“When you are connected to yourself, you live with integrity – you act on your values and you are committed to truth and honesty. When you are connected to others, you commit to living in community, to caring for the common good, and to working for equality, justice and democracy. You commit to living joyfully with family, friends and the wider community. When you are connected to the planet, you try to live more sustainably, not using up or destroying nature.” (Andrews 2006)
“If the definition of a sustainable society involves meeting human needs, it is worth asking what human needs are, and whether or not the system we are designing meets real human needs in a synergistic and positively reinforcing way” (Holocene 2004). According to Manfred Max-Neef[1], most of our needs are related to the social (protection, affection, understanding, participation) and cultural (recreation, creation, identity) aspects of life. Once the basic need for subsistence has been met, the fundamental human needs are understood as an interrelated and interactive system, not as a hierarchy as postulated by Maslow[2] (Hallsmith 2003). It was also reflected in the core principle of the Earth Charter “Respect and Care for the community of life: to care for the community of life with understanding, compassion and love; to build democratic societies that are just, sustainable, participatory and peaceful”.
Social and cultural intertwined dimensions of urban sustainability
Social sustainability
According to the WACOSS’s model, socially sustainable communities are equitable, diverse, connected, democratic and provide a good quality of life (Hodgson 2008). So, a sustainable city is a just and inclusive city, where benefits of development would be distributed fairly across society. It is a city for all, regardless of their status, gender, race, ethnicity or religion. “An inclusive city provides the opportunities and support that enables all residents to develop fully and allow them access to decent housing, transport, education, recreation, communication, employment and the judiciary, as well as cultural and religious expression. In an inclusive city, residents take part in decision-making that ranges from the political to issues of daily life. Such participation injects a sense of belonging, identity, place into residents, and guarantees them a stake in the benefits of urban development” (UN-HABITAT 2010).
In an inclusive city, diversity is respected; people are tolerant of differences, and are open-minded. This creates condition for true communication can develop. Communication leads to trust, trust to sharing, sharing to co-operation and thus community solidarity is strengthened.
As human beings, we all need meaningful relationships with others, the sense of community, the sense of connectedness, knowing that another person cares, supports and looks out for us. This corresponds with Maslow’s need for love/belonging and Max-Neef’s need for affection and participation. People with a strong sense of community are more likely to report being in good health and less likely to feel isolated than those that have a weak sense of community (Jochmann 2010).
Research has shown that communities where there are high levels of volunteerism and many opportunities for people to have contact with others outside of work or school have more consensus and are more resilient (Hallsmith 2003). Thus, public spaces in city are very important for communication, interaction and exchange to build sense of community. Jan Gehl[5] once said, “a sustainable city would be a very people-friendly city. It would be a city with good public spaces and a city that is rather compact. It would be a city that really invites people to walk and bicycle as much as possible.” Research also confirmed that individuals in more walkable neighborhoods tended to have higher levels of trust and community involvement, and also reported being in good health and happy more often than those in the less walkable neighborhoods (Williams 2011).
Cultural sustainability
UNESCO (1995) defined the cultural dimension of community development[6] as being “the whole complex of distinctive spiritual, material, intellectual and emotional features that characterize a society or social group. It includes not only the arts and letters, but also modes of life, the fundamental rights of the human being, value systems, traditions and beliefs.” The basic role of art, culture, and heritage has long been to bring beauty, depth and meaning into our daily lives, they also nurture individual and community identity, promote social cohesion, and contribute to the creation of social capital (Kingston 2010). More and more, culture has been recognized as an essential dimension with the potential to transform communities and individuals in positive and meaningful ways over the long term.
Jon Hawkes (2001) wrote “The Fourth Pillar of Sustainability: Culture’s Essential Role in Public Planning", recognizing that a community’s vitality and quality of life is closely related to the vitality and quality of its cultural engagement, expression, dialogue, and celebration[7]. Current main themes of cultural sustainability are summarized below.
10 Key themes of cultural sustainability [8](Creative City Network, Canada 2007)
1. The culture of sustainability
Changing people’s behavior and consumption patterns, and adapting to a more sustainability-conscious lifestyle.
2. Globalization & cultural identity
Protecting local culture from globalization and market forces.
3. Heritage conservation
Recognize the history of a place and its tangible and intangible attributes. Revitalizing and re-using heritage buildings for cultural facilities.
4. Sense of place
Building sense of place through intimate connection with our natural environment and history. The importance of heritage and symbols, and the role of the arts in raising community awareness and interest in sustainability are recognized.
5. Indigenous knowledge & traditional practices
Recovery and protection of cultural health, history, and the culture of indigenous knowledge in society. Storytelling is a tool to keep memories alive and celebrate history.
6. Community cultural development
Using arts and culture as community-building tools to promote sense of place, empowerment, and public participation. Creative collaboration fosters social development and change.
7. Arts, education & youth
The arts are seen as both development and communicative tools in communities and schools, as they increase the effectiveness of teaching, research, policy, and actions toward cultural sustainability and development.
8. Sustainable design
Sustainable design is seen as a component of cultural sustainability. Supporting cultural identity can ensure the past is part of the present and will benefit the future.
9. Planning
A cultural lens is needed in city planning and design. This requires community culture-based planning strategies that address civic identity, youth, multiculturalism, and other aspects of communities.
10. Cultural policy & local government
The multidisciplinary nature of sustainable development requires that policies for sustainability transcend boundaries and integrate cultural aspects.
Hawkes’ model demonstrates that the contribution of culture to building lively cities and communities plays a major role in supporting social and economic health (Duxbury and Gillette 2007). According to him, the key to cultural sustainability is fostering partnerships, exchange, and respect between different streams of government, business, and arts organizations.
Spiritual values
“We need a spiritual compass to find our direction in life. A spiritual compass can help us to navigate our path through confusion and crises, through the suffocating allure of materialism, and through delusion and despair” (Kumar 2007).
Spiritual values are essential as an inner guiding light which helps us to develop our worldview, to seek wisdom of truth and wholeness, to find meaning of our existence and to connect with a greater transcendent reality. “Justice and compassion spring from the hearts of people who recognize our profound interdependence and interrelatedness with one another and the Earth” (Lamborn 2010). Spiritual connection is the basis for love, compassion and community. Our desire to deeply connect can be the most powerful force for good (Jones et al. 2007). People with compassion have deep concern for social equality and justice; they want to see that all people and other existences are treated with dignity and love; they become more tolerant, more embracing, always ready to reach out to help, to support, and glorify others (Lin 2006).
The virtues of justice, humility, service and compassion can motivate us to address our social and environmental challenges and to build a world of peace and harmony (Jones et al. 2007). Therefore, creating a culture of sustainability which cherishes those values of tolerance, love, care, respect… is essential in empowering and transforming community towards a sustainable future.
[1] Manfred Max-Neef: a German-Chilean economist and environmentalist, mainly known for his human development model
[2] Maslow's hierarchy of needs is a theory in psychology, proposed by Abraham Maslow
[3] 10 ways our wolrd is becoming more shareable (Gorenflo & Smith 2010) http://www.yesmagazine.org/happiness/10-ways-our-world-is-becoming-more-shareable
[4] Earth 2.0 – Sharing as one of the four chief operating principles of the Earth 2.0 upgrade http://earth2channel.com/blog/post/28
[5] Jan Gelh Interview (2008): Making healthy cities
http://sustainablecities.dk/en/actions/interviews/jan-gehl-making-healthy-cities
http://sustainablecities.dk/en/actions/interviews/jan-gehl-making-healthy-cities
[6] Sustainable Future - Culture and Knowledge Workshop http://www.actpla.act.gov.au/topics/significant_projects/planning_studies/sustainable_future/workshop_two/issues_brief
[7] Models of sustainability incorporating culture:
http://www.creativecity.ca/se-newsletters/special-edition-4/models-sustainability.html
http://www.creativecity.ca/se-newsletters/special-edition-4/models-sustainability.html
[8] Creative City Network, Canada 2007: Ten key themes of cultural sustainability
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