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Urban prosperity without growth? : sustainable city development with focus on human flourishing

Sasaki, Ryuei LU (2014) In Master Thesis Series in Environmental Studies and Sustainability Science MESM01 20141
LUCSUS (Lund University Centre for Sustainability Studies)
Abstract
The world is urbanising at an unprecedented rate. Cities are perceived to be potential solutions as well as causes of the many problems our society faces. On the one hand, cities are considered the driving forces of prosperity through innovation, wealth creation and growth. On the other hand, cities are perceived to be the roots of urgent environmental and social issues. In fact, the very notion of prosperity, based on infinite economic growth that exhausts the Earth's limited resources and exploits humans, is increasingly being questioned. This thesis aims to investigate the links between economic growth and redefined prosperity as suggested by Tim Jackson (2009). The findings of the study suggest that economic growth does not... (More)
The world is urbanising at an unprecedented rate. Cities are perceived to be potential solutions as well as causes of the many problems our society faces. On the one hand, cities are considered the driving forces of prosperity through innovation, wealth creation and growth. On the other hand, cities are perceived to be the roots of urgent environmental and social issues. In fact, the very notion of prosperity, based on infinite economic growth that exhausts the Earth's limited resources and exploits humans, is increasingly being questioned. This thesis aims to investigate the links between economic growth and redefined prosperity as suggested by Tim Jackson (2009). The findings of the study suggest that economic growth does not significantly contribute to the selected aspects of the prosperity. By operationalising the revised definition of prosperity, this thesis argues against the notion of economic growth as a crucial component of urban prosperity proposed by UN-Habitat (2013). In particular, the focus was placed on the most important aspect of the prosperity, quality of life, to which UN-Habitat (2013) agrees. The salutogenic approach is used to support the attempt to shed light on the aspects beyond basic needs. In developed countries, cities need to shift away from the growth imperative to achieve developments that lead to a more sustainable version of prosperity that considers non-materialistic human flourishing. The method of Lee (2014), was modified and applied for conducting the research. (Less)
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author
Sasaki, Ryuei LU
supervisor
organization
course
MESM01 20141
year
type
H2 - Master's Degree (Two Years)
subject
keywords
sustainability science, salutogenesis, capabilities, prosperity, economic growth
publication/series
Master Thesis Series in Environmental Studies and Sustainability Science
report number
2014:019
language
English
id
4461909
date added to LUP
2014-06-16 17:08:10
date last changed
2014-06-16 17:08:10
@misc{4461909,
  abstract     = {{The world is urbanising at an unprecedented rate. Cities are perceived to be potential solutions as well as causes of the many problems our society faces. On the one hand, cities are considered the driving forces of prosperity through innovation, wealth creation and growth. On the other hand, cities are perceived to be the roots of urgent environmental and social issues. In fact, the very notion of prosperity, based on infinite economic growth that exhausts the Earth's limited resources and exploits humans, is increasingly being questioned. This thesis aims to investigate the links between economic growth and redefined prosperity as suggested by Tim Jackson (2009). The findings of the study suggest that economic growth does not significantly contribute to the selected aspects of the prosperity. By operationalising the revised definition of prosperity, this thesis argues against the notion of economic growth as a crucial component of urban prosperity proposed by UN-Habitat (2013). In particular, the focus was placed on the most important aspect of the prosperity, quality of life, to which UN-Habitat (2013) agrees. The salutogenic approach is used to support the attempt to shed light on the aspects beyond basic needs. In developed countries, cities need to shift away from the growth imperative to achieve developments that lead to a more sustainable version of prosperity that considers non-materialistic human flourishing. The method of Lee (2014), was modified and applied for conducting the research.}},
  author       = {{Sasaki, Ryuei}},
  language     = {{eng}},
  note         = {{Student Paper}},
  series       = {{Master Thesis Series in Environmental Studies and Sustainability Science}},
  title        = {{Urban prosperity without growth? : sustainable city development with focus on human flourishing}},
  year         = {{2014}},
}