Academics, policymakers, professionals, students and others concerned with sustainability will come together to consider social sustainability at the inaugural Integrated Network for Social Sustainability (INSS) conference on Tuesday and Wednesday, May 28-29, at UNC Charlotte Center City.
The three “pillars” of sustainability – economic, environmental and social – are interrelated. Economic vitality relies on the integrity of healthy ecosystems, which hold the Earth’s resources. Likewise, economic and social well-being are linked, as illustrated through the recent recession.
Environmental and social well-being are similarly connected, as seen in cases when people who live in poverty and are socially marginalized end up living in places with environmental issues that are caused by people who are more affluent and less socially marginal.
Despite its critical connections to the other two pillars, social sustainability is the least understood and defined. Broadly speaking, social sustainability looks at relationships, interactions and institutions that affect and are affected by sustainable development. People often hold a wide variety of perspectives on what social sustainability is and how it can be discussed, implemented and assessed.
The INSS and the conference at UNC Charlotte Center City will examine how sustainability issues can be addressed more comprehensively and how a similar common understanding of social sustainability and its interconnectedness to the other two domains is needed.
The conference is part of a five-year initiative funded by a $750,000 National Science Foundation grant developed by the UNC Charlotte’s Infrastructure, Design, Environment and Sustainability Center (IDEAS) led by Nicole Peterson, a faculty member in the Anthropology Department. Peterson is joined by Brett Tempest and Helene Hilger of the Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering; Liz Miller and Jen Munroe of the English Department; and Thomas Gentry from the School of Architecture.
Conference attendees will hear from leaders in the field, including keynote speaker Sarah Bell of University College London. They also will work in teams to consider the issues.
On May 27, in pre-conference sessions, attendees will visit the Stonewall Jackson Youth Development Center and hear from Special Superior Court Judge and historian Clarence Horton Jr. before touring the Elma Lomax Incubator Farm to consider the role of local food in promoting sustainable rural communities. They also will hear a talk on ways to develop socially and environmentally friendly business plans for the textile industry.
On the final day of the conference, attendees will tour and eat lunch with Friendship Trays, which is focused on urban sustainability. Friendship Trays provides meals to those who cannot leave their homes or prepare their own food. Chefs-in-training prepare healthy, local food that is grown in coordination with a community gardens program.
Each year, the initiative will bring a diverse cross-section of academics, professionals and representatives from nongovernmental organizations to UNC Charlotte. The goal is to become a focal point for advancing and disseminating social sustainability science and measurement tools. The network will work virtually, through its online presence, too.
According to conference organizers, at a fundamental level, clarity on social sustainability is crucial to helping people understand how human activity affects – and is affected by – environmental and economic sustainability. Interested members of the science, environmental, business, planning, health, policy, engineering, safety and arts communities are encouraged to learn more and to join the network.