Sustainability and the Childe thesis - What are the effects of local characteristics and conditions on sustainable development policy?

The Childe thesis is fundamental to the urban ecology theoretical framework, explaining the development of communities as a result of the interplay between the dynamics of population, organization, environment, and technology. This perspective is consistent with sustainability, ecosystem, and bioregional principles that recognize the importance of local response to local conditions. In the face of globalizing forces that enable communities to expand their range of exploitation beyond local carrying capacity, how relevant are these concepts? This study provides evidence that communities in the US do respond to local signals and that such response is conditioned by levels of education and political mobilization. It also identifies factors that are related to increased levels of adoption of sustainable development policies.