Measuring Systemic Attempts to Cultivate Sustainable Change

Science Center, Bent Corridor

The Oberlin Project is a collaborative effort between the City of Oberlin and Oberlin College to achieve “full-spectrum” sustainability through transformations of physical, economic and social systems. In 2012, Frantz et al. administered a survey in Oberlin and Berea, OH to get baseline measures of behaviors, attitudes and beliefs related to sustainability. The present study is a follow up to the 2012 baseline. The evaluation consisted of 2 major components: 1) a representative cross-sectional community survey (target N=250) conducted in Oberlin, OH; 2) a representative cross-sectional community survey (target N=250) conducted in a comparable control community (Berea, OH). A stratified random sample of community households (N=500) from each community was recruited to participate by mail and provided with a web address to an online survey. The survey took approximately 20-30 minutes to complete. One week after the initial recruitment mailing, households that did not respond received a personalized postcard reminder emphasizing the importance of their participation. Another note was hand-delivered the following week. The community-wide survey, largely derived from other community-based surveys and surveys specific to environmental behaviors and social change, asked respondents about specific household behaviors such as recycling, electricity use and composting, as well as their opinions about their community. Time 2 results reveal whether The Oberlin Project has successfully accelerated a move towards greater sustainability in Oberlin, in comparison to Berea where no such systematic effort is underway.