Designing Climate Safe Economies: Life-Centered Design
This issue of CATALYST Strategic Design Review examines the consequences of an extractive, consumer-driven global economy and encourages thinking about new models and methods.
Here’s a taste of what you’ll find in the issue:
Reframing our Consumer-Based Economy
Professor Eric Wilmot challenges “human-centered” design as an unsustainable model that ignores the resources needed to supply our consumption-based economy. He inspires “resource-centered” design thinking by suggesting a reframe and walking readers though a thought-provoking example.
The Next Leed?: Developing Sustainable Standards
Leonardo Academy is working with stakeholders from across the U.S. to develop a standard by which agricultural practices will be rated based on their environmental impact. CATALYST editor Holly Burns sits down with Michael Arny and Amanda Raster to get the inside scoop on Leonardo Academy’s role in developing a farming standard that may change your future trips down the produce aisle.
Soil not Oil: Rethinking Agriculture in India
World renowned activist and scientist Vandana Shiva shares how Navdanya International is fortifying the local Indian economy by redesigning its agricultural model. The organization trains farmers with practices that naturally increase crop yield while decreasing dependence on expensive oil and scarce water supplies. The successful practices have increased income while taking into account the wellness of farmers and their families and respect for the land on which their livelihoods depend.
Tools for CATALYZING Change
> Confessions of a Radical Industrialist: Executive Summary and Q&A with Ray Anderson of Interface Carpet
Ray Anderson is a leader in triple bottom line sustainability. In 1995, he challenged his company, Interface, to become a completely sustainable carpet manufacturer. His newly released book, Confessions of a Radical Industrialist, chronicles 15 years of their ongoing quest for “Mission Zero.” This resource summary highlights best practices from Anderson’s book and is accompanied by a Q&A with the author.
News from Alumni and Staff of the Pratt Design Management Program
> Spotlight on Maren Maier & Sami Nerenberg
