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. 2009 Jul 1;8(3&AMP4):195-203.
doi: 10.1080/15330150903269464.

Community Ecology and Capacity: Keys to Progressing the Environmental Communication of Wicked Problems

Rosemary M Caron  1 , Nancy Serrell
Affiliations

Community Ecology and Capacity: Keys to Progressing the Environmental Communication of Wicked Problems

Rosemary M Caron et al. Appl Environ Educ Commun. .

Abstract

Wicked problems are multifactorial in nature and possess no clear resolution due to numerous community stakeholder involvement. We demonstrate childhood lead poisoning as a wicked problem and illustrate how understanding a community's ecology can build community capacity to affect local environmental management by (1) forming an academic-community partnership and (2) developing a place-specific strategy grounded in the cultural-experiential model of risk. We propose that practitioners need to consider a community's ecology and social context of risk as it pertains to wicked problems. These factors will determine how a diverse community interprets and responds to environmental communication and capacity-building efforts.

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Figures

Fig. 1
Fig. 1
Elevated blood levels (greater than or equal to 10 ug/dl) in children less than 7 years of age in Manchester, New Hampshire, 1990–2006.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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