Sustainable Communities Book
One of the research areas that has engaged many of the researchers in BRASS has been the interaction of businesses with communities in relation to sustainability, but also the development of communities and individuals from a sustainability perspective especially in relation to the pursuit of more or less sustainable lifestyles. There is an acknowledgement that in many areas of BRASS research the impacts of business, government or other organisational activity on local communities or communities of interest needs to be more fully understood. This work thus includes ideas about resource management, material consumption, lifestyle choices, business responsibility, individual responsibility, sustainable consumption and the wants and needs of society as a whole.
Specific projects in this area include research into sustainable communities and new spaces for planning, participation and engagement which has resulted in a major BRASS book, communities and food production work, communities and social enterprises, and communities and access to legal services, as well as research into the long term sustainability of communities. As many BRASS projects have a community impact component this area of work is well integrated across the BRASS research agenda. BRASS aims and objectives are met by research into sustainable communities because it:
· Focuses on the development and dissemination of knowledge and understanding about significant changes occurring in the relationships between communities, whether local communities or communities of interest, and a variety of 'stakeholders' including businesses, local government, policy makers and others
· Looks at developing and promoting new tools, techniques and models aimed at increasing the sustainability of communities
· Fosters an interdisciplinary and holistic view of sustainability within communities bringing together social science, economics, political science, policy studies, management disciplines and others
BRASS work on communities is key to an understanding of sustainability at the local level and looks particularly at the responsibility and accountability of those that interact with communities, such as businesses, and of the communities themselves.
