Global Sustainability and Communities of Practice

Environmental challenges are more complex due to rapid development and human population growth alongside technological advances that alter lifestyles and social norms. To meet these challenges, concepts of sustainability need to be more accessible to the public, who as citizens, activists, and citizen scientists are engaged in community-based action. Using case-based and theoretical chapters that examine rural and urban communities of practice, this volume illustrates how participatory researchers and students as well as policy and community leaders find ways to engage with the broader public when it comes to global sustainability research and practice. Collaboration between experts and the public is vital for effective community engagement aimed at improving the lives of the most vulnerable in society, whether at the local or global level.

Table of Contents:
Introduction: Towards Global Sustainability and Communities of PracticeCarl A. Maida and Sam BeckPART I: SUSTAINING THE COUNTRYSIDEChapter 1. Cultivating Sustainability Literacy and Public Engagement in Intag, EcuadorLinda D'AmicoChapter 2. Spaces for Transdisciplinary Dialogues on the Relationship between Local Communities and their Environment: The Case of a Rural Community in the Calchaqui Valley (Salta, Argentina)Marta Crivos, Maria Rosa Martinez, Laura Teves, and Carolina Remorini Chapter 3. Affective Solidarities? Participating in and Witnessing Fair Trade and Women's Empowerment in Transnational Communities of PracticeDebarati SenPART II: SUSTAINABLE URBANISMChapter 4. Plural Citizenship and Social Inclusion in Brazil's Urban Communities of PracticeCarla Guerron MonteroChapter 5. The Role of Communities of Practice in Urban Rights Activism in Istanbul, TurkeyDanielle V. Schoon and Funda OralChapter 6. Cultivating Civic Ecology A Photovoice Study with Urban Gardeners in Lisbon, PortugalKrista Harper and Ana Isabel AfonsoChapter 7. Knowledge Production and Emancipatory Social Movements from the Heart of Globalized Hipsterdom, Williamsburg, BrooklynSam BeckPART III: ORGANIZING FOR SUSTAINABILITYChapter 8. Knowing Sustainability: Building Communities of Practice through Project-Based Learning in Urban Ecology at High Tech HighCarl A. MaidaChapter 9. Inventing Eco-Cycle A Social Enterprise Approach to Sustainability EducationSandy Smith-NoniniChapter 10. Confronting Tyranny in a Public Health Agency: Crafting a 'Philosophy of Praxis' into a 'Community of Resistance'Brian McKennaChapter 11. Local Trade and Exchange/Employment Systems (LETS) in Future Eco-sustainable SocietiesRichard Westra

About the Author :
Carl A. Maida is a professor in the Institute of the Environment and Sustainability and Director of the Pre-College Science Education Program at the University of California, Los Angeles. His publications include Sustainability and Communities of Place (2007) and Pathways Through Crisis: Urban Risk and Public Culture (2008). He co-edited with Sam Beck Toward Engaged Anthropology (2013) and Public Anthropology in a Borderless World (2015). He is a Fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science, the American Anthropological Association, and the Society for Applied Anthropology.Sam Beck is a senior lecturer in the College of Human Ecology and the Urban Semester Program at Cornell University. His publications include Manny Almeida's Ringside Lounge: The Cape Verdean Struggle for Their Neighborhood (1992). He co-edited, with Carl A Maida Toward Engaged Anthropology (2013) and Public Anthropology in a Borderless World (2015). He was recognized by Cornell University with the 2006 Award for Outstanding Community and Public Service.

Review :

"An interesting and consistently well-written book. Academics and researchers working on sustainability issues from the fields of anthropology, sociology, and other social sciences will find this book a worthwhile read, particularly for research grounded in the case study approach." - Choice

"...a valuable contribution to discussions of local-level sustainability, and will be a useful reference for applied anthropologists and other practitioners." - JRAI (Journal of the Royal Anthropological Institute)