Culture in for and as Sustainable Development

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interface of the material and the cognitive or
perceptual worlds, in the transition from past
to future, in the symbiosis of global with local
and of people and place, the interdependence
of production and consumption (and the impacts
of both), to mention but a few examples.
We propose a loose-knit yet interwoven set of
future research principles. They constitute a
strategic framework for the next stages, perhaps
over the next decade or so, of research
into understanding and acting on the central
place that culture holds in sustainability discourse.
In summary, research should:
• achieve true interdisciplinarity, beyond and
between the domains (social sciences and
humanities, natural sciences, technological
sciences, etc)
• reach out towards transdisciplinary
research involving other stakeholders
• envision the co-creation and co-production
of knowledge, for example by integrating
local knowledge in research, and by espousing
participative and transdisciplinary
practices
• stretch beyond Europe and develop intercontinental
collaborative practices, also
between global South(s) and North(s)
• integrate and valorise quantitative and
qualitative data and methodologies equally
• expand ecological research from climate
change and biodiversity to wider variety of
issues, including socio-cultural points of
view
• contribute towards practical applications
and the re-formulation of policy at all levels,
in other words seek to be transformative
in the ways that citizens, actors and
governments see and shape the future
Following these general research principles,
we suggest a number of more-or-less specific
individual research lines. We have grouped
them in four clusters, broadly speaking, relating
to concepts, methods, evidence and
themes, but nonetheless we of course insist
on their overarching interconnectedness.
• Refining and operationalisation
of conceptual approaches
> Further clarification and specification of
the interface, interrelationship and overlap
between culture and sustainable development
> Investigation into how the three roles of
culture work in practice: what are the political,
philosophical and practical prerequisites?
> Exploration of ‘cultural sustainability’ in
relation to other unifying and mainstreaming
frameworks and new evolving frameworks
• Developing methodologies
and practices, such as
> Definition and selection of indicators or
guidelines to analyse and manage regional
development through unifying culturally-related
filters such as landscape, ecosystem
services or territory
> Further development of the practice of
place-based assessments that use culture
to create new opportunities, wealth,
quality of life and progressive development
> Revival and modernised use of the concept
of commons, including consideration
of public/private conflicts, the formation/
transformation of common (social) memory
and cultural and counter mapping
> Development of methods for mobilising
and motivating individuals and communities
in activism and in sustainable thinking
and for studying processes of catalysation
(who leads, whose agendas)
> Devising and testing new methods for influencing
and shaping eco-environmental
action and injecting it with greater culturally-sensitive
and culturally-informed
awareness
> Designing ways to use and benefit from
cultural activity and creativity in spatial
planning