What is social ecology about?

As well as being increasingly important in discussions, the topic of ecology is noticeably beginning to impinge on everyday choices and decisions - and not just those of individuals. Social ecology is a scientific field that focuses on civic awareness, which has had a considerable impact on the way in which various social strata and groups have dealt with ecological issues, for example by creating ecological climate campaigns.

What is social ecology?

The term social ecology in sociology is a concept that refers to the study of the environment and its impact on the way of life of human assemblages, adaptive processes in relation to the geographical environment and location in space. It deals with society-nature relations, placing particular emphasis on the interests of social groups in the area of nature management.

Types of social ecology

There are five types of social ecology: legal, demographic, futurological, urban and ecological.

• The economic type primarily focuses on 'moral economics', in which the belief is that maintaining a balance between the natural and human worlds, rather than seeking to maximise profits at all costs, would be the solution to many socio-ecological problems.
• Demographic ecology focuses its resources on the observation, modelling and description of populations, their status and dynamics. It analyses population size and characteristics, and is dedicated to the study of the fate of individuals and their groups.
• The futurological type focuses on forecasts, mainly in the realm of ecological risks and opportunities. It is a 'generator of scenarios' that may arise. It allows the development of ways to respond in a timely manner, thanks to adequate foresight and available technology.
• The urban type of social ecology mainly focuses on agglomerations, ecological social movements in cities, their functioning, produced pollution, socio-spatial relations and processes such as segregation, concentration, invasion and succession, which are factors in the functioning and existence of cities.

Social ecology - tasks and challenges

The main task of social ecology is to study and observe the mechanisms of human impact on the environment and the changes taking place as a result of human activity. The main challenges and problems faced by social ecology can be boiled down to three main points related to scale:

• on a planetary scale, there is a focus on population and resource forecasting, in the midst of dynamic industrial development and planning how society can continue to grow;
• at the regional scale, the work of social ecology boils down to the study of individual ecosystems in an area (region);
• at the micro-scale, activities focus on studying and identifying the parameters and main characteristics of urban life, its quality and opportunities for improvement.

In addition to the scientific field, social ecology is also taking shape as an ecological social movement, that is, it can have a huge impact on the design of cities and the management of agglomeration resources. It offers the hope that the natural problems we face stem from deep-rooted social problems. By changing one, we can positively influence the other, providing balance to the way the world works today.