From `sustainable rural communities’ to `social sustainability': giving voice to diversity in Mangakahia Valley, New Zealand

Despite widespread interest in the notion of sustainability, little progress has been made towards an understanding of its social dimensions. Nonetheless, the concept of `sustainable rural communities’ is embedded in popular, policy and academic discourses, where the needs of `rural communities’ are...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Journal of rural studies 2000-10, Vol.16 (4), p.433-446
Main Authors: Scott, Kathryn, Park, Julie, Cocklin, Chris
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Community Change
Community Relations
Community Viability
Cultural Pluralism
Foreign Countries
Institutional Survival
Maori (People)
New Zealand
Pluralism
Rural Areas
Rural Communities
Rural Schools
Sense of Community
Sustainability
Sustainable Development
Urban to Rural Migration
Whites
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Summary:Despite widespread interest in the notion of sustainability, little progress has been made towards an understanding of its social dimensions. Nonetheless, the concept of `sustainable rural communities’ is embedded in popular, policy and academic discourses, where the needs of `rural communities’ are usually equated with those of farm families. Our ethnographic research in Northland, New Zealand illustrates the diverse interests to be found within `rural communities'. Interviews and participant observation were undertaken between August 1995 and July 1996 in the Mangakahia Valley. The increasing divergence in the ethnic, class and occupational makeup of the population has brought with it complexities in terms of what can be said to contribute to `sustainable rural communities'. We suggest that `sustainable rural communities’ be treated as a folk category, and instead, social science discourse should resort to the broader concept of social sustainability, which will have a locally defined content, not a universal definition, but will include elements of livelihood, social participation, justice and equity.
ISSN:0743-0167
1873-1392
DOI:10.1016/S0743-0167(00)00018-8