O'Callaghan, Cian and Corcoran, Mary and Fuller, Wendy Irene
(2012)
Sustaining communities: setting the agenda.
GeoJournal, 77 (2).
pp. 135-140.
ISSN 0343-2521
Abstract
The concept of ‘sustaining communities’ has been
mobilised in myriad ways across academic, political
and policy domains, despite the tendency of the term
to defy easy definition (Boyle et al. 2008; Brownhill
and Carpenter 2009; Davies 2002; Raco 2005;
Schofield 2002). The idea of sustaining communities
is generally thought to be a good one, though the
precise means through which it may be achieved
often remain opaque. The rationale underlying this
special issue is to explore this concept from a multidisciplinary
or cross-disciplinary perspective in order
to shed light on its versatility, fluidity and contingency
across divergent geographical and institutional
contexts. We recognise the growing resonance of
concepts such as sustaining communities in the
context of post-Fordist spatial and economic restructuring,
and particularly in relation to the ‘neoliberal’
political project that has been reshaping not only the
political landscape but also the ideological underpinnings
of societies in various ways. A growing body of
work within Geography and Sociology is beginning
to emphasise the unique ways in which supposedly
‘global’ processes are experienced within different
geographical, institutional and cultural contexts
(Amin and Thrift 2002; England and Ward 2007;
Massey 2004; Ong 2007). There has also been
resurgence in geographies of comparative urbanism
(Ward 2008). Robinson’s (2006) insistence on the
importance of the geographies of ‘ordinary cities’ has
stimulated a discussion about the ways in which we
compare places and contexts, and how we should
conceptualise difference and similarity in contemporary
society (Dear 2005; Kantor and Savitch 2005;
McCann 2008; Nijman 2007; Pierre 2005). In recognition
of such debates, we were interested in editing a
volume that would explore the concept of sustaining
communities in national or cross-national contexts.
We asked prospective authors to look at how
community was conceptualised, how it was manifested
in practice and how it was framed within wider
policy discourses. Through this editorial approach,
we hoped to initiate and promote a comparative
debate on the theoretical underpinnings and policy
formation of, and responses to, the issue of sustaining
communities within an international context.
| Item Type: |
Article
|
| Keywords: |
Sustaining communities; society; politics; geographies; |
| Academic Unit: |
Faculty of Social Sciences > Sociology |
| Item ID: |
8955 |
| Identification Number: |
https://doi.org/10.1007/s10708-009-9329-y |
| Depositing User: |
Prof. Mary Corcoran
|
| Date Deposited: |
06 Nov 2017 15:14 |
| Journal or Publication Title: |
GeoJournal |
| Publisher: |
Springer |
| Refereed: |
Yes |
| URI: |
|
| Use Licence: |
This item is available under a Creative Commons Attribution Non Commercial Share Alike Licence (CC BY-NC-SA). Details of this licence are available
here |
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