Sustainability backfire: The unintended consequences of failing to engage neighborhood residents in policymaking

ABSTRACT

Urban planners, community activists, and public archeologists, among others, recognize the importance of engaging residents and their knowledge in developing policies and programs. However, sustainability is typically treated as a top-down challenge. In this article, we demonstrate that sustainability policies might break down or backfire when officials fail to directly involve residents, particularly disenfranchised residents. This conclusion emerges from qualitative research through a neighborhood organizing project in Binghamton, New York. We use a citywide pay-as-you-throw trash policy and a public park design process to illustrate that sustainability was not achieved by widely touted best practices implemented on a municipalitywide basis. The lack of broad inclusivity and participation by disenfranchised residents at the neighborhood level meant that officials missed important knowledge and perspectives, which undercut the effectiveness of sustainability efforts. Sustainability citizenship requires that residents have the space and means to organize and participate—something that local governments should create.

Acknowledgments

We thank Research Assistant Kate Dillon as well as the Anthropology and Sustainable Communities students who conducted and coded interviews. Thank you to Dr. Pamela Mischen for introducing us to the neighborhood and to Safe Streets for embracing us as partners in this activist effort. The planning project was overseen by a team of resident committee members; our thanks also go to them. We appreciate the patience and guidance of our reviewers and editor as well as the organizers of this special issue. Most important, we thank the residents of the North of Main neighborhood who let us work with them on this community improvement project.

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.

Additional information

Funding

This project was funded, in part, by a Binghamton University Sustainable Communities Transdisciplinary Area of Excellence grant as well as the U.S. Department of Agriculture (No. 2014-68006-21834).

Notes on contributors

George C. Homsy

George C. Homsy directs the Sustainable Communities graduate program at Binghamton University, where he is an Assistant Professor in the Public Administration Department. He researches the factors that shape sustainability policies at the municipal and neighborhood levels, especially in small- to medium-sized cities and towns. Homsy links his research to practice through collaborations with local governments, professional organizations, and neighborhood residents. Previously, Homsy was an urban planning consultant helping small- and medium-sized municipalities in the Northeastern United States create environmentally and economically sustainable communities. He was also an environmental journalist for public radio and various print outlets.

Siobhan Hart

Siobhan Hart is Associate Professor of Anthropology at Skidmore College. Her teaching and research examine heritage practice, the politics of community recognition, and collaborative research in the American Northeast. As an anthropological archaeologist, she is interested in what we know about the past, how we know it, and how it matters to people today. She is author of the book Colonialism, Community, and Heritage in Native New England (University Press of Florida, 2019).