[go: up one dir, main page]
Skip to main content
SpringerLink
Log in

Determining Localisation Metrics

  • Published:
Social Indicators Research Aims and scope Submit manuscript

Abstract

Assisting those wanting to explore localisation as a transformative sustainability strategy, this article provides the results of interviews with six localisation experts to determine localisation metrics. The interviews aimed to determine localisation qualities that should be captured for localisation measurement, and/or metrics that might be used to measure these. The shared expert belief and opinion regarding these metrics and qualities was expanded using writings by these and other experts. The formed metric set includes: (1) resource self-reliance; (2) resource dependence; (3) social health; (4) environmental damage/impact; (5) localisation type/governance participation; and (6) control and ownership of resources, land, assets and business. These metrics may be used to determine how localised a community, region, or country is, and to form localisation indexes. This article describes the formation of the metric set, and may assist clarification of localisation understandings by enabling measurement.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this article

Log in via an institution

Subscribe and save

Springer+ Basic
$34.99 /Month
  • Get 10 units per month
  • Download Article/Chapter or eBook
  • 1 Unit = 1 Article or 1 Chapter
  • Cancel anytime
Subscribe now

Buy Now

Price excludes VAT (USA)
Tax calculation will be finalised during checkout.

Instant access to the full article PDF.

Institutional subscriptions

Similar content being viewed by others

References

  • Abdallah, S., Michaelson, J., Shah, S., Stoll, L., & Marks, N. (2012). Happy Planet Index report 2012 (Vol. 3). London: The New Economics Foundation.

    Google Scholar 

  • Abdallah, S., Thompson, S., Michaelson, J., Marks, N., & Steuer, N. (2009). Happy Planet Index report 2009 (Vol. 2). London: The New Economics Foundation.

    Google Scholar 

  • Babbie, E. (2007). The practice of social research (11th ed.). Belmont, CA: Thomson Wadsworth.

    Google Scholar 

  • Bilbao-Ubillos, J. (2013). The limits of Human Development Index: The complementary role of economic and social cohesion, development strategies and sustainability. Sustainable Development, 21(6), 400–412. doi:10.1002/sd.525.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Boyatzis, R. E. (1998). Transforming qualitative information: Thematic analysis and code development. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage.

    Google Scholar 

  • Cavanagh, J., & Mander, J. (2004). Alternatives to economic globalization: A better world is possible (2nd ed.). San Francisco, CA: Berrett-Koehler. (updated and expanded ed.).

    Google Scholar 

  • Clarke, V., & Braun, V. (2013). Teaching thematic analysis. Psychologist, 26(2), 120–123.

    Google Scholar 

  • Colclough, G., & Sitaraman, B. (2005). Community and social capital: What is the difference? Sociological Inquiry, 75(4), 474–496. doi:10.1111/j.1475-682X.2005.00133.x.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Cullen, E. (2004). Unprecedented growth, but for whose benefit? Curing Global Crises—Let’s treat the disease not the symptoms, FEASTA REVIEW Number 2. https://archive.org/details/Curing_Global_Criseslets_treat_the_disease_not_the_symptoms.

  • Curtis, F. (2003). Eco-localism and sustainability. Ecological Economics, 46(1), 83–102. doi:10.1016/S0921-8009(03)00102-2.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Daly, H. (1990). Toward some operational principles of sustainable development. Ecological Economics, 2(1), 1–6. doi:10.1016/0921-8009(90)90010-r.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • De Young, R., Princen, T. (2012). In R. De Young & T. Princen (Eds.), The localization reader. USA: The MIT Press.

  • Dietz, T., Rosa, E., & York, R. (2009). Environmentally efficient wellbeing: Rethinking sustainability as the relationship between human wellbeing and environmental impacts. Human Ecology Review, 16(9), 114.

    Google Scholar 

  • Douthwaite, R. (2004). Why localisation is essential for sustainability Feasta review (pp. 114–123). Dublin: Foundation for the Economics of Sustainability.

    Google Scholar 

  • Doyle, T. (1998). Sustainable development and Agenda 21: The secular bible of global free markets and pluralist democracy. Third World Quarterly, 19(4), 771–786. doi:10.1080/01436599814235.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • DuPuis, M., & Goodman, D. (2005). Should we go home to eat? Toward a reflexive politics of localism. Journal of Rural Studies, 21(3), 359–371. doi:10.1016/j.jrurstud.2005.05.011.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Easterlin, R. (1995). Will raising the incomes of all increase the happiness of all. Journal of Economic Behaviour and Organization, 27(1), 35–47.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Eckersley, R. (2006). Is modern western culture a health hazard? International Journal of Epidemiology, 35(2), 252–258.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Ekins, P., Dresner, S., & Dahlström, K. (2008). The four-capital method of sustainable development evaluation. European Environment, 18(2), 63–80. doi:10.1002/eet.471.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Engelbrecht, H. (2009). Natural capital, subjective well-being, and the new welfare economics of sustainability: Some evidence from cross-country regressions. Ecological Economics, 69(2), 380–388. doi:10.1016/j.ecolecon.2009.08.011.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Fields, G. (1998). Social capital and capital gains, or virtual bowling in Silicon Valley (Vol. 12825). UC, Berkeley: UCAIS Berkeley Roundtable on the International Economy.

    Google Scholar 

  • Frankova, E., & Johanisova, N. (2012). Economic localisation revisited. Environmental Policy and Governance, 22(5), 307–321. doi:10.1002/eet.1593.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Funtowicz, S., & Ravetz, J. (1994). The worth of a songbird: Ecological economics as a post-normal science. Ecological Economics, 10(3), 197–207. http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/0921-8009(94)90108-2.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Global Footprint Network. (2010). The ecological footprint atlas 2010. Global Footprint Network, Research and Standards Department. http://www.footprintnetwork.org/images/uploads/Ecological_Footprint_Atlas_2010.pdf.

  • Goldstein, J. (1985). Basic human needs: The plateau curve. World Development, 13(5), 595–609. doi:10.1016/0305-750X(85)90024-5.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Helliwell, J. (2003). How’s life? Combining individual and national variables to explain subjective well-being. Economic Modeling, 20(2), 331–360.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Helliwell, J., Layard, R., & Sachs, J. (2012). World happiness report.

  • Hicks, N., & Streeten, P. (1979). Indicators of development: The search for a basic needs yardstick. World Development, 7(6), 567–580. doi:10.1016/0305-750X(79)90093-7.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Hines, C. (2003). A global look to the local: Replacing economic globalisation with democratic localisation. In M. Pimbert (Ed.), Institutionalising participation series. London, UK: The International Institute for Environment and Development (IIED).

    Google Scholar 

  • Holmgren, D. (2009). In C. Labrie (Ed.), Future Scenario’s: How communities can adapt to peak oil and climate change. Vermont: Chelsea Green Publishing.

  • Hopkins, R. (2010). Localisation and resiliance at the local level: The case of transition town Totnes (Doctor of philosophy). Plymouth: University of Plymouth.

    Google Scholar 

  • Howard, J. (2013). Managing the natural environment: The role of park rangers and the skills they need. Rural Society, 22(3), 242–250. doi:10.5172/rsj.2013.22.3.242.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Jackson, T. (2012). Prosperity without growth: Economics for a finite planet. Retrieved from http://CSUAU.eblib.com/patron/FullRecord.aspx?p=461413.

  • Keynes, J. (1933). National self-sufficiency. The Yale review, (Summer, 1933). Retrieved from http://www.panarchy.org/keynes/national.1933.html.

  • Klein, C. (2013). Social capital or social cohesion: What matters for subjective wellbeing? Social Indicators Research, 110(3), 891–911.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Knight, K., & Rosa, E. (2011). The environmental efficiency of well-being: A cross-national analysis. Social Science Research, 40(3), 931–949. doi:10.1016/j.ssresearch.2010.11.002.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Lamberton, G. (2005). Sustainable sufficiency: An internally consistent version of sustainability. Sustainable Development, 13(1), 53.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Lane, R. (2000a). Diminishing returns to income, companionship and happiness. Journal of Happiness Studies, 1(1), 103–119. doi:10.1023/A:1010080228107.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Lane, R. (2000b). The loss of happiness in market democracies. New Haven: Yale University Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Luck, G., Davidson, P., Boxall, D., & Smallbone, L. (2011). Relations between urban bird and plant communities and human well-being and connection to nature. Conservation Biology, 25(4), 816–826. doi:10.1111/j.1523-1739.2011.01685.x.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • MacQueen, K., McLellan, E., Metzger, D., & Kegeles, S. (2001). What is community? An evidence-based definition for participatory public health. American Journal of Public Health, 91(12), 1929–1938.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Mander, J., & Goldsmith, E. (2001). The case against the global economy: And for a turn towards localisation (Revised and updated international edition). London: Earthscan.

    Google Scholar 

  • Martinez-Alier, J. (2008). Languages of valuation. Economic and Political Weekly, 43(48), 28–32. doi:10.2307/40278233.

    Google Scholar 

  • Max-Neef, M. (2010). The world on a collision course and the need for a new economy: Contribution to the 2009 Royal Colloquium. Ambio, 39(3), 200–210.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Maynard, J., & Thelwell, R. (2000). A consensus analysis of elite cricketers’ perceptions of factors influencing repeatable good performance. Journal of Sports Sciences, 18(1), 59.

    Google Scholar 

  • Meadows, D., & Randers, J. (2004). The limits to growth: The 30-year update. White River Junction (Vt): Chelsea Green.

    Google Scholar 

  • Mulder, K., & Ferrer-Balas, D. (2012). What do EESD “experts” think sustainability is? Which pedagogy is suitable to learn it? International Journal of Sustainability in Higher Education, 13(3), 293–304.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Norberg-Hodge, H. (2008). The North–South divide. The Ecologist, 38, 14–15.

    Google Scholar 

  • Norberg-Hodge, H., Gorelick, S., & Page, J. (2011). The Economics of Happiness. Australia.

  • Norberg-Hodge, H. (2012). Localisation: An economics of personal and ecological well-being. Retrieved from http://www.permacultureday.org/localisation-an-economics-of-personal-and-ecological-wellbeing/.

  • O’Riordan, T. (2013). Sustainability for wellbeing. Environmental Innovation and Societal Transitions, 6, 24–34. doi:10.1016/j.eist.2012.12.001.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Olivier, M. (2016). Exploring the relationship between localisation and sustainability (Doctorate). Charles Sturt University, Albury, Australia.

  • O’Riordan, T. (2012). On social sustainability in a world of limits facing prolonged austerity. Sustainability: Science, Practice, & Policy, 8(1), 1.

    Google Scholar 

  • Rees, W. (2010). What’s blocking sustainability? Human nature, cognition, and denial. Sustainability: Science, Practice, & Policy, 6(2), 13–25.

    Google Scholar 

  • Scholte, J. (2008). Defining globalisation. World Economy, 31(11), 1471–1502. doi:10.1111/j.1467-9701.2007.01019.x.

    Google Scholar 

  • Schumacher, E. (1973). Small is beautiful: Economics as if people mattered. London: Blond & Briggs.

    Google Scholar 

  • Shiva, V. (2005). Earth democracy: Justice, sustainability, and peace. Cambridge, MA: South End Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Shuman, M. (2010). Relocalising business. State of the World 2010: Transforming cultures from consumerism to sustainability. http://www.thegloucesterproject.org.au/documents/aboutTGP/pdfs/Relocalising-Business.pdf.

  • Stiglitz, J., Amartya, S., Fitoussi, J. (2009). Report by the Commission on the Measurement of Economic Performance and Social Progress. Commission on the Measurement of Economic Performance and Social Progress.

  • Trainer, T. (2010a). The global predicament: Radical implications for design. Architectural Science Review, 53(1), 29+.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Trainer, T. (2010b). The transition to a sustainable and just world. Canterbury, NSW: Envirobook.

    Google Scholar 

  • Trainer, T. (2012). The simpler way—Working for transition from consumer society to a simpler, more cooperative, just and ecologically sustainable society. Retrieved from http://socialsciences.arts.unsw.edu.au/tsw/.

  • Veenhoven, R. (2005). Apparent quality-of-life in nations: How long and happy people live. Social Indicators Research, 71(1–3), 61–86. doi:10.1007/s11205-004-8014-2.

    Google Scholar 

  • Vemuri, A., & Costanza, R. (2006). The role of human, social, built, and natural capital in explaining life satisfaction at the country level: Toward a national well-being index (NWI). Ecological Economics, 58(1), 119–133. doi:10.1016/j.ecolecon.2005.02.008.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Victor, P., & Jackson, T. (2012). A commentary on UNEP’s green economy scenarios. Ecological Economics, 77, 11–15. doi:10.1016/j.ecolecon.2012.02.028.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Wackernagel, M., Rees, W., & Testemale, P. (1996). Our ecological footprint: Reducing human impact on the earth. Gabriola Island, BC: New Society Publishers.

    Google Scholar 

  • Wasserman, R., Bocian, A., & Harris, D. (2011). Limited capacity in US pediatric drug trials: Qualitative analysis of expert interviews. Pediatric Drugs, 13(2), 119–124.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • WCED. (1987). Our common future (Australian ed.). Melbourne: Oxford University Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Wicks, J. (2004). Our mart, not Wal-Mart: Is the independently-owned neighborhood ice-cream parlor the real alternative to corporate globalization? The local living-economy movement thinks so. The Other Side, 40, 19.

    Google Scholar 

  • Wilkinson, R., & Pickett, K. (2009). The spirit level: Why equal societies almost always do better. New York: Bloomsbury Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Wilkinson, R., Pickett, K., & De Vogli, R. (2010). Equality, sustainability, and quality of life. British Medical Journal, 341.

Download references

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. School of Environmental Sciences, Charles Sturt University, PO Box 789, Albury, NSW, 2640, Australia

    Michelle M. Olivier, Benjamin P. Wilson & Johnathon L. Howard

  2. 55 Bullgarra Rd, Wilsons Creek, NSW, 2482, Australia

    Michelle M. Olivier

Authors
  1. Michelle M. Olivier
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  2. Benjamin P. Wilson
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  3. Johnathon L. Howard
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Michelle M. Olivier.

Appendices

Appendix 1: Localisation Expert Interview Guide

SCHOOL OF ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCES

INSTITUTE FOR LAND, WATER AND SOCIETY, CHARLES STURT UNIVERSITY, AUSTRALIA

LOCALISATION EXPERT INTERVIEW GUIDE

Background Information

  • Name of Interviewer…………………………Time….…………Date………………

  • Name of Respondent……………………………

Introduction

  • Hello my name is Michelle Olivier. I am a student from Charles Sturt University, Australia.

  • I am researching localisation and sustainability.

  • Please remember that participation in this interview is voluntary and you are free to withdraw at any time. The information that will be collected from you will be treated with confidentiality if you would like, and the results of the project can be made available to you if interested. Is it OK with you if the interview is recorded?

  • Thank you for consenting to participate in this research.

  • Now I would like us to proceed to the interview, which will take about 1 h.

  1. 1.

    How do you believe that localisation might be recognised?

    • What sort of spatial boundaries?

    • Resource use

    • Social aspects

    • Political aspects

    • Governance aspects

  2. 2.

    What does localisation mean or constitute to you?

    • Centralised government involvement

    • Trade with other regions

    • International trade

  3. 3.

    What do you believe is the relationship of localisation to sustainability?

    • Its role

    • As a sustainability strategy

    • In the future

  4. 4.

    What are your thoughts on localisation as a sustainability strategy?

  5. 5.

    What metrics do you believe might best represent localisation for measurement purposes?

    • Resources

    • Social

    • Community

    • Governance

  6. 6.

    How would you succinctly define localisation?

    • Physical description

    • Logistical arrangements

    • Life requirements

    • Political structures

Appendix 2: Localisation Interview Q. 5 Metrics Word Count

Localisation metrics word count

Word

Count

Weighted percentage

Similar words

Local

32

2.74

Local, localism, locally

Localisation

21

1.80

Localisation, localised, localising

Measures

19

1.63

Measure, measurement, measures, measuring

Metric

14

1.20

Metric, metrics

Energy

11

0.94

Energy

People

10

0.86

People

Economy

8

0.68

Economy

Dependency

5

0.43

Dependency

Miles

5

0.43

Miles

Blueprint

4

0.34

Blueprint

Fossil

4

0.34

Fossil

Central

4

0.34

Central, centralised

Adapt

3

0.26

Adapt, adapting

Behavior

3

0.26

Behavior

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Check for updates. Verify currency and authenticity via CrossMark

Cite this article

Olivier, M. ., Wilson, B.P. & Howard, J.L. Determining Localisation Metrics. Soc Indic Res 131, 467–487 (2017). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11205-016-1269-6

Download citation

  • Accepted:

  • Published:

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11205-016-1269-6

Keywords

Search

Navigation