Amplifiers on the Commons: Using Indicators to Foster Place-Based Sustainability Initiatives

Abstract

As with watershed management or adaptive management plans, place-based sustainability initiatives are required to deal with complex and intertwining systems of social and ecological organization. One approach to fostering successful place-based initiatives features the development and use of sustainability indicators to promote community dialog, thereby amplifying the risks and opportunities of movement toward more environmentally benign practices. This article uses the author's personal experience as a methodological springboard for demonstrating how the development of sustainability indicators at a landscape-scale were incorporated into community-based planning in the Lake Superior Basin. An introduction to the science and practice of indicator development is followed by two case studies involving different spatial and temporal scales of community engagement in the development of place-based sustainability initiatives. The relative success of these examples leads to a suite of principles for using public participation as a means for stressing the opportunities occasioned by the sustainability imperative.

Keywords:

• Sustainability Indicators
• Place-Based Initiatives
• Amplification of Risk
• Lake Superior

Additional information

Notes on contributors

James G. Cantrill

James G. Cantrill is a Professor in the Department of Communication & Performance Studies, Northern Michigan University