The Impact of Access: What Structural Factors Prevent or Allow Sustainable Lifestyle Choices?
Major
Political Science
Submission Type
Oral Presentation
Area of Study or Work
Political Science
Faculty Advisor
Jim Simeone
Location
CNS E104
Start Date
4-12-2025 8:30 AM
End Date
4-12-2025 9:30 AM
Abstract
The climate crisis has never been more urgent, yet action to solve it continues to stall, from the individual to the international level. The systemic injustices preventing adequate top-down action are well understood, but what is preventing bottom up action? Why are individuals not making more sustainable choices? This paper will attempt to provide some possible answers to this question, specifically examining what is preventing middle class individuals in urban areas of developed countries from making sustainable lifestyle choices. The results of this study reveal that the accessibility of sustainability is a key factor, particularly access to renewable energy options and economic incentives to choose them. Taking the concept of ecological habitus as the framework for understanding environmental decision making on the individual level, this paper will argue that accessibility must be understood as a key feature in the complex landscape of habitus. It will also offer the beginnings of guidance to local policy makers and urban planners on some of the most effective policies for reducing their area’s carbon footprints, specifically recommending focusing on adding renewable options for home energy consumption and building incentives for consumers to choose them.
The Impact of Access: What Structural Factors Prevent or Allow Sustainable Lifestyle Choices?
CNS E104
The climate crisis has never been more urgent, yet action to solve it continues to stall, from the individual to the international level. The systemic injustices preventing adequate top-down action are well understood, but what is preventing bottom up action? Why are individuals not making more sustainable choices? This paper will attempt to provide some possible answers to this question, specifically examining what is preventing middle class individuals in urban areas of developed countries from making sustainable lifestyle choices. The results of this study reveal that the accessibility of sustainability is a key factor, particularly access to renewable energy options and economic incentives to choose them. Taking the concept of ecological habitus as the framework for understanding environmental decision making on the individual level, this paper will argue that accessibility must be understood as a key feature in the complex landscape of habitus. It will also offer the beginnings of guidance to local policy makers and urban planners on some of the most effective policies for reducing their area’s carbon footprints, specifically recommending focusing on adding renewable options for home energy consumption and building incentives for consumers to choose them.