Why scale matters

doi:10.1017/CBO9781139344524.021

17 - Why scale matters

from Part 3 - Theory

Published online by Cambridge University Press: 05 February 2013

Blythe McLennan and

Graham Moore

Edited by

Helena Bender

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Helena Bender: Affiliation:
University of Melbourne

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Summary

The importance of thinking about scale in the study of human–environment relations cannot be overstated; it is one of the central problems of ecology … and one of the most vexing concepts in social theory … (Sneddon et al. 2002, p. 665)

Scale remains poorly understood, carelessly applied and surprisingly chaotic.

(Howitt 2002, p. 299)

Introduction

This chapter is about scale: what it is and how it matters. In particular, it is about why scale matters for studying, understanding and reshaping human–environment interactions in the pursuit of sustainability (see Chapter 14). This chapter encompasses ways of thinking about and using scale from a range of disciplines and subdisciplines such as human geography, environmental engineering, ecology, Earth sciences, physical geography, sociology and political science. It also attempts to move beyond disciplines into interdisciplinary ways of thinking about scale.

The two quotes above demonstrate that the concept of scale is an incredibly complex one. Indeed, after decades of trying to develop and clarify this concept, scale theorists (people who seek to make sense of scale and how we use it in scientific inquiry) have not yet been able to manage the task. As Sneddon et al. (2002) note in the first quote above, scale is one of the most important yet problematic concepts in ecology and social theory, and it is vital in any attempt to understand human–environment relations. According to Howitt (2002), scientific thinking about scale is far from being well-organised and defined.

Information

Type: Chapter
Information: Reshaping Environments
An Interdisciplinary Approach to Sustainability in a Complex World
, pp. 368 - 391

DOI: https://doi.org/10.1017/CBO9781139344524.021 [Opens in a new window]

Publisher: Cambridge University Press

Print publication year: 2012

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