Ecological Economics
Ecological design principles work within the contemporary economic
paradigm called Ecological Economics (Dr.
Robert Costanza). There
are four capitals or resources. In the past “built” capital
was increased at the expense of “natural” resources and
often our “social” capital, through political activities. The
intention now is to create sustainable human settlements and wellbeing
by increasing or at least not diminishing any of the capitals, while
building others. This is an important set of ideas for the
design of sustainable communities.
Four types of capital:
- Built (infrastructure and buildings)
- Natural (environmental)
- Social (quality of interactions)
- Human (skills - education)
Robert Constanza |
"So, if we want to assess the “real” economy – all
the things which contribute to real, sustainable, human welfare – as
opposed to only the “market” economy,
we have to measure the non-marketed contributions to human well-being
from nature, from family, friends and other social relationships
at many scales, and from health and education. One convenient
way to summarize these contributions is to group them into four
basic types of capital that are necessary to support the real,
human-welfare-producing economy: built capital, human capital,
social capital, and natural capital.
The market economy covers mainly built
capital (factories, offices, and other built infrastructure and
their products) and part of human capital (spending on labor),
with some limited spillover into the other two. Human capital
includes the health, knowledge, and all the other attributes
of individual humans that allow them to function in a complex
society. Social capital includes all the formal and informal
networks among people: family, friends, and neighbors, as well
as social institutions at all levels, like churches, social clubs,
local, state, and national governments, NGO’s, and international
organizations. Natural capital includes the world’s ecosystems
and all the services they provide. Ecosystem services occur at
many scales, from climate regulation at the global scale, to
flood protection, soil formation, nutrient cycling, recreation,
and aesthetic services at the local and regional scales."
|
When a project is being designed, care can be taken to optimise the
impact on other “capitals” of activities initiated within
one of the four. The Gund Institute for Ecological Economics
at the University of Vermont states
that:
Gund
Institute for Ecological Economics |
“This is our work. To shift the world's economies away
from their present emphasis on infinite economic growth and toward
a focus on sustainable human wellbeing. To forge fresh and
visionary approaches to the economic challenges and opportunities
that await us in the 21st century. To blur traditional academic
boundaries and bring together experts, teachers, students, and
stakeholders from all disciplines in order to pioneer vital new
developmental tools and ideas. To guide the way to true global
economic sustainability through teaching, research, design, and
the practical application of those economic solutions that will
generate natural capital even as they create human profit.” |
|
|
