A place based analysis of stakeholders’ advancing sustainability in remote and isolated communities: The case of North Aegean Islands

Abstract

During the pandemic crisis, the study of sustainability in remote and isolated communities requires holistic approaches in a multi-dimensional context. To understand remote communities within their natural and constructed environments as dynamic ecosystems, we need to take into account different levels of research and analysis, types of structures, areas of human activity, and actors. It is of particular importance to identify and distinguish the different types of stakeholders who interact in these domains, as well as the dynamics among them, taking into consideration limitations and opportunities set by natural and constructed environments. We reconstruct traditional views and key pillars of sustainable development based on an extensive literature review of relative cases worldwide, to develop a conceptual framework, and to guide research on sustainability in remote and isolated island communities. Thus, this paper is focused on human activities and the wellbeing of remote communities, aiming to propose a “place-based” typology of stakeholders. Byinvestigating the cases of the Greek remote islands’ communities (North Aegean), we critically discuss this evolving conceptual framework, identifying a multi-layered approach in stakeholder analysis that pertains to the civil society that emerged as a key actor. Building on Giddings’ et al [1] anthropocentric view, we synthesize and enrich human activity and wellbeing with several factors, such as natural environment, critical infrastructure, regulatory frame, remoteness, connectivity, cohesiveness, equity, eco-efficiency as well as stakeholders’ multi-identity.