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The future of sustainability science: a solutions-oriented research agenda

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Abstract

Over the last decade, sustainability science has been at the leading edge of widespread efforts from the social and natural sciences to produce use-inspired research. Yet, how knowledge generated by sustainability science and allied fields will contribute to transitions toward sustainability remains a critical theoretical and empirical question for basic and applied research. This article explores the limitations of sustainability science research to move the field beyond the analysis of problems in coupled systems to interrogate the social, political and technological dimensions of linking knowledge and action. Over the next decade, sustainability science can strengthen its empirical, theoretical and practical contributions by developing along four research pathways focused on the role of values in science and decision-making for sustainability: how communities at various scales envision and pursue sustainable futures; how socio-technical change can be fostered at multiple scales; the promotion of social and institutional learning for sustainable development.

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Acknowledgments

This material is based, in part, upon work supported by the National Science Foundation under grant no. 0504248, IGERT in Urban Ecology at Arizona State University. Any opinions, findings and conclusions or recommendation expressed in this material are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of the National Science Foundation.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Nohad A. Toulan School of Urban Studies and Planning, Portland State University, Portland, OR, 97207, USA

    Thaddeus R. Miller

  2. School of Sustainability, Arizona State University, Tempe, AZ, 85287-5502, USA

    Arnim Wiek & Daniel Sarewitz

  3. Consortium for Science, Policy and Outcomes, Arizona State University, Tempe, AZ, 85287, USA

    Daniel Sarewitz

  4. UBC Sustainability Initiative, and Institute for Resources, Environment, and Sustainability, University of British Columbia, 2260 WestMall, Vancouver, V6T 1Z4, Canada

    John Robinson

  5. Lund University Centre for Sustainability Studies (LUCSUS), Lund University, Box 170 S-22100, Lund, Sweden

    Lennart Olsson

  6. Lowell Center for Sustainable Production, University of Massachusetts Lowell, Lowell, MA, 01854, USA

    David Kriebel

  7. Dutch Research Institute For Transitions (DRIFT), Faculty of Social Sciences, Erasmus University Rotterdam, 3000 DR, Rotterdam, The Netherlands

    Derk Loorbach

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  1. Thaddeus R. Miller
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  2. Arnim Wiek
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  3. Daniel Sarewitz
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Correspondence to Thaddeus R. Miller.

Additional information

Handled by Rene Kemp, UNU-MERIT and ICIS, Maastricht University, The Netherlands.

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Miller, T.R., Wiek, A., Sarewitz, D. et al. The future of sustainability science: a solutions-oriented research agenda. Sustain Sci 9, 239–246 (2014). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11625-013-0224-6

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