Decentralization & Design

• Technological: – networked info economy – distributed generation– miniaturization

• Ecological: economic biomimicry / ecosystem model of development

• Social: creativity base: human-scale

• Localization

Environmental Protection Perspective

• protection / eco-efficiency / politics of limits• involves: controls on profit-motive and/or

engineering incentives and disincentives to spin-off social & enviro benefits from profit motive

• no fundamental changes in economic and political power

• no fundamental change in industrialism’s labour / resources relationship

Historical Trends in Regulation

• Early industrial capitalism: – Unconscious-decentralized / focus on material needs /

subordination of state to markets: Invisible Hand / focus on production / unbridled exploitation of nature / theoretical democracy

• Fordist & state-socialist industrialism: – Conscious-centralized / new (and disguised) focus on non-material

needs / Need for more planning: political intervention / More concern with consumption & (quantitative) demand / managed exploitation of nature / representative democracy

• Postindustrial Potentials (today):– Conscious-decentralized / direct focus on non-material needs /

integration & transformation of state & markets / integration with nature / direct democracy

– Super-industrialism: Post-Fordist globalization: avoidance, suppression or channeling of the above. Crisis.

Trends in Mainstream Regulation

• End-of-pipe control and cleanup : 70s

• Point Source Prevention : 80s

• Consumption Patterns and Product & System Design : today

River (Industrial-Linear) vs. Lake (Green-Cyclical) Economy

• resources: Life cycle approach• human need: end-use approach• EPR and design for environment• is industrial capitalism a form of quantitative

development or accumulation?– explains why efficiency or even profit isn't

enough: question of self interest

• Stahel: issue of liability• Beyond Capitalism & Socialism:

What forms of Ownership support

Stewardship?

Industrial Ecology & Service

• Industrial ecostructure: Reuse-based Manufacturing• entails new levels of producer liability• reduces both the flow of resources and their speed

through the economy• encourages local/regional economies, and• facilitates high skill levels

Manufacturing & the Ecological Service Economy

• Production contributes to Qualitative Wealth• Waste Equals Food • Dematerialization of Production and Higher

Resource Efficiency• Reduction of the Speed of Resource Flow

through the Economy• Appropriate Scale• Regenerative Work is Created• New Rules & Closed Loops: LCA and EPR

Production in an Eco-economy

• Craft: money and the economy of labour time

• Eco-infrastructure and food, energy and water

• Eco-industrial Parks and Networks

• industrial ecosystems

• biorefineries

• eco-Flexible Manufacturing Networks

Benign Materials & the Carbohydrate Economy

• plant matter as the original source of synthetics & plastics– biological revolution & genetic engineering: make

possible cheaper & more prolific creation of enzymes. – biochemicals: less toxic & degrade more quickly than

petrochemicals.– detergents, paints, dyes, inks, adhesives, fabrics,

building materials, etc.

• zero discharge and industrial clusters– complete use of plant materials– plantations, biorefineries and green cities

The Centrality of the Landscape

“The industrial age replaced the natural processes of the landscape with the global machine…while regenerative design seeks now to replace the machine with landscape.”

…John Tillman Lyle

The Soft Energy Path

• A flexible diverse mix of energy supply • Primacy of Renewable energy sources • Focus on End-use, on Conservation, and on

efficiency of use • Energy matched to the task at hand in both

QUALITY and SCALE • Participation-oriented structure--in both

production and consumption • People-intensive development and Job-

creation

Energy & Spatial Organization

• Energy & the Landscape

Eco-infrastructure: going with nature

• The Eco-system Model: eco-infill

• Integrating the Divided Economy

Every place a locus of eco-production

Buildings as producers not just

consumers of energy

Key Areas of Green Building

Green Building Certification

--new construction --retrofit --neighbourhoods

• Natural Building & eco-community design

Loops in Building

“Waste” & Design for Adaptability:

Shearing Layers

Localization

• LOIS vs. TINA

• Local First not “buy local”

• Multipliers

• Employment

• Stability / security – Peak Oil / Corporate Mobility

• Quality of Life

• Efficiency