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The book provides an assessment of whether sustainability is realizable in the current societal framework. What are the challenges and the barriers - and what are the levers necessary to meet and overcome them?
Through a revision of the essence of sustainability the book provides an opportunity to understand the deeper level of the radical change that sustainability represents, and the resistance that is preventing its realization.
To build the argument the sustainable development model is compared with current development theories as well as alternative solutions based on utopian models of the past. The book assesses the results that can be achieved within the current systemic framework, based on case stories. It outlines the limitations to sustainability, pointing out and defining the multiple, cross-sectoral and systemic barriers that hinder the transition.
Finally, the book offers perspectives on achieving a sustainable future, encompassing the impacts from recent events including the pandemic as well as the multiple mitigation and transition initiatives undertaken globally.
Brian Goodwin's QuoteLike the caterpillar that wraps itself up in its silken swaddling bands prior to its metamorphosis into a butterfly, we have wrapped ourselves in a tangled skin from which we can emerge only by going through a similarly dramatic transformation.
List of contents
Preface.- Introduction.- Part One: The essence of sustainability: definitions, interpretations and applications.- Part Two: The challenges of the economic development model.- Part Three: Embracing utopian thought.- Part Four: Sustainability in the current economic paradigm.- Part Five: Barriers to sustainability.- Part Six: Future perspectives - a new beginning?.- Part Seven: Conclusion.
About the author
Karen Blincoe, originally educated in design, obtained her PhD in sustainability at the University of Kingston, London, UK and MPhil at the University of Brighton, UK.
Dr. Blincoe has pioneered sustainability initiatives such as founding the ICIS Center and co-founding Chora 2030 in Denmark. She was previously Director of Schumacher College, UK, Visiting Professor at the University of Brighton, and Reader in Sustainable Futures, Goldsmith's University, London. Dr. Blincoe was President of Danish Designers, DK, and Vice-president of ICoD. She is currently a consultant, advisor, and writer on sustainability issues; a member of the Danish Design Council, DK and of the Royal Society of Arts, UK; a boardmember of Chora 2030 and of Samsø Energy Academy, DK.
