Sustainable Local Development on Aegean Islands: A Meta-Analysis of the Literature

Abstract

Sustainable local development is central to debates on socioeconomic and environmental change. Although the meaning of sustainable local development is disputed, the concept is frequently applied to island cases. Studies have recently been made of many local development initiatives in different contexts, with various methods and results. These experiences can provide valuable input on planning, managing, and evaluating sustainable local development on islands. This paper provides a literature review of positive and negative examples of sustainable local development for the Aegean Islands, Greece. Out of an initial 1,562 papers, 80 papers made the final selection based on theme, empirical approach, and recency. The results demonstrate a wide thematic variety in research topics, with tourism, agriculture, and energy being the most frequent themes, while integrated frameworks are largely absent. The literature includes a wide range of methods, from quantitative approaches with indicators and indexes to qualitative assessments, which blurs overall assessments in many instances.