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Transport policies affect the quality of life and social wellbeing of citizens and communities; incorporating such impacts in policy and decision making, however, remains a challenge. This paper aims to: (1) present a systematic literature review that links transport policy to Community Wellbeing using the Capability Approach by Sen and Nussbaum, and (2) using that basis, establish a theoretical framework to systematically address Community Wellbeing impacts of municipal transport policies. This can improve qualitative assessments of policy interventions on multiple dimensions, such as safety, health, the (built) environment and accessibility, and inequalities within those dimensions. Using existing literature on the Capability Approach, Community Wellbeing dimensions can indeed successfully be integrated in transport policies. Additional tools and theories, such as the Theory of Change, are needed to structure relations between the sociotechnical transport system and the policy process. For analyses and assessment of policy interventions, additions from the affordances theory, potential accessibility, activity spaces, and sufficientarianism are needed to finalise the framework. Further development and testing of the framework is recommended. The most prominent research gaps are processes to set thresholds for sufficient accessibility, as well as potential limits to mobility behaviours through collective capabilities. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Infrastructure development's contribution to community wellbeing in sub-Saharan Africa (SSA) is largely unknown. Existing scholarship over-represents externally funded projects, sidelining micro-level initiatives. Empirical studies hardly apply Structural Equation Modeling (SEM) approaches that estimate wellbeing as a composite function of infrastructure development. We review the topical literature on infrastructure development and community wellbeing in SSA. We find positive effects of infrastructure development on community wellbeing in SSA. SEM was not applied in any reviewed case study. We then use the Partial Least Square Structural Equation Model (PLS – SEM) to assess the impacts of multiple micro-level infrastructure projects on community wellbeing in Cameroon. All four examined micro-projects had positive effects on community wellbeing. However, only the effects of two projects (hospitals and schools) were statistically significant. The study recommends more SEM-based studies as prerequisite to disentangling composite wellbeing benefits of infrastructure development in SSA, with cost efficiency and outcome-optimizing implications. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Practice-based case studies that describe learning from implementation are a useful source of evidence for policy makers, practitioners and researchers. Despite the value of narratives developed in context as a form of experiential or applied evidence, little is known about appropriate qualitative review and synthesis methods to deal with multiple practice-based case studies. This paper reports on a methodological study to develop and pilot a synthesis method using a sample of community wellbeing case studies focused on interventions to improve community infrastructure. The study was conducted in four interlinked phases: (i) literature review to scope synthesis methods (ii) piloting search and selection methods to identify a sample of relevant practice-based case studies that reported experiential learning (iii) undertaking cross case analysis and qualitative synthesis based on framework analysis methods (iv) review and reflection to produce a summative account of the method and agreed definition. The main output from the study was a staged approach to qualitative synthesis of practice-based case studies based on seven steps, which move from identification of a conceptual framework through to producing a narrative report. The potential transferability of this approach and its application in research and policy are critically discussed. Synthesis of case studies derived from community-based interventions could address knowledge gaps in the formal evidence base. While further methodological development is warranted, it is argued that study results form a credible qualitative framework for synthesising practice-based evidence. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The study encompasses a bibliometric analysis of the classical cultural organizations (museums, libraries and theaters), considering the mainstream academic research documenting the relationships between these organizations and their communities. The first part discusses how these organizations' focus and commitments have shifted from passive cultural aims, observing a social and educational turn towards communities. We observe a redefinition of their core purposes, becoming dynamic community and social spaces that promote sustainable development, social enrichment and wellbeing. They are no longer temples of culture, but complex hubs, spaces for engagement. Mainstream academic research gives more attention to the transformations in the library sector. Nevertheless, overall, it captures the transformations in all cultural organizations investigated, highlighting the importance of technology, community engagement and interdisciplinary approaches, as well as their growing significance in community development and wellbeing. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Active travel ("walking and cycling") is promoted because of its benefits to environmental sustainability and public health and wellbeing. Neighbourhood design, including provision of infrastructure for walking and cycling, can increase social cohesion and can positively affect sense of belonging and pride in the community. This paper investigates the experience of residents living in a suburb of the "Cycling City" of Oxford, UK, who endeavoured to walk and cycle for local journeys. We generated in-depth qualitative insights into regular active travel activity, first through biographical interviews, followed by micro-ethnographic mobile methods with members of the local community to observe and understand how everyday activities on foot or by cycle are performed and experienced. Jensen's "Staging Mobilities" framework is used to reveal how active travel is "staged from above" and how it is choreographed within the neighbourhood, "from below". By adopting this framework, we demonstrate how moving beyond the collection of "hard" data of movements between origins and destinations, to a more situated approach generating tacit knowledge from the ground up, can provide a more informed understanding of the broader social and cultural conditions under which active travel operates. This can help policy makers develop both physical and social infrastructures to support active travel so that it may contribute more effectively to increasing community wellbeing as well as contributing to sustainable development goals. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Cities are championing urban experiments in order to address societal challenges and increased urban complexity. In fact, and following fellow researchers, urban experiments are used as a method in a broader trend in public policy to align urban planning with citizen needs by viewing cities as platforms for societal transformation that require, and should draw on, active involvement of residents. In this study, we demonstrate the impacts of placemaking and Urban Living Labs not only for healthy environments but also in facilitating transdisciplinary learning. Therefore, we elaborate on the Aurora transformation process in the neighborhood GMS in Heerlen-North as being one of the 16 Dutch neighborhoods that need extra attention to its socio-urban challenges due to the historical context and consequent local development. Hence, providing two main results for ULLs as infrastructure for innovation for community wellbeing. First, as an alternative spatial planning approach for urban contexts with extreme social-urban conditions that draw on the multitude of local values to generate and accelerate urban transformations going beyond the traditional impacts of urban transformations including public health equity, health outcomes, and addressing social-economic determinants of community wellbeing. Second, as an infrastructure for education innovation encompassing and operationalising social learning theory. Subsequently, it addresses societal issues in these neighborhoods, such as loneliness, social exclusion, or democratic decision-making more appropriately and enhances student, and urban stakeholder, learning through transdisciplinary collaboration among those involved and by connecting education, research methods and questions, and real-life socio-urban challenges. We conclude the article by emphasizing its novelty, providing a discussion, and enumerating implications for theory, practice, policy, and research.

With mental illness remaining a significant burden of disease, there is an ongoing need for community-based health promotion, prevention, and responses (or “mental health promotion activities”). The health promotion, community development, and positive psychology literature identifies significant heterogeneity in the design and delivery of these activities. This variability spans: (1) individual vs. group outcomes, (2) psychological vs. sociological determinants of change, (3) promoting wellbeing vs. reducing mental health symptoms, and (4) the degree activities are contextualized vs. standardized in design and delivery. Mental health promotion activities do not easily accomplish this level of complexity within design and implementation. This has led to the emergence of the complexity-informed health promotion literature and the need for innovative tools, methods, and theories to drive this endeavor. This article directly responds to this call. It introduces “wellbeing-responsive community”: a vision and outcome hierarchy (or growth target) for intentionally delivered mental health promotion. The construct enables the design and implementation of interventions that intentionally respond to complexity and contextualization through the drivers of co-creation, intentionality, and local empowerment. It represents a community (support team, programme, agency, network, school, or region) that has the shared language, knowledge, methods, and skills to work together in shared intent. In other words, to integrate best-practice science with their local knowledge systems and existing strengths, and intentionally co-create and deliver contextualized wellbeing solutions at both the individual and community levels that span the “system” (e.g., whole-of-community) to the “moment” (e.g., intentional support and care). Co-creation, as applied through a transdisciplinary lens, is emerging as an evidence-based method to respond to complexity. This article describes the rationale and evidence underpinning the conceptualization of a wellbeing-responsive community through the integration of three key disciplines: (1) positive psychology, (2) ecological or systems approaches, and (3) intentional practice (implementation science). A definitional, contextual, and applied overview of the wellbeing-responsive community is provided, including a hierarchy of outcomes and associated definitions. Its purported application across education, mental health, community service, and organizational settings is discussed, including its potential role in making complexity-informed health promotion practical for all knowledge users.

Sustainability is an important issue in energy provision for meeting increasing needs. However, harvesting energy resources in communities while protecting the ecosystem and reducing issues of environmental degradation to the barest minimum are the ideal target for stakeholders, but usually not always attainable. The objective of this paper is therefore to review the sustainable energy arrangements with ambitions to significantly bridge the gaps between oil and gas operations of firms and improved community well-being in the Niger Delta Region, Nigeria using secondary information and data harvested from previously published studies found Online. Specifically, the paper will examine some effects of oil and gas exploration in communities, examines metrics that can be used to track community well-being, the possible conflicts of interest that could occur between firms and host communities in oil and gas operations as well as measures in the past to ameliorate these challenges and improve the community well-being in issues pertaining to oil and gas operations of firms. The study recommends that continuous stakeholder engagement be carried out in order to make for smooth oil and gas operations. Furthermore, it makes for proffers workable solutions to the challenges that accentuate possible conflicts. The study also identifies different key stakeholders in this gapbridging process and their various roles. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background. Wildfires often have long-lasting costs that are difficult to document and are rarely captured in full. Aims. We provide an example for measuring the full costs of a single wildfire over time, using a case study from the 2010 Schultz Fire near Flagstaff, Arizona, to enhance our understanding of the long-term costs of uncharacteristic wildfire. Methods. We conducted a partial remeasurement of a 2013 study on the costs of the Schultz Fire by updating government and utility expenditures, conducting a survey of affected homeowners, estimating costs to ecosystem services and updating costs to real 2021 US dollars. Key results. Costs associated with the Schultz Fire continued to accrue over 10 years, particularly those associated with post-wildfire flooding, totalling between US$109 and US$114 million. Suppression costs represented only 10% of total costs. Conclusions. This study is the first of its kind to include a remeasurement of wildfire costs and to provide a long-term assessment of the same wildfire over a 10-year period. Implications. Our results and lessons learned can help standardise approaches for full cost accounting of wildfire and illuminate the breadth of typically latent and indirect economic costs of wildfire such as post-wildfire flooding. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The issue of food security has garnered worldwide interest in light of growing apprehensions regarding population increase and climate change on a global scale. Therefore, this review examines the intricate relationship between public expenditures, food security, the sustainability of fish availability, and the overall welfare of Malaysian fishery communities. Given that the fishing industry is a crucial source of sustenance and income for these communities, it is essential to comprehend the intricate relationships between public financial allocations, food security, and sustainable fishing practises. Through a comprehensive synthesis of existing literature, data analysis, and policy evaluations, this review study sheds light on the complex relationships between public expenditures, food security, fish availability sustainability, and the overall well-being of Malaysian fishing communities. The findings of the review disclose the ripple effects of increased food security and sustainable fish availability on the general welfare of fishing communities. It recognises that when public expenditures effectively resolve food security issues, fishing communities experience improved physical health, decreased hunger vulnerability, and increased economic stability. These positive outcomes not only contribute to the immediate well-being of community members, but they also foster social cohesion and pave the way for long-term development. This study seeks to guide policymakers, stakeholders, and practitioners towards informed decision-making that fosters resilient fishing communities, ensures food security, and promotes the sustainable use of marine resources. The study will further help the policy makers to develop strategy to improve the sustainability of fish and the wellbeing of fishing community in Malaysia. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The sustainability index (SI) is a relatively new concept for measuring the performance of water resource systems over long time periods. The purpose of its definition is to provide an indication of the integral behavior of the system with regard to possible undesired consequences if a misbalance in available and required waters occurs. Therefore, the tidal river management (TRM) approach has been implemented for the past three decades (from 1990 to 2020) within the polder system in Southwest Bangladesh to achieve water sustainability. TRM plan and watershed management plan (WMP) have commonalities as both are aimed at ensuring the sustainable use of watershed resources with the management of land, water, and the wider ecosystem of the watershed in an integrated way. The TRM plan focuses mostly on coastal regions, whereas the WMP focuses on both coastal and non-coastal regions. According to this, the aim of this study was to explore the application of the sustainability index of tidal river management (SITRM) in measuring the sustainability of tidal river management in the coastal area of the Lower Ganges–Brahmaputra–Meghna (GBM) delta. In order to quantify the sustainability of tidal river management, this research first provided the components and indicators of SITRM for the coastal region. The study follows a 5-point Likert scale for opinion survey of key informants and comprises households' survey of farmers. In addition, it includes Landsat satellite images from Earth Explorer of the United States Geological Survey (USGS) and direct field observation to collect information regarding the indicators of SITRM. The study measures the index value of SITRM for identifying the water sustainability of Beel East Khukshia-TRM. The index value was 71.8 out of 100, showing good tidal river management for the Hari–Teka–Bhadra catchment. To achieve water sustainability and aid stakeholders and water managers in decision making, it may be possible to include the SITRM framework in tidal river management projects. In addition, the SITRM is more capable of facing drainage congestion, waterlogging, and climate change issues than watershed sustainability index (WSI), Canadian water sustainability index (CWSI), West Java water sustainability index (WJWSI), and water poverty index (WPI). Therefore, water professionals and policymakers can apply SITRM to assess the resilience of specific TRM schemes for greater sustainability in different coastal regions of the world. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Social science studies view community wellbeing to be a cumulative construct of multiple dimensions which include social, economic, environmental, physical, political, health, education indicators and more. The study of community wellbeing is compounded by climate change as it increases the frequency of disasters affecting all dimensions of community wellbeing. It becomes crucial for communities to build community resilience and address the impact on community wellbeing in the context of Disaster Risk Reduction and sustainable development. This systematic literature aimed to understand how community wellbeing is affected by climate change. It analysed 23 papers from Scopus, Web of Science, ProQuest, and Google Scholar, following the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses (PRISMA) method, to address three research questions: (i) how do climate change scholars understand community wellbeing, (ii) how community wellbeing is affected by specific climate change factors/conditions and the nature of impact, and (iii) how the impact on community wellbeing as a result of climate change is being addressed. The study found that climate change scholars hold mixed and multiple views or understanding of community wellbeing and climate change led to mental stress decreasing community wellbeing. The solutions to improve community wellbeing in the context of climate change suggests that adaptation should be the main policy instrument supplemented by mitigation strategies and recommends building a vibrant research culture in wellbeing and climate studies, among others. This review provides insights into the complex relationship between community wellbeing and climate change and identifies areas for future research and policy development. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Sustainability is an important issue in energy provision for meeting increasing needs. However, harvesting energy resources in communities while protecting the ecosystem and reducing issues of environmental degradation to the barest minimum are the ideal target for stakeholders, but usually not always attainable. The objective of this paper is therefore to review the sustainable energy arrangements with ambitions to significantly bridge the gaps between oil and gas operations of firms and improved community well-being in the Niger Delta Region, Nigeria using secondary information and data harvested from previously published studies found Online. Specifically, the paper will examine some effects of oil and gas exploration in communities, examines metrics that can be used to track community well-being, the possible conflicts of interest that could occur between firms and host communities in oil and gas operations as well as measures in the past to ameliorate these challenges and improve the community well-being in issues pertaining to oil and gas operations of firms. The study recommends that continuous stakeholder engagement be carried out in order to make for smooth oil and gas operations. Furthermore, it makes for proffers workable solutions to the challenges that accentuate possible conflicts. The study also identifies different key stakeholders in this gap-bridging process and their various roles.

Disease-based models of health often fail to consider socio-economic models that perpetuate optimal health. The promotion of human thriving, rather than merely surviving, can be achieved by promoting optimal health indicators that facilitate overall wellbeing. Such interventions are those that promote a high quality of life, otherwise conceptualized as a "life worth living," and can consist of life activities that exist outside of traditional health care intervention. Despite the continuous rise of health outcomes in Canada, it is likely that the cost associated with thriving may reduce the likelihood that optimal health will be achieved by many. Previous studies have generated the cost of thriving calculated for a single individual living in the Greater Toronto Area and have found that the cost of thriving is below the median annual income for this region. In the current study, this framework has been applied to three additional communities in Northwestern Ontario. Results indicated that when costs of thriving in Thunder Bay, Sioux Lookout, and a small remote community were compared, costs of thriving were highest in more rural and remote areas. Given the limited availability of regional data, it was not possible to generate specific total costs for all communities in this review. Overall, health promotion and wellbeing approaches can be diversified by using evidence-based, strength-based health interventions. Such approaches can be offered in conjunction with traditional public health initiatives, to better foster individual-level health (through disease reduction) and wellbeing (such as promoting hope, belonging, meaning, and purpose) within community. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Aim: This article provides a comprehensive exploration of the varied Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) actions in relation to supporting communities reported by the UK's leading food retailers. Findings are discussed against a backdrop of enduring inequalities, exacerbated by the on-going global Coronavirus pandemic, with actions considered for their potential contribution to community-based approaches to addressing local wellbeing and inequalities. Method: This article presents the structure and key characteristics of community-oriented CSR in food retailing in the UK. A thematic analysis of comprehensive documentary evidence from the 11 principle UK food retailers was conducted, drawing on asset-based frameworks of community-centred actions towards wellbeing. Findings: The findings suggest an increasing acknowledgement in food retail that local community is of key importance. Initiatives were categorised according to a typology, comprising national partnerships, local store-based funding and support actions, targeted programmes on healthy lifestyles or employability, and changes to store operations, in the favour of priority groups, prompted by the pandemic. Conclusion: The article combines an up to date overview of community-focused CSR agendas and support by food retailers at a time of significant economic and social challenge for the UK. It highlights the potential of the sector to contribute more strategically to reducing inequalities and supporting community wellbeing, alongside statutory and voluntary sector partners. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper responds to two questions—What dimensions and indicators are relevant to the construction of social wellbeing? How are the levels of wellbeing distributed in the municipalities of Mexico City? To answer these questions, we use data from the Wellbeing Survey (N = 2,871) that is representative of Mexico City and its municipalities. We employed two methods, DM-R distances, and Mamdani's Fuzzy Inference Method. The results show that all the proposed dimensions and indicators contributed to the building of multidimensional social wellbeing; in the case of some indicators (social security, built environment, and public insecurity) they contributed less. This suggests government interventions should be designed in order to improve the gaps in those areas. The evidence also indicates that community wellbeing is a relevant dimension when measuring social wellbeing in large cities, in addition to identifying areas of intervention for the development of more efficient and inclusive public policies.

Community empowerment to improve local welfare is a big challenge for almost every rural area in developing countries as thematic empowerment’s programs has to be launched in order to make it happen. The objective of study is to examine how sustainable tourism and creative economy development as local community’s empowerment theme in rural area can be utilized as means to improve local welfare. This study uses a quantitative approach through distributing questionnaires to 137 respondents located in five villages, Samosir Regency - Indonesia as an effort to collect local community perceptions of the observed variables. The data collected are analyzed by structural equation model. The results of the study show that community empowerment influences significantly on sustainable tourism development and creative economy, while its effect is greater on sustainable tourism development, while both sustainable tourism development and creative economy are positively contributed to community wellbeing. Recommendations are given in following up on research findings for stakeholders developing tourism industry to empower local community on sustainable tourism development to enhance and strengthen creative economy in order to improve people's welfare.

Introduction: Designing artificial intelligence (AI) to support health and wellbeing is an important and broad challenge for technologists, designers, and policymakers. Drawing upon theories of AI and cybernetics, this article offers a design framework for designing intelligent systems to optimize human wellbeing. We focus on the production of wellbeing information feedback loops in complex community settings, and discuss the case study of My Wellness Check, an intelligent system designed to support the mental health and wellbeing needs of university students and staff during the COVID-19 pandemic. Methods: The basis for our discussion is the community-led design of My Wellness Check, an intelligent system that supported the mental health and wellbeing needs of university students and staff during the COVID-19 pandemic. Our system was designed to create an intelligent feedback loop to assess community wellbeing needs and to inform community action. This article provides an overview of our longitudinal assessment of students and staff wellbeing (n = 20,311) across two years of the COVID-19 pandemic. Results: We further share the results of a controlled experiment (n = 1,719) demonstrating the enhanced sensitivity and user experience of our context-sensitive wellbeing assessment. Discussion: Our approach to designing "AI for community wellbeing," may generalize to the systematic improvement of human wellbeing in other human-computer systems for large-scale governance (e.g., schools, businesses, NGOs, platforms). The two main contributions are: 1) showcasing a simple way to draw from AI theory to produce more intelligent human systems, and 2) introducing a human-centered, community-led approach that may be beneficial to the field of AI. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper aims to compile red flags appearing at the interface of hosts’ wellbeing, ecosystem services (ES) and tourism, which have already been described in the literature. We focus on host communities in developing countries, as poor and disadvantaged people much more often depend directly on ES. We start with a description of the concepts ES and wellbeing. The second section describes prominent gaps and challenges in the ES–wellbeing interface, with special focus on those that can be relevant to tourism (such as the establishment of protected areas, the concept of paying for ES, poverty reduction, endowments vs entitlements). The third section is devoted to a discussion of the identified gaps and challenges. The last section contains conclusions and implications. These recommendations are global and fairly general indications that should be considered at the interface between ES, tourism and wellbeing policies, whatever the context. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The sustainability index (SI) is a relatively new concept for measuring the performance of water resource systems over long time periods. The purpose of its definition is to provide an indication of the integral behavior of the system with regard to possible undesired consequences if a misbalance in available and required waters occurs. Therefore, the tidal river management (TRM) approach has been implemented for the past three decades (from 1990 to 2020) within the polder system in Southwest Bangladesh to achieve water sustainability. TRM plan and watershed management plan (WMP) have commonalities as both are aimed at ensuring the sustainable use of watershed resources with the management of land, water, and the wider ecosystem of the watershed in an integrated way. The TRM plan focuses mostly on coastal regions, whereas the WMP focuses on both coastal and non-coastal regions. According to this, the aim of this study was to explore the application of the sustainability index of tidal river management (SITRM) in measuring the sustainability of tidal river management in the coastal area of the Lower Ganges–Brahmaputra–Meghna (GBM) delta. In order to quantify the sustainability of tidal river management, this research first provided the components and indicators of SITRM for the coastal region. The study follows a 5-point Likert scale for opinion survey of key informants and comprises households’ survey of farmers. In addition, it includes Landsat satellite images from Earth Explorer of the United States Geological Survey (USGS) and direct field observation to collect information regarding the indicators of SITRM. The study measures the index value of SITRM for identifying the water sustainability of Beel East Khukshia-TRM. The index value was 71.8 out of 100, showing good tidal river management for the Hari–Teka–Bhadra catchment. To achieve water sustainability and aid stakeholders and water managers in decision making, it may be possible to include the SITRM framework in tidal river management projects. In addition, the SITRM is more capable of facing drainage congestion, waterlogging, and climate change issues than watershed sustainability index (WSI), Canadian water sustainability index (CWSI), West Java water sustainability index (WJWSI), and water poverty index (WPI). Therefore, water professionals and policymakers can apply SITRM to assess the resilience of specific TRM schemes for greater sustainability in different coastal regions of the world.

IntroductionDesigning artificial intelligence (AI) to support health and wellbeing is an important and broad challenge for technologists, designers, and policymakers. Drawing upon theories of AI and cybernetics, this article offers a design framework for designing intelligent systems to optimize human wellbeing. We focus on the production of wellbeing information feedback loops in complex community settings, and discuss the case study of My Wellness Check, an intelligent system designed to support the mental health and wellbeing needs of university students and staff during the COVID-19 pandemic.MethodsThe basis for our discussion is the community-led design of My Wellness Check, an intelligent system that supported the mental health and wellbeing needs of university students and staff during the COVID-19 pandemic. Our system was designed to create an intelligent feedback loop to assess community wellbeing needs and to inform community action. This article provides an overview of our longitudinal assessment of students and staff wellbeing (n = 20,311) across two years of the COVID-19 pandemic.ResultsWe further share the results of a controlled experiment (n = 1,719) demonstrating the enhanced sensitivity and user experience of our context-sensitive wellbeing assessment.DiscussionOur approach to designing “AI for community wellbeing,” may generalize to the systematic improvement of human wellbeing in other human-computer systems for large-scale governance (e.g., schools, businesses, NGOs, platforms). The two main contributions are: 1) showcasing a simple way to draw from AI theory to produce more intelligent human systems, and 2) introducing a human-centered, community-led approach that may be beneficial to the field of AI.

This article sets out to examine how the use of social spaces, namely hawker centres, has contributed to community wellbeing during the Covid-19 pandemic. Using an extensive thematic analysis of online conversations, we have identified that the use of social spaces can have a positive influence on individual, relational and social wellbeing. Access to social spaces during stressful events contributes to the feeling of normalcy, supports routines and structured activities, encourages responsible behaviours, facilitates social connectedness, and helps maintain community resilience. We present a new framework for urban social space characterisation containing three dimensions: coaction, copresence, and colocation (the three Cs). Here, coaction is associated with better visibility of community practices, copresence enhances the sense of connectedness, and colocation is concerned with the use of spatial design factors for influencing movement and interactions. The framework is central to our understanding of social space and its impact on wellbeing. Underpinning the three Cs is the notion of the integration of policy, community wellbeing, and various urban agendas. The findings were considered in terms of their relevance for social space development in Singapore. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study examines the impacts of small-sized tourism projects to gain insights into how they contribute to sustainable development, especially in rural areas. Using the impact value chain analysis as a conceptual model, we evaluated 15 projects that were supported by the Future is in Tourism Fund in Turkey between 2013 and 2018. We did a content analysis of all manner of documentation related to the projects, surveys and interviews conducted with project owners and program partners. We found that small-sized tourism projects enhanced all forms of capital, with human, social, and built capitals improving the most. The capitals had multidirectional compounding effects on each other. We also found that it makes no difference which capital one begins with; what is important is that activities should be planned strategically in a way that multiple capitals interact, which contributes to growth in other capitals, thus creating a greater impact. The study reveals that, to maximise benefits, it is important to first identify gaps in resources and determine the social goals of the community, and that with strong leadership and community and institutional involvement, such projects have the power to impact societal wellbeing. The study has implications for tourism developers, local communities, and policymakers who are interested in implementing small-sized tourism projects as a tool for sustainable development. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article sets out to examine how the use of social spaces, namely hawker centres, has contributed to community wellbeing during the Covid-19 pandemic. Using an extensive thematic analysis of online conversations, we have identified that the use of social spaces can have a positive influence on individual, relational and social wellbeing. Access to social spaces during stressful events contributes to the feeling of normalcy, supports routines and structured activities, encourages responsible behaviours, facilitates social connectedness, and helps maintain community resilience. We present a new framework for urban social space characterisation containing three dimensions: coaction, copresence, and colocation (the three Cs). Here, coaction is associated with better visibility of community practices, copresence enhances the sense of connectedness, and colocation is concerned with the use of spatial design factors for influencing movement and interactions. The framework is central to our understanding of social space and its impact on wellbeing. Underpinning the three Cs is the notion of the integration of policy, community wellbeing, and various urban agendas. The findings were considered in terms of their relevance for social space development in Singapore.

In the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic, 'regenerative tourism' has emerged as a promising alternative to the unsustainable growth paradigm underpinning traditional tourism practices. While this topic is increasingly explored in conceptual terms, what this approach means conceptually and in practice for a range of destination management stakeholders remains unclear. The present study analysed the meanings, conceptualisations and practices associated with regenerative tourism for destination planners in Aotearoa New Zealand. Eighteen interviews were conducted with a diverse range of destination planners at regional and national levels. The findings indicate that regenerative tourism involves improving places, which comprises giving back to communities economically, socially and culturally, and enhancing local environments; as well as fostering a connection with place for both visitors and local residents, and focusing on how tourism can improve quality of life (human and nonhuman) for future generations. Other prominent themes include the holistic and interconnected nature of regenerative tourism practices; and the importance of shifting mindsets and tourism practices from mechanistic and siloed, to those aligned with living systems approaches. Another key finding was destination planners' ambivalence towards the regenerative tourism concept, which ranged from a sense of uncertainty and vagueness about this approach to strong sentiments of resistance. Further studies, particularly those that integrate indigenous worldviews, are needed to consolidate our understanding of regenerative tourism approaches in practice. • Discusses how destination planners in Aotearoa New Zealand conceptualise regenerative tourism. • Regenerative tourism viewed as improvement, not maintenance, of people and places. • Lack of clarity elicits uncertainty and resistance to 'regenerative tourism' for destination planners. • Indigenous worldviews and values should be integrated into regenerative tourism conceptualisations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A "Smart City" framework was used to investigate and develop visions of alternative futures for a peri-urban superblock north of Bangkok, Thailand. The Smart City framework considers seven smart pillars: environment, economy, energy, mobility, people, living, and governance, with a focus on community wellbeing that is supported by information and communication technology (ICT). A mixed-method approach that included: community and industry surveys, both online and face-to-face (total n = 770); in depth, semi-structured, stakeholder interviews; passive participant observation; and photo-documentation was used to inform and organize the project visions and designs. Several themes emerged from the community surveys and key stakeholder interviews: (i) connected green space is highly valued and effectively links multiple smart pillars, enhancing community wellbeing and resiliency to flooding; (ii) superblock mobility, connectivity, and sustainable development could be achieved through a seamless, integrated public-transit system following the principles of transit-oriented development (TOD); (iii) the superblock should prepare for the implementation of Thailand 4.0 through the improved programmatic and physical integration of local industry, community, and universities, including plans for a Digital Village and co-work space. Example designs that address these considerations and vision alternative futures for the superblock are presented in this Smart City case study. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Building sustainable and resilient societies is a multidimensional challenge that affects achievement of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development. In crises and disasters, civil protection authorities typically use emergency powers and a command-and-control approach to manage resources and to design and implement disaster management interventions. They centralise knowledge, technologies and responsibilities for prevention, mitigation and monitoring, while stifling the capacities of local communities to reduce disaster risks and impacts. The mechanism they enact leads to a poor understanding of the capacities of local people to learn and transform, and of how community wellbeing, vulnerabilities, and resilience influence disaster risks. The mechanism does not strengthen the role of local communities in disaster risk reduction. Instead, it facilitates disaster capitalism at all levels of society. Drawing on the disaster risk reduction and resilience paradigm and on our analysis of the disaster management interventions conducted before and after the 6 April 2009 earthquake in L’Aquila, Italy, we discuss the main constraints to implementing the four Priority Areas in the Sendai Framework for Disaster Risk Reduction: (1) Understanding risk in its multiple dimensions; (2) strengthening disaster risk governance; (3) investing in disaster risk reduction for resilience; and (4) enhancing preparedness and build back better in response, recovery and reconstruction. We discuss how top-down, emergency-centred civil protection approaches create second disasters, and fail in all four priorities. We suggest that shifts in paradigm and investment are required in disaster management and development practice from centralised civil protection systems to decentralised, socially sustainable community empowerment systems.

In the wake of Russia's 2014 annexation of Crimea, the conscription law in Lithuania has been reinstated for men, and partnerships with Western security structures reinforced. While young men are otherwise mobilizing to navigate socioeconomic uncertainty to improve their livelihoods under depressed conditions, the revitalization of mandatory military service increasingly polices individual experiences of wellbeing in gendered and nationalistic ways. Drawing from feminist analyses of securitization and from theories of gender performativity, this article examines how the Lithuanian State, together with the Lithuanian Armed Forces (LAF), mobilize masculinity and the construction of militarized identities in order to shape public support for its national security objectives. I argue that this conscription mandate compounds social divisiveness already present in Lithuanian society, and as a repressive structure, adversely shapes Lithuanian community wellbeing. In so doing, conscription works to obscure a sense of community and national belonging alike, not only for young men pressured to perform their masculinity and patriotism ahead of the draft, but also for women who, while permitted to engage volunteer service, are nevertheless evaluated against masculinist expectations. The article demonstrates how Lithuania's national security narrative promotes a hegemonic masculinity both inside the military and in Lithuanian public life, in which community wellbeing is defined much less in terms of allowing material and psycho-social health to flourish than curbing the personalities and identities deemed intolerable to Lithuanian state security. As a student and woman conducting qualitative interviews and participant observation in a militarized setting, this article is based on ethnographic research that took place as part of my doctoral fieldwork in Lithuania from August 2016 to June 2017 and contributes to feminist scholarship in anthropology and security studies. By analyzing the policing of human livelihoods at the intersection of gender, ethnicity, patriotism, and social mobility, the production of militarized identities under a national security crisis in Lithuania offers a platform from which policy advocates working in international settings elsewhere can orient their work toward more inclusive and sustainable definitions of "security." [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Historic urban neighbourhoods endure rapid transformation due to fast-paced development proposals seldom considering the urban heritage values associated with the local community. The study aims to examine the community perception of the impact of urban heritage on social values. The paper proposes a weighted contextual framework to maintain the social wellbeing of the community in historic urban precincts through a case study of Kuttichira. A framework constituting a set of social criteria that has an associational impact with the urban built heritage fabric was assessed and prioritized through a questionnaire survey on the perception of the Kuttichira community. The empirical results reveal relatively equal weightage across the gender groups, indicating the social impact's credibility within the community. The findings contribute to the practice of sensitive urban development catering to the community's social needs and assisting in policy-making. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article explores two concepts of community wellbeing informed by Indigenous perspectives: Buen Vivir and Comunalidad. We critically examine the current use and practice of these concepts and their potential influence in practices oriented to sustainable development. We argue that instead of continuing to apply the siloed international frameworks of sustainability (a prevalent tendency that to date has marginalized and alienated Indigenous ways of knowing), collaborative sustainable development efforts involving Indigenous communities should be grounded in local understandings of community wellbeing. Such understandings include intrinsically dynamic, interconnected, multileveled, fluid, inclusive, and holistic ideas (from both, Western and Indigenous perspectives) related to what it means to live and be well in terms of the distinctive knowledges of each community. Our findings suggest that this approach can further the success of practitioners and scholars' collaborative work in the field of sustainable development with Indigenous communities. An overarching dimension in these implications is to emphasize the importance of locally grounded knowledges in informing policies that direct public resources and regulatory frameworks related to the sustainable development of Indigenous communities. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this article we offer a discussion around our academic-practitioner involvements with one another and with a targeted community, in relation to a particular project. In the title of the article, we have hyphenated the term academic-practitioner to render fuzzy the distinction between “academic” roles (associated with institutions of higher learning and with professional research) and the roles of “practitioners” operating and learning in the field in engagement with communities. In the article we detail our collaborations with one another and with a farming community in all undertaking (co)inquiries around options for social and ecological development. We explain how this fits the epistemological views as offered by Indigenous authors propounding an Indigenous research paradigm (with transformative intent) to generate visions of realities in-the-making, towards enhanced wellbeing in communities and towards a sustainable future. We provide a detailed example in the course of our deliberations.

Crises and disasters are windows of opportunity to learn and transform toward enhancing disaster risk reduction (DRR) and resilience. However, a poor understanding of community resilience and the social dimensions of risk, the lack of a methodology to engage and empower resilience in society, and business‐as‐usual together limit the implementation of effective DRR and resilience‐building strategies. In this reflection paper, we discuss the main elements of the DRR and resilience paradigm. By analyzing the failures in disaster management, we identified the cultural and political barriers to enhancing DRR and community resilience as being: a paternalistic social protection culture; and the command‐and‐control approach to knowledge and resources for risk reduction. We reflect on the implications of this for sustainable development and argue that building a glocal culture of community wellbeing and resilience and a socially sustainable risk governance is needed to overcome the cultural and political barriers to DRR and sustainable development. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This method abstract details the Green School Program, piloted across three schools in maritime Fijian islands, addresses critical issues faced by Fijian and Pacific Island communities. These encompass malnutrition, food security, health hazards, and the urgency of integrating traditional knowledge, governance, and social-ecological systems approaches into creating healthier school environments. Non communicable diseases have emerged as a pervasive concern within Pacific Island communities, creating a challenge for public health systems, driven greatly by dietary habits(1). This complex health landscape underscores the need to safeguard traditional knowledge and agri-food practices and develop neo-traditional approaches to local food systems(2). Furthermore, the Green School Program recognizes the essential role of schools as community hubs, enabling enhancing heathy school environments by embracing traditional wisdom and sustainable farming practices and foods, ultimately empowering communities to address these multifaceted challenges(3). Developing the school environment as a sustainable setting for governance framework led by women and the school administration, rooted in traditional knowledge and practices. Additionally, it aims to design facilities that support efficient organic farming while integrating these into school activities. Economic sustainability through the sale of surplus farm products, as well as the enhancement of sustainable land-use management, health, wellbeing, and cultural identity. The program unfolds within a distinctive community-based framework with the establishment of robust governance, with a notable emphasis on the leadership of women and mothers who play a pivotal role in steering the green school initiative and ensuring community ownership. Collaborative governance spans multiple stakeholders, including school management, community-based school committees, youth groups, women groups, and traditional leaders. This inclusive engagement ensures both shared responsibility in program design and ownership during implementation phases. Sustainable facilities are strategically designed to include biodigesters, water storage and irrigation systems, composting, organic fertilizers, and seedling nurseries, enhancing the program's capacity to create healthier school food environments while embracing traditional practices and values. The program has witnessed the active engagement of women in governance roles, promoting community unity and ownership. Traditional knowledge integration has enhanced crop diversity and sustainability. Economic sustainability has been achieved through surplus farm product sales, reducing dependency on external funding sources. Health improvements are evident, with reduced exposure to indoor air pollution from open fires. Cultural identity preservation and increased student engagement are also notable outcomes. The Green School Program's holistic approach, rooted in traditional knowledge and sustainable practices, has yielded positive outcomes in governance, agriculture, nutritional food security, health, and cultural identity preservation. The program's success demonstrates the potential for community-based initiatives to address critical issues and empower remote island communities. These results provide valuable insights into sustainable development approaches that prioritize community wellbeing and cultural heritage preservation in similar contexts. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article explores two concepts of community wellbeing informed by Indigenous perspectives: Buen Vivir and Comunalidad. We critically examine the current use and practice of these concepts and their potential influence in practices oriented to sustainable development. We argue that instead of continuing to apply the siloed international frameworks of sustainability (a prevalent tendency that to date has marginalized and alienated Indigenous ways of knowing), collaborative sustainable development efforts involving Indigenous communities should be grounded in local understandings of community wellbeing. Such understandings include intrinsically dynamic, interconnected, multileveled, fluid, inclusive, and holistic ideas (from both, Western and Indigenous perspectives) related to what it means to live and be well in terms of the distinctive knowledges of each community. Our findings suggest that this approach can further the success of practitioners and scholars’ collaborative work in the field of sustainable development with Indigenous communities. An overarching dimension in these implications is to emphasize the importance of locally grounded knowledges in informing policies that direct public resources and regulatory frameworks related to the sustainable development of Indigenous communities.

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