A global sense of place: geography and sustainability education in a primary context

In this paper, I draw on Massey's conceptualisation of space and place and literature on children's geographies to argue for the importance of "a global sense of place" (Massey, 1991, p. 29) in geography (and sustainability) education. Reporting on interviews with six Victorian primary teaSustainability educationhers' and their conceptions and perceptions of geography, I contend that place in their imagining is commonly represented as bounded, contained and static. This is in contrast to Massey's understanding of place as immersed in global networks/processes, a product of interrelations and continuously changing. I conclude this paper by presenting an example of a primary unit that provides opportunities for students to develop an outward sense of place; one which foregrounds the interconnections and interdependence of places and processes.

Using voice to make musical and social connections

Community music is a rich and ongoing activity-taking place in formal and informal settings around Australia. This small-scale phenomenological qualitative case study is part of my wider study Spirituality and Wellbeing: Music in the Community that began in 2013. This paper demonstrates that community music making in a regional district in Victoria (Australia) makes it possible for choirs to use their voice to make musical and social connections to self and community that enhances both personal and community wellbeing. In May 2014, I visited three choirs for a week in the city of Warnnambool. Drawing on observation, questionnaires and focus group semi-structured interviews, I analysed the data using Interpretative Phenomenological Analysis. The findings include why people join choirs in regional towns, what they enjoyed that contributed to their wellbeing and why they want to sing about issues that make connections to social justice and sustainability. Though generalisations cannot be made to other towns or choirs, the findings show the need, importance and benefits of connecting to each other and the wider community. Using voice can serve as an effective platform to promote issues in the community such as social justice and the environment. It is hoped that the findings may provide a vehicle for further dialogue where choirs in other settings may experience similar connections to their community.

Just imaginary: delimiting social inclusion in higher education

This paper explores the notion of a 'just imaginary' for social inclusion in higher education. It responds to the current strategy of OECD nations to expand higher education and increase graduate numbers, as a way of securing a competitive advantage in the global knowledge economy. The Australian higher education system provides the case for analysis. Three dilemmas for social inclusion policy in this context are identified: questions of sustainability, aspiration and opportunity. The paper argues that while social inclusion policy has 'first-order' effects in higher education, a just imaginary is required for more inclusive 'second-order' effects to be realized. It concludes that transformation of the current imaginary will require a more robust theorization of relations between social inclusion and higher education, to give new and unifying meaning to existing practices and to generate new ones. Short of this, social inclusion may be little more than just imaginary.

Use of indicators to assess the sustainability of housing developments in Australia

Most new housing in Australia is occurring on greenfield sites on the edges of the capital cities. These housing developments are often criticised for their social and environmental unsustainability. These unsustainable suburbs are a legacy for future generations. They will create dire social and environmental problems if a serious economic downturn was to occur or a resource shortage e.g. oil was to make accessibility impossible. Coupled to these threats is that of the social ‘undesirability’ of isolated suburbs where only those on low incomes made their home. Most of those on higher incomes seek established suburbs which have ‘character’, social amenities and ease of access. Typically, these are in older suburbs close to city centres. This paper describes a methodology that has been developed to analyse past and future housing developments. The results of the analysis can provide a guide to improving the sustainability of these suburbs. The methodology uses several criteria to reflect the fact that no single criterion is adequate to describe or analyse the sustainability of a housing development. Sustainability should embrace social and environmental perspectives, so a multi-criteria analysis is appropriate. The theoretical framework for this methodology has been described elsewhere. However, in this previous work only five criteria were considered: energy use, resource use, neighbourhood character, neighbourhood connectedness and social diversity. In each case, high and low sustainability practice has been identified so that ranking is possible. This paper initially summarizes the way in which these previous five criteria are assessed but then adds a sixth criterion (social connectedness) because of a perceived gap in the previous assessment. The results of an analysis of three suburbs reported in the previous work are updated. They score poorly in terms of social connectedness underlining the need to ‘repair’ these suburbs in order to improve their overall sustainability.

The social life of commercial streets

The social life of cities is a key concept related to social cohesion, which has been the subject of extensive studies in several disciplines including sociology, psychology and the built environment. Social life studies conducted in the built environment discipline have mostly focused on city centres; while the significance of neighbourhoods as integral elements have been sometimes overlooked. As a result, this research will specifically explore commercial streets in residential suburbs. Suburbs are frequently perceived to be lacking in vitality and street life. The method of inquiry in this research investigates how the physical characteristics of commercial streets can either promote, affect or mitigate the social life of neighbourhoods and generate a sociable environment. Therefore, this study captures the social behaviour of three commercial streets in Geelong, Australia. This paper utilizes a qualitative approach to the study of the social life of commercial streets. The primary methodology used in this research is recording, documenting and mapping users’ activities through behavioural observation. The observations have been conducted in four days (on two weekdays and two weekends). The case study has been divided into eight sections that are similar in length. Short movies of 30 seconds have been recorded from each section, every two hours from 8:00 am to 10:00 pm. Afterwards, the movies have been transmitted into street mappings, documenting the type of activities, placement of activities, gender and approximate age by exploiting suitable pictograms. There are several physical characteristics that are believed to be contributing to the social life of commercial streets. This study utilizes a bottom-up approach to evaluate the complexities of the role that built environment plays in terms of vitality through the three selected characteristics, including typomorphology and street layout, diversity of uses, and soft facades. Better understanding of how neighbourhood environments influence the social life of neighbourhoods can provide academics and professionals in architecture and urban design with sound evidence on which to base future research and design.

Approaches to urban heritage, development and sustainability

More than half of the world’s population now live in urban areas, and cities provide the setting for contemporary challenges such as population growth, mass tourism and unequal access to socio-economic opportunities. Urban Heritage, Development and Sustainability examines the impact of these issues on urban heritage, considering innovative approaches to managing developmental pressures and focusing on how taking an ethical, inclusive and holistic approach to urban planning and heritage conservation may create a stronger basis for the sustainable growth of cities in the future.This volume is a timely analysis of current theories and practises in urban heritage, with particular reference to the conflict between, and potential reconciliation of, conservation and development goals.

Improving how sustainability reports drive change: a critical discourse analysis

In this paper we use a form of discourse analysis to explore the 'activity' that three quite different sustainability reports set up as companies communicate their social and environmental performance. Our aim is to show what sustainability reports 'do' - in order to offer insights about what they 'could do'. We show that the companies are using sustainability reporting strategically, and that sustainability is embedded in to the company's strategic priorities. Where they mostly narrate and argue a point of view, sustainability reporting can offer additional benefits by transiting towards dialogue. Dialogue provides stakeholders with the means to engage substantially with companies, and also introduce new discourses that may open up new directions in how companies contribute to sustainability.

Sustainability, A-REITs and the global financial crisis

While environmental sustainability has grown in importance to governments and the community, the purpose of this paper is to examine the environmental sustainability activities of A-REITs over the period of the global financial crisis. Using a content analysis methodology similar to Newell, annual reports and home websites for 24 of the largest A-REITs (which have also been a constituent of the ASX 300 index) are analysed to determine the extent of their sustainable investment activities. The Green Building Council of Australia and NABERS websites are also explored. Given the increasing focus on sustainable commercial property, the study finds that A-REIT investment into these properties has been rather conservative and slow. There are, however, some A-REITs that have tried to lead in the field even during the period of the global financial crisis. Relatively solid and stable returns on equity and assets appear to be achieved by such A-REITs in the years during and following this crisis.

Urban heritage, development and sustainability : international frameworks, national and local governance

This volume is a timely analysis of current theories and practises in urban heritage, with particular reference to the conflict between, and potential reconciliation of, conservation and development goals.

Human and social capital and environmental management in small firms: a developing country perspective

We examine the important roles of two forms of capital—human andsocial—in the accumulation of critical resources that enable firms to adopt soundenvironmental management practices which contribute to better firm performance.Drawing on human and social capital theories and the resource-based view of the firm,we tested this proposition using data from a survey of 141 small manufacturing firmsdrawn from a survey of business enterprises in a metropolitan city in the southernregion of the Philippines. The results of our analysis using structural equationmodelling-partial least square approach show that both human capital such as age,experience and education of managers of the firm and social capital such as externalmanagerial ties and networks have significant and positive contribution to the environmentalmanagement resources of firms although the effects vary in magnitude. Theaccumulation of environmental management resources not only is positively linked tothe adoption by firms of pro-environment practices but also fully mediates the effects ofthe two types of capital on the adoption of such practices. Pro-environment practicesare positively linked to better performance outcomes. The findings underscore the needto account for the intangible and more tacit forms of capital such as managerial talent,knowledge, skills and social ties and networks in the wider debate on how smallmanufacturing firms in developing countries can address the pressing need to integrateenvironmental sustainability in business.

World Heritage Cultural Landscapes: conservation and sustainability challenges

From 1 to 10 September 2016, thousands of leaders and decision-makers from government, civil society, indigenous peoples, business and academia will gather together in Honolulu (Hawaii) to share ideas on how to improve the ways we manage the natural environment for human, social and economic development. Held every four years, the IUCN World Conservation Congress (WCC) focuses on joint progress in ways to protect biodiversity, a crucial factor in addressing some of our greatest challenges today, such as tackling climate change and achieving food security.

Sustainability, citizenship and cities : theory and practice

Urban sustainability citizenship situates citizens as social change agents with an ethical and self-interested stake in living sustainably with the rest of Earth. Such citizens not only engage in sustainable household practices but respect the importance of awareness raising, discussion and debates on sustainability policies for the common good and maintenance of Earth's ecosystems.

Urban heritage, development and sustainability: international frameworks, national and local governance

More than half of the world’s population now live in urban areas, and cities provide the setting for contemporary challenges such as population growth, mass tourism and unequal access to socio-economic opportunities. Urban Heritage, Development and Sustainability examines the impact of these issues on urban heritage, considering innovative approaches to managing developmental pressures and focusing on how taking an ethical, inclusive and holistic approach to urban planning and heritage conservation may create a stronger basis for the sustainable growth of cities in the future.This volume is a timely analysis of current theories and practises in urban heritage, with particular reference to the conflict between, and potential reconciliation of, conservation and development goals. A global range of case studies detail a number of distinct practical approaches to heritage on international, national and local scales. Chapters reveal the disjunctions between international frameworks and national implementation and assess how internationally agreed concepts can be misused to justify unsustainable practices or to further economic globalisation and political nationalism. The exclusion of many local communities from development policies, and the subsequent erosion of their cultural heritage, is also discussed, with the collection emphasising the importance of ‘grass roots’ heritage and exploring more inclusive and culturally responsive conservation strategies. Contributions from an international group of authors, including practitioners as well as leading academics, deliver a broad and balanced coverage of this topic. Addressing the interests of both urban planners and heritage specialists, Urban Heritage, Development and Sustainability is an important addition to the field that will encourage further discourse.