Engineering Sustainability Proceedings of the Institution of Civil Engineers

Engineering Sustainability 164 June 2011 Issue ES2

Volume 164 Issue ES2 Pages 105–117 doi: 10.1680/ensu.2011.164.2.105
Historical paper: ‘The tragedy of the Paper 1000044
Received 02/08/2010 Accepted 03/03/2011
commons’
Corker Keywords: biography/natural resources/sustainability

ice | proceedings ICE Publishing: All rights reserved

Historical paper: ‘The tragedy

of the commons’
Nicholas Corker MSc, PgCert EIA, CertEd, Prof grad IMMM, AIEMA
Principal Consultant, Sustainable Development, BRE, Watford, UK

How do we allocate natural resources in an equitable way? For many, Garret Hardin’s ’The tragedy of the commons’
published in Science in 1968 became a parable of its time, giving succour to both environmentalist and capitalist alike.
The intervening years have seen developments in environmental economics, participatory planning, environmental
regulation, governance and resource efficiency, all strands that Hardin would recognise. New multi-disciplinary fields
have emerged in topics such as socio-ecological systems theory, environmental cognition and resilience, all things that
Hardin alludes to. The new science of ecosystem services is providing a robust framework for natural resource
evaluation as it starts to underpin exactly what nature provides to us all in common. As we face the challenges of a
changing climate and other ’wicked’ problems, is Hardin’s analysis of a ’class of problem with no technical solution’ still
a useful one? Followers of the debate over sustainable communities and the ‘big society’ may think so. This paper aims
to introduce the reader to Hardin’s now classic tragic scenario of natural resource use, place it within an evolving corpus
of environmental literature, explore a little of the author’s own life and attempt to asses its impact and relevance today.

1. Introduction the ‘security question’, the ‘population question’ and so on to

In an era of information overload, what benefit is there in draw the attention of policy makers and the public alike. In just
reading a general paper written 43 years ago? Reading over five pages Hardin almost provocatively instructs the reader
Hardin’s paper in 2011 is perhaps timely as the Royal on a ‘class of human problems’ with ‘no technical solution’.
Society (in July 2010) commenced a new study ‘People and Involving political science, environmental studies, economics,
the planet: the role of global population in sustainable ecology, demography, ethics and philosophy, his thesis ques-
development’, indicating that some problems just do not go tions the potency of technical solutions arguing for a revision of
away. This historical paper is not an easy read, but it is worth human values or a change of ethics, as essential prerequisites for
persevering with and while doing so recall (if you can) tackling what have recently been called wicked problems.
something of the world in 1968 and the intervening years.
The target is the ‘population problem’, not a new issue but one
The aim of this paper is to introduce the reader to Garret Hardin’s made more acute by social tensions of the time and the growing
‘The tragedy of the commons’, which many see as being seminal in realisation of a world with limits, ‘space is no escape’ (Hardin,
the field of natural resource management. The objective is to place 1968, p. 1243). For many the paper crystallised the emerging
Hardin’s paper within an evolving corpus of environmental challenge of living within a finite world, encapsulated by the
writings, to identify some of the activities it stimulated and to (soon to be) universal image of the earth seen from space. For a
assess its impact and its relevance today. Of particular importance biologist, the paper is full of classical references such as
is the still-active debate between two views of resource manage- Malthus (population grows geometrically, food arithmetically),
ment, one based on individualism the other on cooperation. In Bentham (the greatest good for the greatest number) and Smith
considering the paper it may be helpful to understand something of (the invisible hand promoting public interest). It also discusses
the author’s life; therefore, a potted biography is included. game theory, differential equations and energetics. The paper
crosses disciplinary boundaries, a blend of ecological principles
and economic thought engaging the reader in a rich discussion
Dr Garrett James Hardin’s essay ‘The tragedy of the commons’,
as the thesis is developed on the page.
is one of the most cited papers (often without its subtitle) in the
environmental literature (Dietz et al., 2003). It was first
published in Science on 13 December 1968, from a script 2. Garret J. Hardin (1915–2003)
presented as a presidential address to the Pacific Division of the Born in Dallas, Texas in 1915, Hardin was inflicted with polio
American Association for the Advancement of Science. It comes as a young child. Growing up he stayed each summer on his
from an age when newly influential environmental academics grandparent’s farm in Missouri, and it is here helping on the
utilised the rhetoric of the world problem, the ‘food question’, farm that an interest in biology was kindled (Hardin, 1997).

Delivered by ICEVirtualLibrary.com to: 105

IP: 129.169.66.154
On: Tue, 09 Aug 2011 11:05:00
Engineering Sustainability Historical paper: ‘The tragedy of
Volume 164 Issue ES2 the commons’
Corker

High school days were spent in Chicago and at the age of 15 he shared problem. So the tragedy unfolds as more and more
won a newspaper prize for an essay on Thomas Edison, which herdsmen seek to maximise utility from this common resource.
enabled him to visit the elderly inventor. In 1932 he won both
music and science scholarships to the University of Chicago. ‘Each man is locked into a system that compels him to increase
Combining the two proved difficult and he graduated in his herd without limit – in a world that is limited. Ruin is the
zoology in 1936, taking his PhD at Stamford in microbial destination toward which all men rush, each pursuing his own
ecology in 1941. He started work at the Carnegie Institute, best interest in a society that believes in the freedom of the
investigating antibiotics produced by algae, and later work commons. Freedom in a commons brings ruin to all.’ (Hardin,
looked at cultured algae as a potential animal food source. 1968, p. 1244).

In 1946 on moving to the University of California, he developed The subtle power of this allegory is that it is presented as a
ecological education programmes for the general citizen. He was simple choice between two modes of behaviour: one selfish, to
made a full professor in human ecology in 1963. Hardin has a add another animal; one altruistic, not to add. The critical factor
track record in combining ecological science and economics to here is that the consequences are only partially acknowledged by
develop a persuasive argument, as can be seen from his paper on the decision maker, the immediate focus being on short-term
the competitive principle (Hardin, 1960), and he was regarded satisfaction. Thus the community of humankind faces a
by his peers as a great educator. dangerous situation created not by malicious outside forces
but by the apparently appropriate and innocent behaviours of
Hardin lived a long life (to the age of 88) and thus was many individuals acting alone (De Young, 1999).
contemporary with so many other notable environmental
thinkers (Boulding, Commoner, Ehrlich, Odum, Carson etc.). Hardin uses this simple example to illustrate the common
He left a legacy of work, is credited with the concept of property problem within the context of resource use. For
‘carrying capacity’, and emphasised the importance of envir- example, rights of access to national parks, fishing in the
onmental literacy (Cairns, 2005). He remains a touchstone for oceans, and pollution where the issue is not of extraction but
many through the Garret Hardin Society (http://www. discharge. Aware of the distinction between fence-able and
garretthardinsociety.org/index.html). According to his New non-fence-able resources, Hardin’s solution to this dilemma is
York Times obituary, Garrett and his wife committed suicide vested in the ability of two state-led structures: private
at their home in Santa Barbara on 14 September 2003: they property law and government regulation to manage the
were members of End-of-Life Choices. problem. However, we are warned to be wary of the dangers
of administrative corruption (who regulates the regulators?)
3. The ‘tragedy’ and that leaving guilt and conscience as the sole arbitrator only
Based on an original idea by the eighteenth-century Oxford confuses the individual (Hardin, 1968, p. 1246).
economist William Forster Lloyd (Fonesca, 2010), and further
examined in relation to fisheries by Scott Gordon (1954). The In furthering his case for a constructed ethical imperative,
paper explores resource allocation by way of a powerful allegory morality, Hardin argues, is system sensitive, in that what
concerning a theoretical common. Hardin utilises the term seemed to be trivial acts under frontier conditions (careless use
‘tragedy’ as a descriptor of the resulting state of affairs, it does of resources) become more important when resources are
not mean sudden catastrophe but a remorseless way of things scarce or people many. In stressing the role of ‘corrective
(from the Greek understanding of the term), an inevitable feedbacks’ in legitimating wise behaviour, responsibility (to do
consequence of actions. The scene is first set by establishing the right thing), it is reasoned ‘is the product of definite social
arrangements’ (Hardin, 1968, p. 1247).
(a) the finite nature of the world
(b) the biological energetics of human survival 4. Review
(c) the difficulties in defining optimum populations Hardin’s essay was almost immediately adopted by some in the
(d) the complexities of quantifying standards of living environmental movement as proof that an alternative to
(e) questioning the desirability of total individual freedoms. current development must be found. It deals with issues such
as access to resources, freedom of choice and how choices can
Then we are invited to imagine an unfenced pasture open to all, a be limited, either by personal or community responsibility, or
common. It is suggested that each rational herdsman utilising this state interference. It was also seen by some critics as an excuse
resource will seek to maximise gain for himself and his family. to privatise and regulate indigenous land and rights. The paper
Starting with a small herd of animals the herdsman soon realises became controversial as it raised political issues about
that each additional animal he can loose onto the common brings individual freedoms, particularly parenthood and birth control
benefits direct to him, while any consequential overgrazing is a and the role of the state at both home and foreign policy level.

106 Delivered by ICEVirtualLibrary.com to:

IP: 129.169.66.154
On: Tue, 09 Aug 2011 11:05:00
Engineering Sustainability Historical paper: ‘The tragedy of
Volume 164 Issue ES2 the commons’
Corker

How did Hardin’s perspective emerge, is it a product of claiming that he had overlooked traditional management,
scientific analysis? Or did it grow from conclusions based more where cultural resource allocation had ensured survival,
on ages-old moral questions of the boundaries around although not always successfully. The state (through national
individual and community responsibility and governance? and international agreements) did not have a good record in
this respect either. Quoting the anthropologist GN Appell,
Pettula (1994) places Hardin within a tradition of North Angus (2008), attacking the scientific basis for Hardin’s
American natural scientists, who added the human factor to conclusions, points out that like many ‘sacred texts’, it ‘is
ecology as it was being applied to the management of biological more often cited than read’. Identifying within the text a
systems, identifying: Aldo Leopold’s Game management (1933) ‘politically useful myth’ that has been used as the evidence base
Fairfield Osborn’s Our plundered planet and William Vogt’s Road for international development.
to survival (both 1948). The policy context was a countering to the
‘havoc’ of historical natural resource allocation and use in the Is Hardin’s view that society is an assemblage of self-interested
early USA. The practical consequences of the ‘dust bowl’ individuals correct? Are we helpless prisoners of genetics and the
articulated through the soil conservation activities of Gifford market? His critics point out (coincidentally) that this is also the
Pinchot, and Franklin D Roosevelt, from the 1930s onwards. cornerstone of capitalist economic theory. Pretty (2003) gives a
Leopold’s later book A sand county almanac (1949) outlined the different perspective, arguing that in Hardin’s, ‘compelling
need for a ‘land ethic’ to guide natural resource use. logic’ people’s use inevitably damages environments and the
more people the more damage. This has led to stark choices.
One of the most detailed analyses is offered by O’Riordan Either we regulate, enclose and privatise to prevent further harm
(1981), who quotes Hardin’s own discomfort at reaching the or we must use coercion, citing Hardin’s own words:
conclusions he did: ‘never have I found anything so difficult to
work into shape. I wrote at least seven significantly different ‘The only type of coercion I recommend is mutual coercion,
versions before resting content with this one…’. Seeing the mutually agreed upon by the majority of people affected.’
morality of the commons as the new morality of limits, (Hardin, 1968, p. 1247).
O’Riordan identifies a case being made for a managerial elite
who control individual freedoms for the social good. He also, He evidences that a development of this, ‘coercion’ a ‘third
however, identifies the major underlying theme as being the way’ are manifest in over half a million governance examples
absence of a sense of community. This concern is neatly cultivating and employing social capital (see below) where local
expressed by Boulding (O’Riordan, 1981: p. 33) knowledge has been utilised within a fostering of trust,
reciprocity, common rules and an acceptance of sanctions
‘Economists argue that all the world lacks is, (Pretty, 2003). Perhaps O’Riordan’s (1981) early analysis was
A suitable system of effluent taxes. prescient in identifying that the lack of a sense of community is
They forget that if people pollute with impunity, the issue to focus on within sustainable development. The
This must be a symptom of lack of community’ roles, responsibilities and relationships between individual,
community and state still test society. The issue of equity and
Monbiot (1994) viewed Hardin’s essay as one of the world’s the common interest is raised in chapter 2 of Our common
most dangerous myths, providing a rational basis for the future (UN, 1987) and is perhaps still at the heart of the debate
privatisation of land; he gave examples of common ownership over ‘sustainable communities’ as recent legislation suggests:
without degradation pointing out that where commons are the
property of a community rules have evolved to regulate their ‘The Sustainable Communities Act aims to promote the
use; and collective eyes are forever vigilant. He also points out sustainability of local communities. It begins from the principle
that Hardin’s thesis is only valid where there is no ownership as that local people know best what needs to be done to promote the
in the oceans (or the atmosphere) and that these are not sustainability of their area, but that sometimes they need central
commons in the traditional sense, but ‘free-for-alls’. Dasgupta government to act to enable them to do so’ (DCLG, 2008).
(1996) points to the rival nature (individuals can gain at the
expense of others) of what he calls common-property 5. Discussion
resources; adding that Hardin’s allegory ‘is misleading for The term ‘social capital’ captures the idea that social bonds and
geographically localised … resources, such as ponds, threshing norms are important to communities. In social capital theory,
grounds and, ironically, grazing fields.’ relations of trust lower transaction costs. The more co-operation
within a community the higher the social capital. Evidencing the
In 2003 as part of a State of the Planet series, Science journal erosion of social capital in contemporary US society, Putnam’s
published a special issue revisiting Hardin’s essay. Here Dietz, ideas (2000) were part of the UK Labour Government’s (1997–
et al. (2003) point to Hardin’s over simplistic analysis, also 2010) thinking on sustainable communities policy. In 2006 the

Delivered by ICEVirtualLibrary.com to: 107

IP: 129.169.66.154
On: Tue, 09 Aug 2011 11:05:00
Engineering Sustainability Historical paper: ‘The tragedy of
Volume 164 Issue ES2 the commons’
Corker

Shop- Internet where technological interventions were part of an agreed frame-

Voluntary
keeper (virtual) work of action. In 1968 technology was seen as an almost
Scouts work National
community
Sports team identity universal panacea, the Americans were after all about to put men
Pen-pal School
on the moon, but Hardin does not put his faith in technology
Charities alone. As humankind is rooted in a finite biological setting he sees
Work and
colleague NGOs the problem a socio-ecological one with solutions very much
Professional rooted in the humanities. Agreements are struck and legislation
Political
University bodies
parties crafted in the best interests of individuals and nations, and equally
In-laws Family and individuals and nations for all sorts of reasons default on their
Friends household
Neighbours and
responsibilities, this is discovered (or not) and further iteration
neighbourhood takes place – a very expensive process. The current challenge of
Church
Social class adapting to and mitigating climate change (RCEP, 2010) brings
this into sharp focus as we engage with one unexpected legacy of
the industrial revolution. Does the relative strength of community
Figure 1. Representative sketch of potential range (identity,
social capital play any part here? Particularly as we grapple with
interest, place) of communities experienced by a twenty first
the issue of managing new community infrastructure such as
century individual (Corker, 2008) NGOs, non-governmental
sustainable urban drainage, work within participatory planning
organisations
frameworks or seek to encourage recycling rates and take
responsibility for our own carbon liability?
Secretary of State for the Environment David Milliband
introduced in his Great Stink lecture the idea of the environ-
6. Research since Hardin
mental contract, which ultimately did not develop a popular
One pitfall in reviewing historical papers, particularly one open to
appeal. Could it be that the underpinning philosophy of the
such wide interpretation, is the temptation to atavism. However,
current Coalition Government’s ‘Big Society’ proposal develops
developments in research and policy, that owe something to the
the same themes? (Milliband, 2006).
debate ignited by Hardin, will be of interest to readers
What is the perspective from 2011? The world population in
(a) environmental economics, issues in ascribing values to the
1968 was around 3.5 billion, and today it is 6.8 billion and rising
environment, public goods and so on (Meadows et al.,
(World Bank, 2010), putting an increasing demand for food,
1972; Pearce et al., 1989, Price, 2010, personal commu-
energy, water and land (reviewed by Beddington, 2010). The
number of malnourished people, those without access to the nication. See also http://www.bangor.ac.uk/senrgy/staff/
1600 ‘maintenance calories’ identified by Hardin has risen in price.php.en)
proportion with general population rise (WFP, 2010). Family (b) ecosystem services and the economics of biodiversity (MA,
planning advice is more widely available, yet total population 2010; TEEB, 2010; UK-NEA, 2010), policy implications
continues to increase. Our experience of community outside reviewed by May (2010)
kinship has widened enormously (Figure 1) to include the (c) socio-ecological systems theory – common pool resource
internet, this and decades of environmental activism bringing management, the need for resource management structures
greater exposure to issues of resource inequality. The cold war that result in resilient and robust environments (Ostrom
has ended, and despite a number of energy crises we face (undated), Carl Folke and the work of the Stockholm
uncertainty in future energy availability (reviewed by Lloyds, Resilience Centre, 2010)
2010). The microchip has enabled an information explosion in a (d) environmentalism (O’Riordan, 1981; Worcester, 1992) and
range of media; an increase in disposable income (in the west) sustainable development (UN, 1987) and a 20-year retro-
has extended choice, stimulating and maintaining a consumer spective (Hamdouchand Zuindeau, 2010)
society. This in turn has increased pressure on primary resource (e) environmental planning (RCEP, 2002) environmental
extraction (EU, 2010) and end-of-life dilemmas for used and standards (BRE Environmental Assessment Method
unwanted products. Biodiversity and forest resources appear to (BREEAM) etc., BSI, 2010; RCEP, 2006; Wyatt et al.,
be subject to inevitable decline (MA, 2010). 2009) and the role of regulation (Ashley, 2009; Bowers,
1998) and sustainability assessment (reviewed by
Does belonging to a ‘class of problems with no technical Colantonio, 2010)
solution’, discount a role for technology in tackling the ‘tragedy (f) participatory planning (IIED, 2009), design charrettes
of the commons’? In recent times technology has had a role to (NCI, 2010) and an emphasis on stakeholder consultation
play in abating some common property pollutants, particular (Sandker et al., 2010) manifest in the Water Framework
examples being acid rain, lead in petrol and hydrofluorocarbons, Directive (RELU, 2010)

108 Delivered by ICEVirtualLibrary.com to:

IP: 129.169.66.154
On: Tue, 09 Aug 2011 11:05:00
Engineering Sustainability Historical paper: ‘The tragedy of
Volume 164 Issue ES2 the commons’
Corker

(g) sustainable urban form and developments in planning How do we best maintain the public realm? Why is
policy and practice, reviewed by Jabareen (2006) consumerism so popular?
(h) environmental cognition, education and design (Brewer
et al., 2008); and also values and power structures in Hardin belonged to a generation of American academics who
decision making (see Fellows and Liu, 2008), and decision strayed purposefully beyond their academic disciplines and were
making tools (Hurley et al., 2008) willing to engage with issues on a global level. Of his generation
(i) resource efficiency, ‘cradle to cradle’ resource use perhaps EO Wilson is the last remaining. They rose pre-
(McDonough and Braungart, 2002) eminently in their fields as products of a well-resourced
(j) local partnership approaches and environmental contracts educational system, and speak confidently from a continent
(see conclusions reached by the RCEP, 2006); and here whose size encourages expansive views. Hardin has left a legacy
perhaps local and community actions from agenda 21 to of work, nearly 30 books (including an elementary biology text
local strategic partnerships and the Transition Towns book written in 1949) and over 300 articles, which have had an
Network (TTN, 2010), developing theories and practice in undoubted influence on the thoughts that shaped conservation
civic ecology (Krasny and Tidball, 2007, personal com- thinking and policy from the late 1960s onward. He has his own
munication), bioregionalism and low carbon communities society and you can view interviews with him on You Tube.
(DECC, 2010), environmental justice and the importance
of local knowledge (Corburn, 2003; Mantell and van Hove, Can we be born into a sustainable culture, or is it something we
2008; Singh et al., 2010) have to learn? Despite his ability to polarise opinion Hardin is
(k) education for sustainable development (ESD, 2010; one of those thinkers that you have to take ‘in the round’,
UNESCO, 2010) and advances in environmental psychol- potentially he was after all an educator, and he sought to pose
ogy (Edgerton et al., 2007). difficult questions (University of California, undated).

7. Conclusion ‘Education can counteract the natural tendency to do the

Why is ‘The tragedy of the commons’ a seminal paper? Hardin wrong thing, but the inexorable succession of generations
himself was a controversial figure, in later writings (Hardin, requires that the basis of this knowledge be constantly
1974); he did not enhance his reputation with liberal thinkers, as refreshed’ (Hardin, 1968, p. 1245).
he effectively argued against foreign aid in the midst of an
Ethiopian famine. He seemed to be constantly against the grain Acknowledgements
of what he viewed as well-meaning but harmful policy. There are The author is indebted to the forest economist Professor Colin Price
undoubted elements of home-spun style in Hardin’s essay at the University of Bangor for observations on an early draft and
[evident if you watch his later interviews (Hardin, 1997)]; for setting the author an essay on the topic more than 20 years ago.
however, the issues and underpinning force of argument are not
lightweight. Nor is the essay immediately accessible, it can be REFERENCES
read a few times and on each reading a different aspect emerges. Angus I (2008) The myth of the tragedy of the commons.
Hardin employs a journalistic device, grabbing our attention Monthly Review, published online, 25/08/08. See http://
with the opening line: ‘At the end of a thoughtful article on the mrzine.monthlyreview.org/2008/angus250808.html
end of nuclear war...’. There is also a very real sense that Hardin (accessed 01/01/2010).
is predicting the future, always an occupation that immediately Ashley R (2009) Briefing: N.G. Semple’s ‘Principles of
invites controversy. Today, it may be seen as lofty in tone and environmental protection’. Proceedings of the Institution of
too artful to offer real critical insight; or be judged as a simplistic Civil Engineers, Engineering Sustainability 162(1): 3–11.
and deterministic model of behaviour. Its impact on environ- Atkinson C, Yates A and Wyatt M (2009) Sustainability in the Built
mental thought, however, cannot be overlooked. Environment. Building Research Establishment, Watford.
Beddington J (2010) Food security: contributions from science
Notwithstanding the contested semantics of the text, Hardin to a new greener revolution. Philosophical Transactions of
raises ethical questions, aimed at society as a whole. Flanigan the Royal Society, Series B 365(1537): 61–71.
(2006) asks, are these of relevance to the civil engineer, Bowers J (1998) Sustainability and Environmental Economics:
focussed on meeting the developmental needs of society An Alternative Text. Longman, Harlow, Essex, UK.
without compromising the needs of future generations? The Brewer G (2008) Educating for urban sustainability: a
paper is from an important time in environmental thought, transdisciplinary approach. Proceedings of the Institute of
making it an insightful read (or re-read) for civil engineers, as it Civil Engineers, Engineering Sustainability 161(3): 185–193.
immediately grounds the reader in problems that we still BSI (British Standards Institute) (2010) Standards on
grapple with. Why do gardens get sold for development? Why sustainability and environmental management. See http://
are recycling rates so low? Why is litter dropped in the streets? shop.bsigroup.com/en/Browse-By-Subject/Sustainability/

Delivered by ICEVirtualLibrary.com to: 109

IP: 129.169.66.154
On: Tue, 09 Aug 2011 11:05:00
Engineering Sustainability Historical paper: ‘The tragedy of
Volume 164 Issue ES2 the commons’
Corker

The-future-of-sustainability-standards/Sustainability-and- http://onlinehydro.sdsu.edu/flanigan_061213.html
Environmental-Management/ (accessed 01/07/2010). (accessed 01/06/2010).
Cairns J (2005) Garret Hardin a bibliographical memoir. Fellows R and Liu A (2008) Impact of participants’ values on
Proceedings of the American Philosophical Society 149(3): construction sustainability. Proceedings of the Institution
413–419. See http://www.johncairns.net/Papers/ of Civil Engineers, Engineering Sustainability 161(4):
Garrett%20Hardin.pdf (accessed 01/06/2010). 216–277.
Colantonio A (2010) Urban social sustainability themes and Fonesca GL (2010) The History of Economic Thought Web Site.
assessment methods. Proceedings of the Institution of Civil A profile of William Forster Lloyd. (1795–1852) See http://
Engineers, Urban Design and Planning 163(2): 79–88. homepage.newschool.edu/het//profiles/lloyd.htm (accessed
Corburn J (2003) Bringing local knowledge into environmental 01/06/2010).
decision making: improving urban planning for Hamdouch A and Zuindeau B (2010) Sustainable development,
communities at risk. Journal of Planning Education and 20 years on: methodological innovations, practices and
Research 22(4): 420–433. See http://jpe.sagepub.com/ open issues. Journal of Environmental Planning and
content/22/4/420 (accessed 01/07/2010). Management 53(4): 427–438.
Corker NR (2008) Sustainable Communities: What are They and Hardin G (1960) The competitive exclusion principle. Science
How can They be Recognised? Internal Building Research 131(3409): 1292–1297.
Establishment (BRE) report for the BRE Trust, Hardin G (1968) The tragedy of the commons. Science
unpublished. 162(3859): 1243–1248.
Dasgupta P (1996) Markets and their failure: reciprocal interac- Hardin G (1974) The life boat ethic: the case against helping the
tions and the problem of the commons. Chapter 5: The poor. Psychology Today September. Originally published in
economics of the environment. Proceedings of the British Bioscience. See http://www.garretthardinsociety.org/
Academy, Volume 90, pp. 165–221. See http://www.britac. articles/art_lifeboat_ethics_case_against_helping_poor.
ac.uk/pubs/src/keynes95/06sec5.cfm (accessed 01/06/2010). html (accessed 01/06/2010).
DCLG (Department of Communities and Local Government)
Hardin G (1997) Interview with Carl Straub of the Social
(2008) A Guide to the Sustainable Communities Act 2007.
Contract. Published online. See http://www.
DCLG, London.
garretthardinsociety.org/gh/gh_straub_interview.html
DECC (Department of Energy and Climate Change) (2010) Low
(accessed 01/06/2010).
Carbon Communities Challenge. See http://www.decc.gov.
Hurley L, Ashley R and Mounce S (2008) Addressing practical
uk/en/content/cms/what_we_do/consumers/lc_
problems in sustainability assessment frameworks.
communities/lc_communities.aspx (accessed 01/07/2010).
Proceedings of the Institution of Civil Engineers, Engineering
De Young R (1999) Tragedy of the commons. In Encyclopedia
Sustainability 161(1): 23–30.
of Environmental Science (Alexander DE and Fairbridge
IIED (International Institute for Environment and Development)
RW (eds)). Kluwer Academic Publishers, Hingham, MA.
(2009) Participatory Learning and Action. Community based
See http://www-personal.umich.edu/,rdeyoung/tragedy.
Adaptation to Climate Change. See http://www.iied.org/
html (accessed 01/06/2010).
pubs/pdfs/14573IIED.pdf (accessed 01/07/2010).
Dietz T, Ostrom E and Stern P (2003) The struggle to govern the
Jabareen YR (2006) Sustainable urban forms: their typologies,
Commons. Science special edition. Science 302(5652):
models, and concepts. Journal of Planning Education and
1907–1912.
Research 26(1): 38–52.
Edgerton E, Romice O and Spencer C (2007) Environmental
Leopold A (1949) A Sand County Almanac, with other essays on
Psychology: Putting Research into Practice. Cambridge
Scholars Publishing, Newcastle, UK. conservation from Round River. Oxford University Press,
ESD (Education for Sustainable Development) (2010) Education
Oxford, UK.
for Sustainable Development and Global Citizenship. The Lloyds (2010) Sustainable Energy Security: Strategic Risks and
National Assembly for Wales. See http://www.esd-wales. Opportunities for Business. A Lloyds 360 Degree Risk
org.uk/english/higher_ed/teacher_education/ Insight. See http://www.chathamhouse.org.uk/files/
integrating_ESDGC/concepts.htm (accessed 01/07/2010). 16720_0610_froggatt_lahn.pdf (accessed 01/07/2010).
EU (European Union) (2010) European Commission: Critical MA (2010) TheMillenium Ecosystem Assessment. See http://
Raw Materials for the EU. The European Commission www.millenniumassessment.org/en/index.aspx (accessed
Enterprise and Industry. See http://ec.europa.eu/enterprise/ 01/07/2010).
policies/raw-materials/critical/index_en.htm (accessed 01/ Mantell S and Van Hove P (2008) Briefing: agriculture and
07/2010). development. Proceedings of the Institution of Civil
Flanigan D (2006) The Tragedy of the Commons; Garrett Engineers, Engineering Sustainability 161(3): 157–159.
Hardin’s Influence on Civil Engineering. On-line essay: See May R (2010) Ecological science and tomorrow’s world.

110 Delivered by ICEVirtualLibrary.com to:

IP: 129.169.66.154
On: Tue, 09 Aug 2011 11:05:00
Engineering Sustainability Historical paper: ‘The tragedy of
Volume 164 Issue ES2 the commons’
Corker

Philosophical Transactions of Royal Society, Series B common-property resource: the fishery. Journal of Political
365(1537): 41–47. Economy 62(2): 124–142.
McDonough W and Braungart M (2002) Cradle to Cradle: Singh, Ranjay K, Pretty J and Pilgrim S (2010) Traditional
Remaking the Way We Make Things. North Point Press, knowledge and biocultural diversity: learning from tribal
New York, USA. communities for sustainable development in northeast
Meadows DH, Meadows DL, Randers J and Behrens WW (1972) India. Journal of Environmental Planning and Management
The Limits to Growth. Universe Books, New York. 53(4): 511–533. See http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/
Milliband D (2006) The Great Stink, towards an environmental 09640561003722343 (accessed 01/07/2010).
contract. Audit Commission Annual Lecture, 19 July 2006. Stockholm Resilience Centre (2010) See http://www.
Published on-line: See http://www.audit-commission.gov. stockholmresilience.org/ (accessed 01/07/2010).
uk/aboutus/annuallectures/pages/annuallecture2006.aspx TEEB (The Economics of Ecosystems and Biodiversity) (2010) See
(accessed 01/07/2010). http://www.teebweb.org/ (accessed 01/07/2010).
Monbiot G (posted 1994) The Tragedy of Enclosure. See http:// TTN (Transition Towns Network) (2010) See http://
www.monbiot.com/archives/1994/01/01/the-tragedy-of- totnes.transitionnetwork.org/ (accessed 01/07/2010).
enclosure/ (accessed 01/01/2011). U of C (University of California) (undated) A memorial statement
NCI (National Charrette Institute) (2010) See http://www. to Garrett Hardin. See http://www.universityofcalifornia.edu/
charretteinstitute.org/ (accessed 01/07/2010). senate/inmemoriam/garretthardin.htm (accessed 01/06/2010).
O’Riordan T (1981) Environmentalism. Pion Limited, pp. 27–33. UNESCO (United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural
Ostrom E (undated) The Digital Library of the Commons: open Organization) (2010) Education for Sustainable
access papers. Published on-line: See http://dlc.dlib.indiana. Development. See http://www.unesco.org/en/esd/ (accessed
edu/dlc/browse?value5Ostrom%2C+Elinor&type5author 01/07/2010).
(accessed 01/01/2011). UK-NEA (United Kingdom National Ecosystem Assessment)
Pearce DW, Markandya A and Barbier E (1989) Blueprint for a (2010) See http://uknea.unep-wcmc.org/ (accessed 01/07/
Green Economy. Earthscan, London. 2010).
Pettula J (1994) The Encyclopedia of the Environment. The Rene UN (The United Nations) (1987) Our Common Future: Report of
Dubos Center for Human Environments, Inc. Houghton the World Commission on Environment and Development.
Mifflin Company, Chicago, IL, USA. See http://www.un-documents.net/wced-ocf.htm (accessed
Pretty J (2003) Social capital and the collective management of 01/07/2010).
resources. Science special edition. Science 302(5652): 1912– Worcester D (1992) Nature’s Economy: A History of Ecological
1914. Ideas. Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, UK.
Putnam RD (2000) The Collapse and Revival of American World Bank (2010) World Development Indicators. See http://
Community. Simon and Schuster. See also http://www. data.worldbank.org/data-catalog/world-development-
bowlingalone.com/UH (hosted by the John F Kennedy indicators?cid5GPD_WDI (accessed 01/07/2010).
School of Government at Harvard) (accessed 01/06/2010). WFP (World Food Programme) (2010) Facts and figures on
RCEP (Royal Commission on Environmental Pollution) (2002) world hunger. See http:// www.wfp.org/hunger/
Environmental Planning. RCEP, 22nd Report. See http:// stats?gclid5CIWutoKN6aICFSCY2Aod0HvlYw
www.rcep.org.uk/reports/index.htm (accessed 01/07/2010). (accessed 01/07/2010).
RCEP (2006) The Urban Environment. RCEP, 26th Report. See
http://www.rcep.org.uk/reports/index.htm (accessed 01/07/
2010).
RCEP (2010) Adapting Institutions to Climate Change. RCEP, WHAT DO YOU THINK?

28th Report. See http://www.rcep.org.uk/reports/index.htm To discuss this paper, please email up to 500 words to the
(accessed 01/07/2010). editor at [email protected]. Your contribution will be
RELU (Rural Economy and Land Use Programme) (2010) Water forwarded to the author(s) for a reply and, if considered
framework directive: implementing the water framework appropriate by the editorial panel, will be published as
directive. See http://www.relu.ac.uk/news/briefings/ discussion in a future issue of the journal.
BRIF11/BRIF11.pdf (accessed 01/07/2010). Proceedings journals rely entirely on contributions sent in
Sandker MBM, Campbell M, Ruiz-Pérez JA et al. (2010) The role by civil engineering professionals, academics and stu-
of participatory modelling in landscape approaches to dents. Papers should be 2000–5000 words long (briefing
reconcile conservation and development. Ecology and papers should be 1000–2000 words long), with adequate
Society 15(2): 13. See http://www.ecologyandsociety.org/ illustrations and references. You can submit your paper
vol15/iss2/art13/ (accessed 01/07/2010). online via www.icevirtuallibrary.com/content/journals,
Scott Gordon H (1954) The economic theory of a where you will also find detailed author guidelines.

Delivered by ICEVirtualLibrary.com to: 111

IP: 129.169.66.154
On: Tue, 09 Aug 2011 11:05:00
Engineering Sustainability Historical paper: ‘The tragedy of
Volume 164 Issue ES2 the commons’
Corker

112 Delivered by ICEVirtualLibrary.com to:

IP: 129.169.66.154
On: Tue, 09 Aug 2011 11:05:00
Engineering Sustainability Historical paper: ‘The tragedy of
Volume 164 Issue ES2 the commons’
Corker

Delivered by ICEVirtualLibrary.com to: 113

IP: 129.169.66.154
On: Tue, 09 Aug 2011 11:05:00
Engineering Sustainability Historical paper: ‘The tragedy of
Volume 164 Issue ES2 the commons’
Corker

114 Delivered by ICEVirtualLibrary.com to:

IP: 129.169.66.154
On: Tue, 09 Aug 2011 11:05:00
Engineering Sustainability Historical paper: ‘The tragedy of
Volume 164 Issue ES2 the commons’
Corker

Delivered by ICEVirtualLibrary.com to: 115

IP: 129.169.66.154
On: Tue, 09 Aug 2011 11:05:00
Engineering Sustainability Historical paper: ‘The tragedy of
Volume 164 Issue ES2 the commons’
Corker

116 Delivered by ICEVirtualLibrary.com to:

IP: 129.169.66.154
On: Tue, 09 Aug 2011 11:05:00
Engineering Sustainability Historical paper: ‘The tragedy of
Volume 164 Issue ES2 the commons’
Corker

Delivered by ICEVirtualLibrary.com to: 117

IP: 129.169.66.154
On: Tue, 09 Aug 2011 11:05:00