The imperative of the twenty-first century is sustainability: to raise the living standards of the world's poor and to achieve and maintain high levels of social health among the affluent nations while simultaneously reducing and reversing the environmental damage wrought by human activity. Scholars and practitioners are making progress toward environmental and economic sustainability, but we have very little understanding of the social dimension of sustainability.
This volume is an ambitious, multi-disciplinary effort to identify the key elements of social sustainability through an examination of what motivates its pursuit and the conditions that promote or detract from its achievement. Included are theoretical and empirical pieces; examination of international and local efforts; discussions highlighting experiences in both the developing and industrialized nations; and a substantial focus on business practices. Contributors are grounded in sociology, economics, business administration, public administration, public health, geography, education and natural resource management.
1. Introduction Jesse Dillard, Veronica Dujon and Mary King Part 1: Overviews of the Field 2. Emergent Principles of Social Sustainability Kristen Magis and Craig Shinn 3. An Inquiry into the Theoretical Basis of Sustainability: Ten Propositions Gary L. Larsen 4. An Antidote to a Partial Economics of Sustainability Mary C. King Part 2: International Perspectives 5. Global Civil Society: Architect and Agent of International Democracy and Sustainability Kristen Magis 6. In the Absence of Affluence: The Struggle for Social Sustainability in the Third World Veronica Dujon 7. Child Labor and Improved Common Forest Management in Bolivia Randall Bluffstone Part 3: The Role of Business 8. Social Sustainability: An Organizational Level Analysis Jan Bebbington and Jesse Dillard 9. Social Sustainability: One Company’s Story Jesse Dillard and David Layzell 10. Working out Social Sustainability on the Ground Kathryn Thomsen and Mary C. King 11. Triple Bottom Line: A Business Metaphor for a Social Construct Jesse Dillard, Darrell Brown and Scott Marshall Part 4: Local Applications 12. Exploring Common Ground: Community Food Systems and Social Sustainability Leslie McBride 13. Social Capital and Community-University Partnerships W. Barry Messer and Kevin Kecskes 14. Advancing Social Sustainability: An Intervention Approach Jan C. Semenza Part 5: Integration and Conclusion 15. Reflection and Directions for the Future Jesse Dillard, Veronica Dujon and Mary King
Jesse Dillard currently holds the Retzlaff Chair in Accounting, is Director of the Center for Professional Integrity and Accountability in the School of Business at Portland State University and holds an honorary appointment in the University of Sheffield's Management School. Veronica Dujon is an associate professor and chair of the Department of Sociology at Portland State University, where she co-teaches a seminar on Social Sustainability. Mary C. King is Professor of Economics at Portland State University, where she co-teaches a graduate course on Social Sustainability with Veronica Dujon and Barbara Dudley.
