Sustainable

Design and
Development
REM 353
August 24, 2018
Short History of Sustainable
Development

 Term first mentioned in the book

related to the 1972 UN
Stockholm Conference on the
Human Environment
United Nations Conference on the Human
Environment (Stockholm Conference)
Stockholm, Sweden
June 5-16, 1972

The United Nations Conference on the Human

Environment (also known as the Stockholm
Conference) was an international conference
convened under United Nations auspices held in
Stockholm, Sweden from June 5-16, 1972. It was
the UN's first major conference on international
environmental issues, and marked a turning point
in the development of international environmental
politics.
• 1980 Report: World Conservation Strategy-
Living Resource Conservation for Sustainable
Development by:

 International Union for Conservation of Nature (

IUCN )
 World Wildlife Fund ( WWF )
 United Nation Environment Programme – (
UNEP )
• 1983 Norwegian Prime Minister Gro
Harlem Brundtland ask by UN
Secretary General to head a UN
Commission to consider the ideas
developed at a meeting in Stockholm
The Brundtland Definition ( 1987 )

Sustainable Development-
“ Is the development that meets the
needs of the present without
compromising the ability of future
generations to meet their own needs ”.
UN Initiatives Since 1987
 1992Rio de Janeiro : UN Conference on
Environment and Development
Agenda 21 as an outcome

 2002 Johannesburg : UN World Summit on

Sustainable Development
Johannesburg Declaration and Final
Report

 2012Rio de Janerio : UN Conference on

Sustainable Development
The Global Goals- September 2015
 see short video of
UN September 2015
“ THE GLOBAL GOAL’’
 Definition of Terms:
 Sustainable design is about building the future, not just a structure.

 Sustainable design (also called environmentally sustainable design,

environmentally conscious design, etc.) is the philosophy of designing
physical objects, the built environment, and services to comply with
the principles of social, economic, and ecological sustainability.[1]

 Sustainable design seeks to reduce negative impacts on the

environment, and the health and comfort of building occupants,
thereby improving building performance.

 Sustainable design shares that big-picture view of how our choices

affect more than the present. Effective sustainable design is a
comprehensive approach to selecting and integrating products and
processes that account for long-term consumer satisfaction and
environmental conservation.
 see short video of
“Sustainable Design Life Cycle
Thinking”
Sustainability VS Sustainable Development
 Sustainability :

 is “a form of development that meets the

needs of the present without compromising
the ability of future generations to meet their
own needs.”
 Capacity for continuance into the long-term
future
 End Goal, desired destination for all species
 Human society can continue to exist because
ecosystems are able to go on providing life-
sustaining services ( such as clean water, soil
fertility, climate regulation and so on) and the
society is capable of organizing itself so that
people have the opportunity to fulfill their
needs.
Sustainability VS Sustainable Development
 The basic objectives of sustainability are

 to reduce consumption of non-renewable

resources,
 minimize waste,
 and create healthy, productive environments.

 Sustainable Development
 The process or journey by which we move to
sustainability
 Refers to the holistic approach and temporal
processes that lead us to the end point of
sustainability.
pointers in the definition

it deals with present and future

long time term generation effect

it talks about need. ........

 2 Key Concepts of SD

The concept of needs’, in particular, the

essential needs of the world’s poor, to
which overriding priority should be
given; and
The idea of limitation imposed by
the state of technology and social
organization on the environment’s
ability to meet present and future
needs.
Important Components of SD
Ecological /
Environmental
 Economic Development
 Social progress/
Community
 see short video of
“Sustainable Development”
The Basic Principles for
Sustainable Development
 1. Justice, Equity and Natural Capital-
Economists have usually approached the question
of environmental limits to the economic
development from the standpoint of opportunity
costs and economic scarcity.
A resource or service is defined to be scarce if its use
incurs a significant positive opportunity cost for
society, either elsewhere or in the future.
The Theory of Natural Capital
Natural Capital can be defined as the world’s
stocks of Natural Assets which include geology, soil,
air, water and all living things.
 It is a capital that human derive a wide range of
services, often called Ecosystem services which
make human life possible.
 One of the central themes of economic literature
on sustainability.
The Basic Principles for Sustainable Development

 2. The Co- evolution between Economics, Social,

and Ecological Dimensions of Sustainability.

 The thing happens between humans and the rest of the

ecosystem. Human social systems adapt to their environment,
the ecosystem, and ecosystems adapt to human social systems.
Natural ecosystems, and the natural parts of agricultural and
urban ecosystems, respond to human interventions by making
adjustments that promote survival.

 Agricultural and urban ecosystems also evolve and adapt to

the social system as people change them to fit with their
changing society.

Issues and Concerns in SD
1. Population and Human Resources
 World population reached 6 billion in 1999 and could
pass the 8 billion mark by 2025.
 The most rapid population growth is in the South, e.g.
Africa, Asia and Latin America.
 The degree of consumption of resources per capita
differs markedly between the South and the North.
 Health status, education levels and social conditions
also differ greatly between the South and the North.
 see short video of
“7 Principles for Building
better Cities”
Food Security

There is widespread hunger today despite the dramatic increase in the world production
of cereal, meat and milk which have more than tripled since 1950.

The increase in food production has been due to new methods of farming, including the
use of new seed varieties, chemical fertilizers and pesticides, and increased irrigation
but the cost of these inputs is beyond the reach of most small farmers.
New methods of farming have had detrimental effects on the environment.
New seed varieties are not generally resistant to pests and require large amounts of
water and chemicals.

Overuse of chemical pesticides and fertilizers has led to widespread pollution of water
and biological magnification of these chemicals in food chains.
Irrigation has also caused salinization and alkalization of soils.
Farm subsidies in the North result in over-production. Not only does this overuse land,
it also affects opportunities for other countries to produce and sell food.

The international debts of many countries in the South have led to the use of land to
produce cash crops for export. This pushes subsistence farmers onto marginal lands
which in turn contributes to widespread soil degradation.
The Urban Challenge

Over 50% of the world’s population lives in urban

communities.
Most cities in the South have more than quadrupled in
population in the last 30 years.
Population pressure has resulted in inadequate urban
infrastructure and services.
The most serious problems are unemployment, poor
housing conditions and environmentally and socially
related health concerns.
Energy
By the year 2025 global energy consumption will have increased by 40% over 1980 figures.
The most used energy sources for commercial energy production and consumption are:
fossil fuels, such as oil and gas;
hydropower;
nuclear power; and
biomass fuels (wood, crop residues and dung) on which the majority of people in the South rely
for their energy supplies.
Renewable energy amounts to only 21% of the total energy consumed worldwide. Solar, wind,
geothermal and alternative energy sources, such as ethanol, have found only limited, small-scale
use.
The dependence on fossil fuels, which are finite, has resulted in four major problems:
large-scale climatic change resulting from the emission of carbon dioxide (Greenhouse Effect);
urban air pollution and acidification as a result of the release of sulphur dioxide and nitrogen
dioxide during combustion;
depletion of resources; and
international conflict.
Nuclear power also causes problems:
health risks to workers involved in its production and disposal of the wastes;
health risks to the community;
risk of catastrophic accident; and
need for very strict security.
Industry
Industrialization brings economic growth but also leads
to a shift in population from rural to urban areas and
escalating pollution of air, sea, the land and rivers.
The pattern of industrialization in the South now
mirrors that of the industrialized nations and presents
similar social and environmental problems.
The ability of developing countries to deal with such
problems as the disposal of hazardous wastes and
industrial pollution has not been as great as in the
industrialized nations due to cost, trade and
technological inequalities between countries.
Species and Ecosystems

The estimated total number of species on Earth ranges

from 5 to 30 million.
The most biodiverse ecosystems are the wet tropical
forests. For example the forests of Latin America could
contain over one million species of plants, animals,
birds and insects.
The depletion of the gene pool has serious implications
for the global economy since a substantial proportion of
the production of medicines and drugs depends on
species found in the tropical forests.
Managing the Commons
The world’s oceans, Antarctica and space are part of the ‘global commons’ for
which all nations have joint responsibility.
Marine environmental problems such as over-fishing and marine pollution are
increasing rapidly.
The sustainable catch from world fisheries is being exceeded by as much as 30
million tons per year (FAO figures).
Sources of marine pollution include municipal sewage, industrial and
agricultural run-off, oil spills and the dumping of toxic and other hazardous
wastes.
Management of Antarctica is governed by the Antarctic Treaty System. The
dominant issues facing nations that are signatories to the System include the
growing stockpiles of waste, the extent to which there should be mining of the
continent’s minerals, and the exclusion of most nations from much of the
decision making about Antarctica.
The increasing amount of space ‘junk’ is a pollution problem that has been
largely overlooked. It indicates the need for international agreements on the
issue. Management of outer space by the 1967 Outer Space Treaty has not
been endorsed by all nations.
Conflict and Environmental Degradation
Environmental degradation caused by factors such as
over-exploitation of the land, drought and global
climatic changes leads to deepening poverty and
famine, which in turn contribute to social unrest and
conflict.
The threat of nuclear war presents us with the
possibility of unprecedented global ecosystem
destruction.
Excessive military expenditure diverts funds from the
urgent environmental problems facing developing
nations.
To Do the Sustainable Design & Development
 alternative energy sources need to be found that
will last forever without contributing to the
Greenhouse effect.

 Renewable energy sources, such as SUN and wind

are sustainable, as they will never run out.
 Fossil fuels, are not sustainable as they take so long
to reform that they can't be replaced once they run
out ( non-renewable)
Actual Projects for SD
 Kyoto Treaty was drawn up in 1997 in Japan, to
make countries ( voluntary ) to reduce carbon
emissions.
 The USA didn't sign up as they said it would cause a
drop in the standard of living
 The treaty made countries use more renewable
energy, such as.......
Actual Projects for SD
 WindTurbines - which turn wind into electricity and
are usually found together in the wind farms

 Many have been set up in highland areas of

Scotland and Wales where winds are strongest, to
maximize the amount of electricity produced.

 Some locals object to on-shore wind farms, arguing

that they spoil the land and interfere with TV/radio
signals
Hydro Electric Power (HEP)
Large amounts of water are
forced through turbines, which
are connected to a generator that
produces electricity
Solar Energy
The suns energy is converted into
electricity or used to heat water
Renewable energy sources are mainly used in
MEDC's because LEDC's don't have the money to
develop them
 MEDC: Countries with more resources, salaries and housing
accessibility's are MEDC’s (stage 3 or 4). A MEDC will have a
lower birth rate and also a low death rate due to advanced
Medical Technology. A country that is in stage 4, and has low
baby population and high elderly .
Population

 LEDC: A LEDC have a high birth rate and also a high death
rate due to poor health care and a different type of diseases.
Countries where life is hard (stage 1 or 2). The countries are
also very poorly developed and the birth rate is high. Life is
rather hard and people don’t have much money to get
resources.
Social Contribution
 We can also cut carbon emissions by the way we
travel
 Instead of using a car we can .......
 use public transport or use renewable bio-fuels
 Cycle or
 Walk
 The demand for fossil fuels can also be reduced
by......

 Recycling and reusing items. such as glass bottles,

plastic containers and paper

 Alsoby limiting the electricity

We use by not leaving electricals on standby, using
energy efficient light bulbs etc.
Case Presentation of Actual
Projects for Sustainable Design
& Development
see 2 short video of Actual Projects
for Sustainable Design and
Development”
We still have time to save the planet
from global warming, but we must
change the way we live Now to
slow the effects!
Our Common Future
Humanity has the ability to make
development sustainable- to ensure
that it meets the needs of the present
without compromising the ability of
future generations meet their own
needs.
 Our Common Future, The World Commission on Environment and
Development, Oxford University Press, 1987.