Rural Sustainability Methods, Drivers, and Outcomes: A Systematic Review

Keywords: Rural Sustainability, Sustainability Assessment, Methods, Drivers, Outcomes
Session Type: Virtual Paper Abstract
Day: Friday
Session Start / End Time: 2/25/2022 11:20 AM (Eastern Time (US & Canada)) - 2/25/2022 12:40 PM (Eastern Time (US & Canada))
Room: Virtual 15

Abstract

Academic and public debate on assessing sustainability or sustainable development mirrors the global concerns of the future of living organisms on earth. As part of this debate are interrogations about how to quantify sustainability and what to consider as effective indicators upstream and downstream of any sustainability projects. These questions have taken on new importance as the changing climate continues to challenge the livelihoods of millions of lives, particularly in rural settings. This paper systematically assesses how research to date provides empirical evidence of what drives sustainability outcomes in rural areas. We examine four research questions using a collection of 66 empirical studies: (i) How has rural sustainability been evaluated? (ii) What are the examined drivers of rural sustainability? (iii) What are the examined outcomes used to measure rural sustainability? (iv) Are there common trends in how drivers and outcomes are related? Preliminary results show the use of multiple methods to evaluate rural sustainability, including interviews, econometrics modeling, and archetype analysis. Both direct human actions and underlying socioeconomic and physical drivers of sustainability have been examined in the literature. In addition, sustainability outcomes evaluated widely vary, ranging from system persistence to household economy, to working conditions, to education, to soil erosion.