Fundamentals of Sustainable Engineering

Fundamentals of Sustainable Engineering Module 6 Social Factors: The Community Craig Farkos, P.E. 6.1

Learning Objectives Understand how the Social Progress (Community Level) aspects of the Triple Bottom Line approach to sustainable infrastructure development impact the participants’ project work

Outline What About The Social Element Social Cohesion Social Identity Empowerment/Participation Social Mobility

What About The Social Element ? Eco-Efficient Socio-Economic Sustainability Environmental Stewardship Socio-Environmental

Social Elements of Sustainability Social Cohesion Social Identity Empowerment/Participation Social Mobility Social Progress Sustainable infrastructure promotes socially strong, stable communities

Social Elements of Sustainability Social Progress Intergenerational Equity • Truly sustainable practice • requires that Long-Term • Consumption (C) / Affluence • = Consistent OVER GENERATIONS!

Why Is Social Progress Important To Good Sustainable Design? Social Carrying Capacity (CC) is the maximum population size that an area can sustain under a given social system, with particular reference to associated patterns of resource consumption Social Progress • Biophysical carrying capacity is the maximum population size that an area can sustain under given technological capabilities Given a set of Technologies (T): Social CC<Biophysical CC due to inefficiencies inherent in resource-distribution systems ∴ Social CC Limits First! Goodland, R and H. Daly, 1996

Engineers Must Get The Social Element Right Most projects fail because the social element is missed Globe File Photo UPI Photo Looking south at Haymarket Square,1951 A view of the nearly completed Artery from the Custom House Tower in May 1955

Engineers Must Get The Social Element Right While people will do only what they need to in poor quality public spaces, an additional "wide range of optional activities" will occur in high quality spaces "because place and situation now invite people to stop, sit, eat, play and so on". Cities are in a sense natural ecosystems too… Whenever and wherever societies have flourished rather than stagnated and decayed, creative and workable cities have been at the core… J. Gehl, 2001 J. Jacobs, 1993

What Does This Mean for Sustainability? To achieve/promote social sustainability, an infrastructure development program must include strong opportunities for impacted community members to recognize and advance: • Social Cohesion • Social Identity • Empowerment/Participation • Social Mobility

Social Cohesion Social Cohesion: The ongoing integration of the individual behaviors in a social setting. • Social interaction • Social networks • Sense of community • Trust and reciprocity

Social Cohesion In addition to featuring a good-quality built and natural environment, sustainable communities are defined as cohesive with a strong local culture that encourage pride in the community What constitutes “Socially Cohesive” Community ? What makes a Cohesive Public Space? • Mixed land uses • Accessibility • Connectedness and permeability • Legibility • Attractiveness • Inclusiveness • Maintenance • Natural surveillance • Character • Perceived quality of the neighborhood • Feelings of safety • Sense of community and mutual • trust among users and residents What is the Relevance of Physical Determinism? • Relocation of families to a better living environment was a failure • Social environment – the close knit community – was lost and could not be recreated Dempsey, N. 2009 Chan, J., et.al., 2006

Social Cohesion EMPIRICAL RESEARCH FINDINGS • Link between the quality of the built environment and the dimensions of social cohesion should be made more explicit in policy and practice. • Neighborhood renewal, urban planning, and design policy should focus on improving not only the physical quality of streets and public spaces, but also their perceived quality in the eyes of residents. • It is inaccurate to suggest that the built environment alone has a strong influence on social cohesion. Resident’s feelings about where they live, and how they live their lives, are affected by the quality of the environment around them. ₌ • Road traffic • Level of maintenance • Attractiveness of built environment • Extent of natural surveillance Perceived quality of the neighborhoodPerceived attractivenessPerceived safetySense of community and place attachment Dempsey, N. 2009 Chan, J., et.al., 2006

Social Identity Social Identity: refer to the idea that an individual’s self concept is derived from the social relationships and social groups he or she participates in Sustainable infrastructure design should include elements that promote and not inhibit social identification: • Accurately identifying all key interest groups in the local • community • Two way communication with key interest groups during • project development • Follow-up with these groups post implementation Brewer, M. 2001

Social Identity Elements to Consider:

Empowerment Empowermentenables community members to raise the their SENSE of control as well as their abilities to HAVE control over issues within their lives Sustainable infrastructure design instills this sense and provides opportunities for community members to exercise control over what and how things are built • Most important areas for ability to control: • HEALTH, • HOME, • WORK & INCOME, • CLOSE RELATIONSHIPS, • LEISURE TIME, and • VALUES • Empowered Communities Gain: • Greater control over their environment • Acquire valued resources • Reduce likelihood of social • marginalization Tengland, P.A., 2008

Empowerment Empowering community settings: simultaneously contribute to individual development, community betterment, and positive social change Characteristics of Empowering Community Settings Maton, K. I., 2008

Social Mobility Social Mobility: Horizontal and Vertical movement of individuals, families, or groups through a system of social hierarchy or stratification • Intergenerational Transmission of Human Capital • Depends on parental investment • Average quality of the ethnic environments Hammarstedt, M., 2009

Discussion Questions • How does my design: • Impact the community’s future ability to exist as it • currently lives • How will community residents interact with my design? • Have I listened to the community enough? • How can I prove this? • What are the incentives and well founded “economic • reasons” this community operates the way it does? • What does the community’s Triple Bottom Line look • like before my project starts? • How does the Triple Bottom Line of my project interact • with established Triple Bottom Line of the community?

References Brewer Marilynn B. The Many Faces of Social Identity: Implications for Political Psychology, Political Psychology, Vol. 22, No. 1 (2001), pp. 115-125 Chan, Joseph et al; Reconsidering Social Cohesion: Developing a Definition and Analytical Framework for Empirical Research; Social Indicators Research, Vol 75 (2006) pp. 273-302 Dempsey, Nicola; Are good-quality environments socially cohesive?; TPR, 80, 3 (2009), pp. 315-345 Ehrlich, Paul R. and John P. Holdren, Impact of Population Growth Source: Science, New Series, Vol. 171, No. 3977 (Mar. 26, 1971), pp. 1212-1217

References, Cont. • Goodland, Robert and Herman Daly, Environmental Sustainability: Universal and Non-Negotiable, Ecological Applications, Vol. 6, No.4 (Nov., 1996), pp. 1002-1017. • Hammarstedt Mats; Intergenerational Mobility and the Earning Position of First-, Second-, and Third-Generation Immigrants; KYKLOS, Vol. 62 No. 2 (2009) pp. 275-292. • Maton Kenneth I. Empowering Community Settings: Agents of Individual Development, Community Betterment, and Positive Social Change; Am J Community Psychol , Vol. 41 (2008), pp. 4-21.

References, Cont. • Porritt, Jonathan, Capitalism As If The World Matters, Earthscan, London, 2007. • Tengland, Per-Anders. Empowerment: A Conceptual Discussion; Health Care Anal, Vol. 16 (2008), pp. 77-96. Special thanks to Bettina Irps for her help in presentation design.

Fundamentals of Sustainable Engineering