Towards Sustainable Human Settlements: A Low ... - Alive2green

Designing for Sustainability
Design needs to shift from a paradigm of ‘transforming nature’
to ‘transforming society’ towards sustainability by
improving quality of, and relationships between, all living
things, communities and the natural/built environment.
Designers in all fields need to:
• Re-examine human needs and set appropriate goals which
prioritizes ecological sustainability and social equity;
• Rethink the basic nature, methods, and goals of the design process
itself;
• Integrate knowledge from other fields concerned with human and
ecosystems health; and
• Promote new technologies, systems of production and construction
methods that do not rely on natural capital, fossil fuels and harmful
chemicals.
J. Birkeland (2003), Design for Sustainability: A Sourcebook
of Ecological Solutions