Sustainability Indicators

Sustainability Indicators PDF

Author: Simon Bell

Publisher: Routledge

Published: 2012-05-04

Total Pages: 252

ISBN-13: 113655601X

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Praise for the first edition: 'This book should be of interest to anyone interested in sustainable development, and especially sustainability indicators. Bell and Morse easily succeed in exposing the fundamental paradoxes of these concepts and, more importantly, they offer us a way forward. Readers ... will find their practical recommendations for those attempting to do sustainability analysis in the field most welcome, which is also the book's greatest strength.' Local Environment: The International Journal of Justice and Sustainability 'This book makes a valuable contribution to the theory and practice of using indicators for sustainability. It introduces systems ideas and a range of tools and techniques that have the potential to broaden and deepen our understanding of a whole range of complex situations. Well worth a closer look.' Christine Blackmore, Open University 'This is a book that explores new ways of thinking about how to measure sustainability... It offers stimulating food for thought for environmental educators and researchers.' Environmental Education Research 'This book tells me, as an SI 'practitioner', where I have been and why, and more importantly how I should be thinking in order to effectively present to and empower the local community in the years ahead.' David Ellis, Principal Pollution Monitoring Officer, Norwich City Council 'A practical guide to the development of sustainability indicators which offers a systemic and participative way to use them at local scale. Our preliminary results are highly positive and the approach is applicable in many contexts.' Elisabeth Coudert, Programme Officer Prospective and Regional Development, Blue Plan The groundbreaking first edition of Sustainability Indicators reviewed the development and value of sustainability indicators and discussed the advantage of taking a holistic and qualitative approach rather than focusing on strictly quantitative measures. In the new edition the authors bring the literature up to date and show that the basic requirement for a systemic approach is now well grounded in the evidence. They examine the origins and development of Systemic Sustainability Analysis (SSA) as a theoretical approach to sustainability which has been developed in practice in a number of countries on an array of projects since the first edition. They look at how SSA has evolved into the practical approaches of Systemic Prospective Sustainability Analysis (SPSA) and IMAGINE, and, in particular, how a wide range of participatory methodologies have been adopted over the years. They also provide an assessment of the strengths and weaknesses of projects that undertake work in the general field of sustainable development.

The Enduring Challenge of Concentrated Poverty in America

The Enduring Challenge of Concentrated Poverty in America PDF

Author: David Erickson

Publisher:

Published: 2008

Total Pages: 234

ISBN-13:

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This report--a joint effort of the Federal Reserve's Community Affairs function and the Brookings Institution's Metropolitan Policy Program--examines the issue of concentrated poverty and profiles 16 high-poverty communities from across the country, including immigrant gateway, Native American, urban, and rural communities. Through these case studies, the report contributes to our understanding of the dynamics of poor people living in poor communities, and the policies that will be needed to bring both into the economic mainstream. It is not the intention of this publication to explain poverty causation. Instead, the goal is to add texture to our understanding of where and how concentrated poverty exists, by studying new areas and by interviewing local stakeholders, including residents, community leaders, and government representatives, to understand how concentrated poverty affects both individuals and communities. The report begins with "Concentrated Poverty in America: An Overview" (Alan Berube) and "Introduction to the Case Studies" (Carolina Reid). It then presents the following 16 case studies: (1) Fresno, California: the West Fresno neighborhood (Naomi Cytron); (2) Cleveland, Ohio: the Central neighborhood (Lisa Nelson); (3) Miami, Florida: the Little Haiti neighborhood (Ana Cruz-Taura and Jessica LeVeen Farr); (4) Martin County, Kentucky (Jeff Gatica); (5) Blackfeet Reservation, Montana (Sandy Gerber, Michael Grover, and Sue Woodrow); (6) Greenville, North Carolina: the West Greenville neighborhood (Carl Neel); (7) Atlantic City, New Jersey: the Bungalow Park/Marina District area (Harriet Newburger, John Wackes, Keith Rolland, and Anita Sands); (8) Austin, Texas: the East Austin neighborhood (Elizabeth Sobel); (9) McKinley County, New Mexico: Crownpoint (Steven Shepelwich and Roger Zalneraitis); (10) McDowell County, West Virginia (Courtney Anderson Mailey); (11) Albany, Georgia: the East Albany neighborhood (Jessica LeVeen Farr and Sibyl Slade); (12) El Paso, Texas: the Chamizal neighborhood (Roy Lopez); (13) Springfield, Massachusetts: Old Hill, Six Corners, and the South End neighborhoods (DeAnna Green); (14) Rochester, New York: the Northern Crescent neighborhoods (Alexandra Forter Sirota and Yazmin Osaki); (15) Holmes County, Mississippi (Ellen Eubank); and (16) Milwaukee, Wisconsin: the Northwest neighborhood (Jeremiah Boyle). Following these case studies is "Learning from Concentrated Poverty in America: A Synthesis of Themes from the Case Studies" (Alan Berube, David Erickson, and Carolina Reid). Appended to this report are: (A) References for Comparison Statistics Tables; (B) Literature Review: Federal Reserve System Poverty-Related Research; (C) References for Overview in Alphabetical Order (by First Author); and (D) Photo Credits. (Individual case studies contain tables, figures, and footnotes.).

Community Quality-of-Life Indicators

Community Quality-of-Life Indicators PDF

Author: Frank Ridzi

Publisher: Springer Nature

Published: 2022-08-27

Total Pages: 235

ISBN-13: 3031069404

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This volume continues the tradition now established since 2006, of compiling excellent research into the practice and application of community indicators in a single source volume. It focuses on the theme of the Community Indicators Consortium 2020 Summit, as a significant venue for the advancement of the practice and theory of community indicators work. It covers the conference's theme of “community resilience”, which is the capacity of all of a community’s elements to survive, adapt, and grow no matter what kinds of chronic stresses and acute shocks they experience. In keeping with the practical, “best cases” emphasis of this book series, the editors incorporate a case-based approach to chapters discussing how specific indicators, indices or series of indicators can lead to better decisions and outcomes to help communities adapt and transform in the face of challenges, helping them prepare for both the expected and the unexpected to sustain and improve quality of life, including technology and open source approaches to data sharing and data-focussed collaboration; evolving approaches that use shared indicators to improve overall community well-being and quality of life; research related to community indicators and policy, application, research, and/or practice; and techniques and approaches to measure resilience. This volume is of interest to social scientists, management professionals, social workers and policy makers working on various aspects of community indicators of quality of life and well-being. Chapter “The Cost of Sea Level Rise for the Island Community of Vinalhaven, Maine: Spurring action through collaborative data analysis” is licensed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/). For further details see licence information in the chapters.

Strengthening the Results Chain

Strengthening the Results Chain PDF

Author: Rosie Zwart

Publisher:

Published: 2017

Total Pages: 32

ISBN-13:

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Abstract: This paper presents an analysis of evidence from seven case studies of results-based management by development co-operation providers. Analysis of themes from the case studies reveal six interrelated challenges which providers face in their efforts to manage for the results of development co-operation. The six challenges are: linking results to development goals, ensuring the purpose of results systems is well-defined, weighing up the benefits of aggregating and attributing results from standard indicators, enabling country ownership, using performance information alongside results information, and building and embedding a results culture. Providers continue to adopt a range of approaches to pursue a focus on results and there are many examples of good practice. The case studies suggest that in a complex development landscape some providers are prioritising the use of aggregated results information for domestic accountability, communication, and performance management over their use for learning and policy direction. In this context, the paper argues that in agency-wide results frameworks development co-operation results are often detached (or de-contextualised) from development results and discusses the implications of this, including the use of standard indicators to measure aggregated outputs. The paper uses case study evidence to discuss and suggest practical ways providers can build and maintain a strong results focus which enables analysis, insights and learning, and has achievement of development outcomes as its objective

Scenarios and Indicators for Sustainable Development–Towards A Critical Assessment of Achievements and Challenges

Scenarios and Indicators for Sustainable Development–Towards A Critical Assessment of Achievements and Challenges PDF

Author: Joachim H. Spangenberg

Publisher: MDPI

Published: 2019-03-14

Total Pages: 180

ISBN-13: 3038976725

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Globalization and telecoupling are enhancing the complexity of the coupled socio-ecological system constituted by the interaction between the global ecosphere and the anthroposphere. As a result, the demand for tools to identify transformative innovations, assess future risks, and support precautionary decisions for sustainability is growing by the day in business and politics. Scenarios are a means of simplification, reducing the real-world complexity to a limited number of essential factors to analyze their interactions and support policy formulation, with indicators as communication and monitoring tools. In particular, in a time of “fake news” and “alternative truths” a critical reflection amongst producers and users of scenarios and indicators is overdue—the capability for critical self-reflection is what distinguishes science from pseudo-science, and is a condition of trust. The authors of this book test established measurement and modeling approaches against new challenges, assess the weaknesses of prevailing innovation theories and the political-ideological embedment of archetypical scenarios, highlight deficits in taking the physical basics into account, and the need to understand global interaction and the stepwise process of energy transitions, point out technical as well as conceptual weaknesses in data collection, harmonization and indicator generation, always with a view to solving problems.

Sustainability Indicators in Practice

Sustainability Indicators in Practice PDF

Author: Agnieszka Latawiec

Publisher: Walter de Gruyter GmbH & Co KG

Published: 2016-01-29

Total Pages: 271

ISBN-13: 3110450674

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A unique book which reflects the multifaceted nature of sustainability by bringing together authors from interdisciplinary backgrounds. The book highlights the opportunities and challenges associated with applying sustainability indicators in different socio-cultural and geographical settings. It presents a range of possible solutions to common challenges associated with the use of indicators in practice.