Cultures of Sustainability and Wellbeing

Paola Spinozzi is Associate Professor of English Literature at the University of Ferrara. Her research focuses on the relationships between literature and visual art, science, utopia as a genre and sustainability.Massimiliano Mazzanti is Professor of Political Economy at the University of Ferrara. He specialises in environmental policy, economics of innovation and waste management.

• Pillars and Circles: Wellbeing at the Core of Sustainability Paola Spinozzi and Massimiliano MazzantiPart I. Sustainable Wellbeing in Theory and HistoryPrologue Paola SpinozziI.1. Creating Capacities for Human Flourishing: An Alternative Approach to Human Development Paul JamesI.2. The Incongruities of Sustainability: An Examination of the UN Earth Summit Declarations 1972-2012 Gonzalo Salazar I.3. Slow Living and Sustainability: The Victorian Legacy Wendy ParkinsI.4. Innovation and Consumption in the Evolution of Capitalist Societies Pier Paolo Saviotti1.5. In a Prescient Mode. (Un)Sustainable Societies in the Post/Apocalyptic Genre Paola SpinozziPart II. Policies and Institutions for WellbeingPrologue Massimiliano MazzantiII.1. Contextualising Sustainability: Socio-Economic Dynamics, Technology and Policy Massimiliano Mazzanti and Marianna GilliII.2. Social Equity and Ecological Sustainability through the Lens of Degrowth Valeria AndreoniII.3. Institutionalist Climate Governance for Pleasant Cities and the Good Life Gjalt Huppes and Ruben HueleII.4. Assessing Public Awareness about Biodiversity in Europe Anna KalinowskaII.5. Is the Current Global Role of English Sustainable? Richard ChapmanPart III. Sustainable Wellbeing Via Habitat and CitizenshipPrologue Paola Spinozzi and Massimiliano MazzantiIII.1. The Impact of Settlements on Urban River Basins and the Case of the Belém River in Curitiba, Brazil Gilda Cassilha, Marta Gabardo, Sylvia Leitão, and Zulma SchusselIII.2. Creative Social Innovation and Social Urbanism: The Case of Medellin Ana Elena Builes Vélez and María Florencia GuidobonoIII.3. Long-term Visions and Ordinary Management: Post-Earthquake Reconstruction in the Italian Region of Emilia Gianfranco FranzIII.4. Urban Life and Climate Change at the Core of Political Dialogue: A Focus on Saint-Louis du Sénégal Adrien Coly, Fatimatou Sall, Mohamed Diatta C.B.C., and Chérif Samsédine SarrIII.5. Is Ethno-tourism a Strategy of Sustainable Wellbeing? A Focus on Mapuche Entrepreneurs Gonzalo Valdivieso, Andrés Ried and Sofía RojoIII.6. Japanese Castle Towns as Models for Contemporary Urban Planning Shigeru SatohIII.7. Vietnam’s Pathway towards Sustainability: Stories Half-told Nhai Pham and Dan Tong

"Methodologically sophisticated and thematically wide-ranging, this innovative anthology examines the multiple links between planetary sustainability and human wellbeing. The contributors succeed admirably in presenting holistic alternatives to conventional forms of human development that balance social and ecological concerns." — Manfred B. Steger, Professor of Sociology, University of Hawai’i at Manoa"This comprehensive volume brings an entirely new perspective to debates on sustainability by linking a contemporary global view to historical considerations. In doing so it interrogates conventional wisdom, including that found in academic discussion, which too often supposes that contemporary capitalism is the only point of departure for human prospect in a time of species peril. The book rightly insists that the prize of human wellbeing is a cultural and historical project that demands an open and critical enquiry." — Brendan Gleeson, Director of the Melbourne Sustainable Society Institute, The University of Melbourne, Australia"Spinozzi and Mazzanti demonstrate how the scope of interdisciplinary dialogue extends to devising holistic creative solutions for the future. The new view of sustainable development theorized and illustrated in the book incorporates global and local perspectives, focuses on social wellbeing and is grounded on a human development approach. The use of speculative literature to assess the representation of sustainable and unsustainable futures sets fertile ground for a stronger cooperation between the humanities and the sciences." — Fátima Vieira, University of Porto, Portugal, and Coordinator of the ARUS Network - Advanced Research in Utopian Studies