progress towards sustainability will depend on large scale social movements which influence both community choices and the built environment. Eco-municipalities may be one such movement. Eco-municipalities take a systems approach, based on sustainability principles. The eco-municipality movement is participatory, involving community members in a bottom-up approach. In Sweden, more than 70 cities and towns — 25 per cent of all municipalities in the country — have adopted a common set of sustainability principles and implemented these systematically throughout their municipal operations. There are now twelve eco-municipalities in the United States and the American Planning Association has adopted sustainability objectives based on the same principles. The resort community of Whistler in Canada recently won first place in a United Nations international competition for its long-term comprehensive sustainability plan, “Whistler 2020.” Eco-municipalities are emerging in Japan, Estonia, and New Zealand.