Structures for Environmental Action

Authors

Katherine Bunting-Howart, Delaware. Department of Natural Resources and Environmental Control
Avi Brisman, Emory University
Willett Kempton, University of Delaware
Dorothy C. Holland, University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill
Peggy F. Bartlett, Emory University

Abstract

This article develops a typology of what we term “structures for action”—strategies, mechanisms, and means—used by local environmental groups to facilitate actions such as lifestyle shifts, civic protest, and environmental preservation. Based on data from nineteen groups in several states, we distinguish between internal structures that facilitate action for members of the groups and external structures that facilitate action among nonmembers and other groups. Within both internal and external structures, we identify three dimensions: knowledge, meaning, and praxis. Our typology of structures for action is designed to stimulate further research and to be useful for environmental groups, as well as for other social issue-oriented local groups that seek to be more effective.

Relational Format

journal article

Accessibility Status

Searchable text

Recommended Citation

Bunting-Howart, Katherine; Brisman, Avi; Kempton, Willett; Holland, Dorothy C.; and Bartlett, Peggy F. (2009) "Structures for Environmental Action," Southern Anthropologist: Vol. 34: No. 1, Article 2.
Available at: https://egrove.olemiss.edu/southern_anthropologist/vol34/iss1/2