Are science metrics beneficial to sustainability? A standpoint of disciplines with a societal impact

Abstract

Both sustainability and planning require interdisciplinary approaches. Moreover, an interdisciplinary approach is required to the sciences contributing to planning for sustainable local communities. Nevertheless, current criteria governing science, particularly career promotion and research funding, overemphasize the contribution of research to scientific progress and economic growth, disregarding its societal impact. The new European framework research program and Romanian strategy for research promise a change. In order to meet this need, the current study aims to respond to this challenge by analyzing two examples of disciplines contributing to sustainable local development, yet disadvantaged by the previous strategies. We analyzed qualitatively urban/landscape ecology and humanistic geography based on their presence and representation in data from the Romanian Classification of Occupations, criteria used in academic and research career advancement, and funding programs, and phrased some recommendations for helping the development of similar research areas in the future.

Keywords

• research measurement
• role of science
• local sustainability
• urban ecology
• landscape ecology
• humanistic geography