Sarah Bradbury
Postgraduate Student
Telephone number:
+44(0) 113 34
37966
Email address: S.J.Bradbury@leeds.ac.uk
Room: 9.123
Biography
Project details
Project Title: Social Networks: Liberating or constraining? An exploration of the social networks of grassroots sustainability associations in Leeds, UK.
Supervisors: Dr Lucie Middlemiss, Dr William Young and
Funding: Frank Stell Scholarship
Start date: 1st October 2010
Project Outline
In recent years there has been a surge throughout the UK of residents connecting with others in their local communities to form groups to collectively tackle issues of climate change and sustainability. I have termed these groups "grassroots sustainability associations" (GSAs). GSAs encourage and enable others in the locality to consume sustainably by supplying sustainable systems of provision. In order to be able to provide these systems of provision, GSAs need resources. They acquire some of these resources from other GSAs and external organisations in their network. Using social network analysis, this research project will explore the resource-exchange processes that occur between GSAs and other organisations in Leeds, UK.
The overall objectives of the research are to understand the resource-exchange and resource-dependency processes between GSAs and those in their networks, how these processes either liberate or constrain GSAs in being able to provide sustainable systems of provision, and to identify good practice and make recommendations to overcome bad practice. By providing GSAs and their network with this information it could allow GSAs to increase their effectiveness in delivering sustainable systems of provision, therefore, increasing the impact they have on helping to achieve sustainable development.
Qualifications
- Politics and Media Studies BA (Joint Hons)
- MSc Sustainability (Environmental Politics and Policy)
Demonstrating and Teaching
- SOEE1100 Environment and Economy