Abstract
Intergenerational equity is a core concept of sustainability, typically expressed as a concern for future generations. We contend in this review paper that intergenerational equity can also reflect a concern for past generations. Within the study and practice of social justice, significant concern is paid to remedying injustices suffered by past generations, sometimes called “restorative justice,” because these injustices do not end with the past, but remain embedded in the social, economic, and ecological fabrics of our present-day society. We ask: what roles do past injustices play in our understanding of intergenerational justice, and what roles can this understanding play in sustainability thought and practice? We weave together reviews from justice and legal studies and environmental ethics. Several short cases illustrate how restorative justice in practice results in benefits for sustainability, including improved resource management and social cohesion and governance. Our review of sustainability literature shows that while only few of the conceptions of intergenerational equity hint at a concern for historical issues, its concern for intra-generational equity may be a place where restorative issues can be addressed. Within sustainability science approaches, restorative issues may also arise in the assessment of the current state as well as in the appreciation of contextual norms and histories of the places attempting to become more sustainable.
Similar content being viewed by others
References
Agyeman J, Bullard R, Evans B (2003) Conclusion: towards just sustainabilities: perspectives and possibilities. In: Agyeman J, Bullard R, Evans B (eds) Just sustainabilities: development in an unequal world. MIT Press, Cambridge, pp 323–325
Asheim GB, Mitra T (2010) Sustainability and utilitarianism in discounted models of economic growth. Math Soc Sci 59(2):148–169
Barry B (1999) Sustainability and intergenerational justice. In: Dobson A (ed) Fairness and futurity: essays on environmental sustainability and social justice. Oxford University Press, New York, pp 93–117
Beatley T (1984) Applying moral principles to growth management. J Am Plan Assoc 50(4):459–469
Bebbington J (2000) Sustainable development: a review of the international development, business and accounting literature. Aberdeen Papers in Accountancy, Finance and Management working paper 00-17
Beckerman W (1999) Sustainable development and our obligations to future generations. In: Dobson A (ed) Fairness and futurity: essays on environmental sustainability and social justice. Oxford University Press, New York, pp 71–92
Bodine JJ (1973) Blue Lake: a struggle for Indian rights. Am Indian Law Rev 1(1):23–32
Bolin R, Grineski S, Collins T (2005) Geography of despair: environmental racism and the making of South Phoenix, Arizona, USA. Hum Ecol Rev 12(2):156–168
Boone C (2002) An assessment and explanation of environmental inequity in Baltimore. Urban Geogr 23(6):581–595
Boone C, Modarres A (1999) Creating a toxic neighborhood in Los Angeles county: a historical examination of environmental inequity. Urban Affairs Rev 35(2):163–187
Callewaert J (2002) The importance of local history for understanding and addressing environmental injustice. Local Environ 7(3):257–267
Deverell WF (1987) The return of Blue Lake to the Taos Pueblo. Princeton University Library Chronicle XLIX(1):57–73
Endress L, Pongkijvorasin S, Roumasset J, Pitafi B (2009) Impatience and intergenerational equity in a model of sustainable growth. Working Paper No. 09-6. http://www.economics.hawaii.edu/research/workingpapers/WP_09-6.pdf, Accessed November 1, 2011
Fabre C (2007) Justice in a changing world. Polity Press, Cambridge
Federal Highway Administration (2011) Environmental justice case studies: cypress freeway replacement project. http://www.fhwa.dot.gov/environment/ejustice/case/case5.htm, Accessed Jan 5, 2011
Freeman A (1990) Antidiscrimination Law: the view from 1989. Tulane Law Rev 64:1407–1440
Genovese E (1989) The political economy of slavery: studies in the economy and society of the slave south. Wesleyan University Press, Middletown
Gibson RB (2006) Sustainability assessment: basic components of a practical approach. Impact Assess Project Appraisal 24(3):170–182
Gordon-McCutchan RC (1991) The battle for Blue Lake: a struggle for Indian religious rights. J Church State 33(4):785–797
Gosseries A (2004) Historical emissions and free-riding. Ethical Perspect 11(1):36–60
Harvey D (2007) Contested cities: social process and spatial form. In: Le Gates RT, Stout F (eds) The city reader, 4th edn. Routledge, London, pp 225–232
Ikeme J (2003) Equity, environmental justice and sustainability: incomplete approaches in climate change politics. Global Environ Change 13:195–206
Jerneck A, Olsson L, Ness B, Anderberg S, Baier M, Clark E, Hickler T, Hornborg A, Kronsell A, Lovbrand E, Persson J (2011) Structuring sustainability science. Sustain Sci 6:69–82
Kates RW, Parris TM, Leiserowitz AA (2005) Sustainability science. Environ Sci Policy Sustain Dev 47(3):8–21
Kuehn R (2000) A taxonomy of environmental justice. Environ Law Rep 30(10681)
Lucy WH (1981) Equity and planning for local services. J Am Plan Assoc 47(4):447–457
Martinez-Alier J (2002) The environmentalism of the poor—a study of ecological conflicts and valuation. Edward Elgar, Cheltenham
McBroome DN (1993) Parallel communities: African Americans in California’s East Bay, 1850–1963. Garland Publishing, New York
McLaren D (2003) Environmental space, equity and the ecological debt. In: Agyeman J, Bullard R, Evans B (eds) Just sustainabilities: development in an unequal world. MIT Press, Cambridge, pp 19–37
Morris Collin R, Collin R (2005) Environmental reparations. In: Bullard R (ed) The quest for environmental justice: human rights and the politics of pollution. Sierra Club Books, San Francisco, pp 209–221
Neumayer E (2000) In defense of historical accountability for greenhouse gas emissions. Ecol Econ 33(2):185–192
Norman J (2006) Temescal legacies: narratives of change from a North Oakland neighborhood. Shared Ground, Oakland
Oliver M, Shapiro T (1995) Black wealth/white wealth: a new perspective on racial inequality. Routledge, New York
Padilla E (2002) Intergenerational equity and sustainability. Ecol Econ 41(1):69–83
Pearce D (1988) Economics, equity and sustainable development. Futures 20(6):598–605
Pezzoli K (1997) Sustainable development: a transdisciplinary overview of the literature. J Environ Plan Manag 40(5):549–574
Pulido L (2000) Rethinking environmental racism: White privilege and urban development in Southern California. Ann Assoc Am Geogr 90(1):12–40
Reno P (1971) Aluminum profits and Caribbean people. In: Rhodes R (ed) Imperialism and underdevelopment: a reader. Monthly Review Press, New York
Ross A (2011) Bird on fire. Oxford University Press, New York
Self O (2003) American Babylon: race and the struggle for postwar Oakland. Princeton University Press, Princeton
Swilling M, Annecke E (2006) Building sustainable neighbourhoods in South Africa: learning from the Lynedoch case. Environ Urban 18(2):315–332
Talen E (1998) Visualizing fairness: equity maps for planners. J Am Plan Assoc 64(1):22–38
Taylor P, Kochhar R, Fry R, Velasco G, Motel S (2011) Twenty-to-one: wealth gaps to rise to record high between Whites, Blacks and Hispanics. Pew Research Center, Washington DC
The World Commission on Environment and Development (WCED) (1987) Our common future. Oxford University Press, New York
Thompson J (2002) Taking responsibility for the past: reparation and historical justice. Polity Press, Cambridge
Toulmin LM (1988) Equity as a decision rule in determining the distribution of urban public services. Urban Affairs Quart 23(3):389–413
Wade-Benzoni KA (2002) A golden rule over time: reciprocity in intergenerational allocation decisions. Acad Manag J 45(5):1011–1028
Wade-Benzoni KA, Tost LP (2009) The egoism and altruism of intergenerational behavior. Personal Soc Psychol Rev 13:165–193
White D (1982) The black sides of Atlanta: a geography of expansion and containment, 1870–1970. Atlanta Hist J 26:208–213
Wiek A, Withycombe L, Redman CL (2011) Key competencies in sustainability: a reference framework for academic program development. Sustain Sci 6:203–218
Yabareen J (2008) A new conceptual framework for sustainable development. Environ Dev Sustain 10:179–192
Yoshida F (2007) Environmental restoration of Minamata: new thinking brings new advances. Sustain Sci 2:85–93
Acknowledgments
The authors would like to thank the anonymous reviewers as well as the review editor, Joanne Kauffman, for their valuable feedback and guidance.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Additional information
Handled by Joanne Kauffman, Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) (Retired), France
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Golub, A., Mahoney, M. & Harlow, J. Sustainability and intergenerational equity: do past injustices matter?. Sustain Sci 8, 269–277 (2013). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11625-013-0201-0
Received:
Accepted:
Published:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11625-013-0201-0