Visually framing the concept of sustainability: A photovoice study of migrants’ perceptions and practices in Dublin

Title (eng)
Visually framing the concept of sustainability: A photovoice study of migrants’ perceptions and practices in Dublin
Author
Sabira Ataibekova
Advisor
Elisabeth Huber
Advisor
Ricardo Campos
Description (eng)
What does it mean to live sustainably in a city that is not your own? What counts as sustainability when resources are limited, systems unfamiliar, and futures uncertain? In the world with definitive answers, my thesis instead offers a series of lived responses, layered and grounded in the everyday experiences of migrants in Dublin. Using a participatory Photovoice methodology, eleven migrant participants captured aspects of their lives through photographs and shared reflections in interviews. Rather than approaching sustainability as a fixed set of behaviors or a knowledge deficit to be addressed, this study explores the concept of sustainability as a developing phenomenon molded through limitation, adjustment, cultural memory and emotional attachment. Guided by Social Practice Theory and Affordance Theory, the analysis highlights how migrants adapt to and reinterpret their environment, often engaging in sustainability without naming it as such. The research also underscores structural and communicative barriers that hinder fuller participation. This thesis argues that sustainability must be understood not only as a policy goal, but as a situated practice. Migrants’ insights offer valuable perspectives for more inclusive, responsive urban planning and contribute to broader conversations in sustainability research, migration studies, and participatory methods.
Keywords (eng)
ustainabilitymigrant lived experienceurban adaptationphotovoiceparticipatory methodsaffordance theorysocial practice theory
Type (eng)
Master theses
Language
[eng]
Persistent identifier
https://door.donau-uni.ac.at/o:5731
Date created
2025
License
All rights reserved