In this episode, Ben is joined by Dr Olalekan (Lekan) Adekola, Senior Lecturer in Geography at York St John University, to discuss the concept of ‘Sustainability’ – a term that has become commonplace in discussions of development and its environmental impacts. We examine the origins of this term, its contemporary associations and applications (particularly in relation to ideas of ‘sustainable development’), and the importance of considering sustainability beyond the environment, to encompass social and economic relations. We also discuss the relevance and critical exploration of this key concept within geographical scholarship, and the value of reflecting on how sustainability – as both a concept and a practice – manifests itself differently in particular places and times.

Below, for those who are interested, are some links to relevant readings mentioned in conversation and that further flesh out the concepts / topics discussed...

Key Reading #1: Jacobus Du Pisani offers a neat overview of the historical roots of the idea of sustainability in his 2006 article – ‘Sustainable development: historical roots of the concept’ – published in Environmental Sciences, including reflections on the ways in which notions of living ‘sustainably’ have permeated discussions of human-environmental relations for several centuries. Link here: https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/15693430600688831

Key Reading #2: Although over 10 years old, Jenny Pickerill and Larch Maxey’s review of ‘Geographies of Sustainability’ (published in 2009 in Geography Compass) provides a useful way into thinking spatially about this concept, and some of the ways in which geographers have sought to critically engage with and apply it. Link here: https://compass.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1111/j.1749-8198.2009.00237.x

Further Reading: John Robinson’s 2004 article in Ecological Economics (‘Squaring the circle? Some thoughts on the idea of sustainable development’) offers a critical perspective on the idea of ‘sustainable development’, and its circulation, since the term first came to prominence in the late 1980s. The article elaborates some of the critiques of the term discussed in the podcast episode, as well as how these might be addressed. Link here: https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0921800904000175

Further Reading: Margaret Robertson’s textbook Sustainability Principles and Practice has recently been released in its 3rd edition (2021). A useful resource for students that offers a way into the cross-disciplinary concerns of sustainability, its challenges, practices and key debates, complemented with discussion questions, further reading, and key examples. A preview is available via Google Books here: https://www.google.co.uk/books/edition/Sustainability_Principles_and_Practice/WuMUEAAAQBAJ?hl=en&gbpv=0

(C) 2022. Produced / Edited by B. Garlick