On 7 September 2023, Dr Andrea Zappalaglio (Lecturer in Intellectual Property Law, University of Sheffield), in collaboration with Dr Enrico Bonadio (Reader in Law, City University of London), organised a ground-breaking workshop at the City Law School that brought together leading scholars from various disciplines within the realm of social sciences to explore the concepts of "sense of place" and “evolution of place” and their connection to the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). This innovative event was made possible through the generous support of the GO Fund grant, awarded by the Grantham Centre for Sustainable Futures, one of the flagship research centres of the University of Sheffield.
The workshop, which marks a significant milestone in interdisciplinary research in this area of Social Sciences, aimed to examine the evolving nature of places and their role in achieving the Sustainable Development Goals. The event fostered rich discussions and new perspectives on this complex issue with experts from diverse academic backgrounds such as law, sociology, anthropology, geography, history, economics and cultural heritage studies.
Dr Zappalaglio and Dr Bonadio said: "Every Sustainable Development Goal has human beings and the places where they live at its core. However, this topic is too broad to be analysed from just one perspective. This is why we have chosen a collaborative and multidisciplinary approach. This methodology paid off as we had six hours of fascinating discussions in the stunning board room of the City Law School, and these were barely sufficient. We are convinced that interdisciplinary cooperation should be the rule in future research, and we are glad that we managed to provide a practical example of the potential of this approach. We are grateful to the Grantham Centre for Sustainable Futures for believing in the project. The GO Fund played a pivotal role in making this event possible.”
Now that we know that this approach can be so successful, we will start working on an edited volume that will bring together a number of scholars from all realms of the Social Sciences, from Law to Psychology and beyond."
Dr Zappalaglio and Dr Bonadio
For the two scholars, this workshop is just the beginning of a larger project: “Now that we know that this approach can be so successful”, states Dr Zappalaglio “we will start working on an edited volume that will bring together a number of scholars from all realms of the Social Sciences, from Law to Psychology and beyond. We will seek to shed light on how a deeper understanding of concepts such as the ‘sense of place’, the ‘sense of community’, and the ‘transformation of the rural and urban space’ can inform policies and practices that support sustainable living, social inclusion, and responsible resource management”.
