Lockie, Stewart, and Wong, Catherine Mei Ling (2017) Risk, sustainability and time: sociological perspectives. In: Schandl, Heinz, and Walker, Iain, (eds.) Social Science and Sustainability. CSIRO Publishing, Melbourne, VIC, Australia, pp. 187-198.

PDF (Published Version) - Published Version Restricted to Repository staff only

Abstract

[Extract] Sustainability is an inherently temporal concept. It is as much about the tempo of social and environmental change and the rights of future generations as it is about the magnitude of change and its implications for human well-being. We do not expect our communities, envi¬ronments or economic systems to remain unchanged over time, but we do want to maintain or improve their ability to keep on delivering the things we value well into the future. Of course, moving from general agreement about the importance of long-term sustain¬ability to concrete decisions in the here-and-now about resource use, conservation, pollu¬tion standards, spatial planning, infrastructure investment etc. presents several challenges. Not least among these are the challenges of accounting for uncertainty and ignorance. Sustainability is also about risk. It is about accepting that things may not turn out as planned. It is about understanding and managing the potential for things to go wrong, and it is about preparing, despite our best efforts, for things to go wrong in ways that are cur¬rently unknowable or unforeseen.

Item ID:	41486
Item Type:	Book Chapter (Research - B1)
ISBN:	978-1-4863-0640-4
Date Deposited:	08 Nov 2017 04:06
FoR Codes:	44 HUMAN SOCIETY > 4410 Sociology > 441002 Environmental sociology @ 80% 44 HUMAN SOCIETY > 4410 Sociology > 441007 Sociology and social studies of science and technology @ 20%
SEO Codes:	97 EXPANDING KNOWLEDGE > 970116 Expanding Knowledge through Studies of Human Society @ 100%
Downloads:	Total: 5
	More Statistics