Social Sustainability: A Multilevel Approach to Social Inclusion

How can we raise the standard of living of the world’s poor and maintain high levels of social health and well-being in the developed world, while simultaneously reducing the environmental damage wrought by human activity? The social dimension of sustainability is becoming recognized as a necessary if not sufficient condition for attaining economic and environmental sustainability. The requisite dialogue requires inclusion at multi-levels. This collection of works is an ambitious and multi-disciplinary effort to indemnify and articulate the design, implementation and implications of inclusion. Included are theoretical and empirical pieces that examine the related issues at the local, national and international levels. Contributors are grounded in Sociology, Economics, Business Administration, Public Administration, Public Health, Psychology, Anthropology, Social Work, Education, and Natural Resource Management.

Veronica Dujon is associate dean of the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences and a professor in the Department of Sociology at Portland State University, where she co-teaches a seminar on Social Sustainability.

Jesse Dillard is a professor in Accounting at Portland State University.  He also holds appointments at Queens University – Belfast, Victoria University of Wellington, and Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona.

Eileen M. Brennan is a research professor of Social Work, Regional Research Institute for Human Services, School of Social Work, Portland State University.