Maximising the Edges of Natural and Human Systems: The Case for Sociotones

May East
Additional contact information
May East: School of Social Sciences, Architecture and Urban Planning, University of Dundee, Dundee DD1 4HN, UK

Sustainability, 2019, vol. 11, issue 24, 1-12

Abstract: In many fields of fundamental and applied ecology, the transition or edge between two distinct biological communities is known as ‘ecotone’. The ecotone concept was first introduced in the early 20th century, describing the edge between two ecological systems which disappear in a transition zone but in opposite directions. This paper examines the evolution of the concept and its different applications over time. It explores the characteristics of ecotones as biodiverse enriched ecological niches occurring at multiple spatial scales. The paper goes further by proposing the concept of sociotone or social systems in tension, first by postulating a series of principles through which many possible interpretations may arise and secondly, by describing the societal interface where diverse worldviews, intentions and experiences meet. The concept is tested against a territory of social tensions between newcomers and stakeholders in Sicily providing evidence of a field of dynamic socio-economic transformations and prospects. The paper concludes by positioning sociotone as a possible framework to realise the systemic potential of multicultural globalised societies.

Keywords: ecotone; sociotone; regeneration; diversity; serendipity; bisociation (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: O13 Q Q0 Q2 Q3 Q5 Q56 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2019
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (1)

Downloads: (external link)
https://www.mdpi.com/2071-1050/11/24/7203/pdf (application/pdf)
https://www.mdpi.com/2071-1050/11/24/7203/ (text/html)

Related works:
This item may be available elsewhere in EconPapers: Search for items with the same title.

Export reference: BibTeX RIS (EndNote, ProCite, RefMan) HTML/Text

Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:gam:jsusta:v:11:y:2019:i:24:p:7203-:d:298429

Access Statistics for this article

Sustainability is currently edited by Ms. Alexandra Wu

More articles in Sustainability from MDPI
Bibliographic data for series maintained by MDPI Indexing Manager ().