Assessing human well-being constructs with environmental and equity aspects: A review of the landscape
December 1, 2023 - Betley, Erin C.; Sigouin, Amanda; Pascua, Pua'ala; Cheng, Samantha H.; MacDonald, Kenneth Iain; Arengo, Felicity; Aumeeruddy-Thomas, Yildiz; Caillon, Sophie; Isaac, Marney E.; Jupiter, Stacy D.; Mawyer, Alexander; Mejia, Manuel; Moore, Alexandria C.; Rena
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EmailJournal or Book Title: PEOPLE AND NATURE
Abstract: 1. Decades of theory and scholarship on the concept of human well-being have informed a proliferation of approaches to assess well-being and support public policy aimed at sustainability and improving quality of life.2. Human well-being is multidimensional, and well-being emerges when the dimensions and interrelationships interact as a system. In this paper, we illuminate two crucial components of well-being that are often excluded from policy because of their relative difficulty to measure and manage: equity and interrelationships between humans and the environment.3. We use a mixed-methods approach to review and summarize progress to date in developing well-being constructs (including frameworks and methods) that address these two components.4. Well-being frameworks that do not consider the environment, or interrelationships between people and their environment, are not truly measuring well-being in all its dimensions.5. Use of equity lenses to assess well-being frameworks aligns with increasing efforts to more holistically characterize well-being and to guide sustainability management in ethical and equitable ways.6. Based on the findings of our review, we identify several pathways forward for the development and implementation of well-being frameworks that can inform efforts to leverage well-being for public policy.
Type of Publication: Review