Quantifying an integral ecology framework: a case study of the Riverina, Australia

Communities in Australia's Murray-Darling Basin face the challenge of trying to achieve social, economic, and environmental sustainability; but experience entrenched conflict about the best way to achieve a sustainable future, especially for small rural communities. Integral ecology is a philosophical concept that seeks to address community, economic, social, and environmental sustainability simultaneously. Its inclusive processes are designed to reduce stakeholder conflict. However, to date the application of the integral ecology concept has been largely qualitative in nature. This study developed a quantitative integral ecology framework, and applied this framework to a case study of the Riverina, in the Murray-Darling Basin. Seventy-seven community-focused initiatives were assessed, ranked, and quantified. The majority of the community-focused ranked initiatives did not exhibit all aspects of integral ecology. Initiatives typically prioritized either (1) economic and community development or (2) environmental health; rarely both together. The integral ecology framework developed here enables recommendations on future community initiatives and may provide a pathway for community leaders and other policy-makers to more readily apply integral ecology objectives. Further research refining the framework's operationalization, application and implementation to a wider-scale may enhance communities' capacity to develop and grow sustainably.Sarah A.Wheeler, Juliane Haensch, Jane Edwards, Jacki Schirmer, and Alec Zu

Urban Form and Function

Urban space is social space. According to Henri Lefebvre, every type of society produces a spatiality – physical space itself, a way of organising it and a way of thinking about it. In this sense, spatiality encompasses the physical world, mental world and social construction of space. The production of space occurs through both social practices and material conditions. This means that space and time are contingent upon and shaped by macro‐scale policies and technologies as well as by everyday practices. Structuring of space and time produce specific social patterns and relationships, but it also affects cultural values and economic prospects. Urban form, function and structure are key features in defining urban space as social