ABSTRACT
Employment is a source of income, social relationships, identity and individual self-esteem (Winkelmann and Winkelmann, 1998) and the amount of money earned – income – allows an individual to exercise different types of lifestyles with varying levels of resource consumption. Once people earn more than it costs to fulfil their fundamental needs, they are fulfilling wants (Max-Neef, 1991). Individuals may even strive to fulfil wants before needs if the mix of social pressures is right. Wants are closely linked to the novelty of people's possessions, experiences and consumption, which are an outcome of their lifestyle choices and the urban form in which they live. The choices individuals make regarding the type of lifestyle they lead in association with their income will impact on the likely size of their ecological footprint.
