ABSTRACT
Nature can be seen as the earthbound whole, in which human societies are embedded and evolved. To make sense of sustainability for these societies, their relations to the biophysical world with its systems, processes and non-humans, must be recognised and understood. This introduction presents an overview of the key concepts discussed in the subsequent chapters of this book. The book discusses non-human nature as consisting of rights-bearing subjects, and a multicentric understanding of ethics. It investigates the role of urban ecosystem services, and suggests a sustainable capability approach, containing situational stakeholder engagement and notions of radical democracy. The book also investigates entrepreneurship needed to maintain economic activities within biophysical limits. It explains why the economistic interpretation of wellbeing jeopardises sustainability and argues for a more holistic conceptualisation. The book presents place-based alternatives, a form of residential community where inhabitants are motivated by eco-and social-centric values to grow place-based human ecosystems.
