Abstract
This paper has four aims. The first is to describe the evolution of sustainable development and sustainability, not only as a development paradigm with key discursive messages - such as society-nature synergies, intra- and inter-generational equity, and multi-scalar agency – but also as a visual discourse. The evolution of the paradigm since the early 1970s has been accompanied by many attempts at visual summary and reductionism. In this sense it is quite distinct from other development paradigms; for example, one struggles to find a single visual representation of neoliberalism. The first part of the paper reveals the evolution of these representations and their key features. The second aim relates to the construction of a framework for the paradigm that: a. builds on this visual tradition; b. emphasizes its political dimensions; c. supports the orientations of Agenda 2030; d. highlights the work of Abraham Maslow, Herman Daly, Donella Meadows and Bent Flyvbjerg. The third reflection of the paper relates to the ways in which these representations reveal the politics behind systems theory thinking, or attempts to suppress the political dimensions of sustainable development and sustainability. Finally, the role of these visual tools in communicating the paradigm to a wider audience is discussed, also the strengths and limitations of these tools in terms of how they present the paradigm as a political construction.
Presenters
Felipe Aníbal Gutiérrez-AntinopaiStudent, Ph.D student in Natural Resources and the Environment, Cornell University, New York, United States Jonathan Barton
Associate Professor, Institute of Geography, Institute for Sustainable Development & CEDEUS, Pontificial Catholic University in Santiago de Chile, Chile
Details
Presentation Type
Paper Presentation in a Themed Session
Theme
KEYWORDS
Sustainable development, Politics, Communication, Visual representation, Systems theory
Digital Media
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