From place to emplacement: the scalar politics of sustainability

Abstract

Sustainability has emerged as a central concept for discussing the current state of the human-environment system and planning for its future. To delve into the depths of sustainability means to talk about ecology, economy, and equity as fundamentally interconnected. However, each continues to be colonised by normative epistemologies of ecological sciences, neoclassical economics, and development, suggesting that with enough science and development, a more equitable sustainability is achievable. In our analysis, place emerges as an alternative epistemology through which to analyze sustainability. Place exists at multiple spatial and temporal scales, understood through direct observation of boundaries, processes and patterns, phenomenologically through individual experience, and as a complex hybrid: always emerging through interactions among individuals and institutions. Despite the ubiquity of place in the socio-ecological literature, the complexity of place in relation to sustainability is under-theorised, and in as much as sustainability happens or does not happen in real places rather than in policies and models, a place-based sustainability framework is necessary to move forward. To address this gap, we developed the emplacement framework, consisting of four domains: displacement, misplacement, replacement, and emplacement. Each domain is dynamic, constructing place as praxis, and reframing sustainability as a site of collective inquiry and choices. Our goal is to facilitate the active and on-going practices of place-based research and engagement among scholars, activists, and other community members by providing a structure for transdisciplinary dialogue and the application of transdisciplinary research to enable better decision-making.

Neighbourhood Social Resilience (NSR): Definition, Conceptualisation, and Measurement Scale Development

“…Sense of belonging and place attachment are concepts that reflect affective bonding that individuals or groups develop with a built, or generally biophysical, setting [44,55]. Affective bonds relate both to functional dependency as well as emotional connection and are key determinants of people's sense of place [56] which eventually influences place-related behaviour [38] and emplacement processes which unite people and place [57]. Place attachment is also enhanced by sensory properties of the built environment which are mediated by materiality and experienced through movement.…”

Representing ‘Place’: City Climate Commissions and the Institutionalisation of Experimental Governance in Edinburgh

“…(EdCC) Across the UK, cities are increasingly engaged in climate governance. Often made manifest through emission targets and sustainability plans, this localised approach is unfolding in a fractured urban governance landscape where it is unclear who should be responsible for climate change as a governance issue (Barron et al, 2020;Hughes et al, 2018;Vallance et al, 2019). It is out of this landscape that the PCAN network's Climate Commissions have emerged and, given the growing awareness of the need to encourage collaboration, the responsibility of choosing which people from across this diverse and complex city to bring together, became a key part of setting up the Edinburgh Commission.…”

“…In addition to critically reflecting on this novel mode of local climate governance, our theoretical aspirations are animated by a desire to better understand the 'places' to which 'place-based' governance arrangements come to represent. Barron, Hartman, and Hagemann (2020) observe that the complexity of place in relation to sustainability and climate change remains remarkably under-theorised. This is despite its increasing prevalence within both political ('place-making') and societal ('sense of place') discourse.…”

The Interplay between Urban Densification and Place Change in Tehran; Implications for Place-Based Social Sustainability

“…The significance of place on human experience is underlined in a notable branch of place literature [16,[27][28][29][30][31]. 'Place' is the setting where the social and physical realms of everyday life converge, "a meaningful location .…”

“…From another perspective, place exists at multiple temporal and spatial scales and holds dissimilar elements together. In other words, place is a fruitful paradox of containment and liberation [29] and it is this liberating aspect of place that requires further elaboration and revival. As Casey states, "to live is to live locally, and to know is .…”