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A sense of community - both social and ecological - is critical to promoting urban sustainability. Towards this end, community organizations are of primary importance in fostering a sense of place and cohesion among highly diverse populations. Community groups are also essential to creating a sense of connectedness to local and regional ecological processes. Stewardship activities, community-based ecological monitoring, and urban habitat restoration can all foster a sense of the land community, within which human beings are one species sharing ecological resources with others. It is important to realize, however, that community groups can also be an obstacle to implementing the required changes towards sustainability: Not In My Back Yard groups prevent the evolution of neighbourhood diversity and attempt to externalize social problems. Ultimately, this is a protective mechanism that reflects a community's lack of control over its own destiny. Community empowerment tends to be the exception rather than the rule. Articles in this section will explore a variety of ways in which communities are promoting and blocking urban sustainability, and how communities are impacted by forces that often lie beyond their control.
Please check our articles in the following areas: 
 
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