Power to the people : a framework for enhancing environmental stewardship through community design

The actions and activities of average Americans contribute greatly to global warming, fossil fuel consumption, natural resource depletion, and other environmentally-related threats to humankind. Currently, the negative impacts of these actions are most commonly addressed through "green" design strategies that utilize largely technological solutions to increase the resource efficiency of the built environment. However, "green" design as currently comprised is insufficient; while it effectively reduces the amount of resources consumed in households, it fails to address the wasteful and inefficient actions of the building occupants themselves. A number of deeply ingrained psychological and behavioral qualities contribute to the general failure of individuals to change their behaviors and become more effective environmental stewards. Such human qualities are reinforced by residential design and development patterns that disconnect people from natural systems and resources, mask the consequences of environmental neglect, and perpetuate cycles of environmental disinvestment. This thesis explores the potential of using residential design as a medium for confronting these human qualities to instill a desire and provide the ability to protect and conserve natural resources, and address other emerging environmental threats.

Department dc:contributor.department

Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Dept. of Urban Studies and Planning.

Grantor dc:publisher

Massachusetts Institute of Technology

Year dc:date.issued

2007

Author dc:creator

• Rosenfeld, Mathias

Advisor dc:contributor.advisor

• Dennis Frenchman.

• Urban Studies and Planning.

Statement dc:rights

• M.I.T. theses are protected by copyright. They may be viewed from this source for any purpose, but reproduction or distribution in any format is prohibited without written permission. See provided URL for inquiries about permission.

Licence dc:rights.uri

• http://dspace.mit.edu/handle/1721.1/7582

Language dc:language.iso

eng

Handle dc:identifier.uri

http://hdl.handle.net/1721.1/39949

OAI identifier oai:identifier

oai:dspace.mit.edu:1721.1/39949