The impact of social capital on residential water-affecting behaviors in a drought-prone Australian community

Abstract

Australians report the second highest rate of water consumption in the industrialised world, despite the continent’s generally dry conditions. With researchers suggesting that fostering social capital may encourage people to work together on environmental and sustainable initiatives, this article explores whether social capital, environmental responsibility, and socio-demographic lifestyle factors might predict environmentally-friendly or unfriendly home water use behaviours, specifically gardening and car-washing, in a drought-prone Australian community. Residents who scored higher on the Neighbourhood Connections element of social capital were more likely to wash their car in an environmentally-friendly manner. Conversely, residents who scored higher on the Proactivity element of social capital were more likely to engage in the potentially harmful gardening practice of using weedkillers, pesticides and herbicides. The role social capital might play in fostering – or restricting – water sustainability, as well as the implications for policy, community engagement and environmental education programmes, is discussed.