Sustainable built environments: lessons from history and environmental philosophy

Larsen, Graeme D (2025) Sustainable built environments: lessons from history and environmental philosophy. In: Embedding Sustainability in Built Environment Curricula: Opportunities and Challenges. SPRINGER, uk. ISBN 3031969081 (In Press)

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Abstract

Sustainability education associated with the built environment is critical if we are to enact meaningful change for society. Much of the current discourse mobilises what is termed weak sustainability thinking and offers a reductionist stance. The chapter seeks to empower what are termed the ‘students of sustainability’ (in essence all humans), encouraging critical enquiry. Critique is vital because the dominant sustainability discourse is rooted in a value system embedded in and rehearsed for the past 350 years. An alternative stance and potentially more fruitful approach, drawing upon the evolutionary tradition of environmental philosophy, would be more aligned with strong sustainability and an ecocentric sustainability perspective. That would offer the next generation of practitioners and professionals shaping the built environment with a fresh set of capabilities, knowledge and skills. Humans have undoubtedly been the architects of the majority of environmental and sustainability challenges the entire planet now faces (human and non-human). Charting and thus understanding such challenges is important if they are to be truly tackled in a constructive manner. A range of seminal publications are used as touchpoints and critiqued, as a path toward a fresh approach is laid out and opportunities suggested. In essence, the problem of sustainability is not our biggest problem, our biggest problem is our attribute and approach to the problem of sustainability. How we approach sustainability is what needs to change and the chapter aims to lay some key foundations for all interested parties.

Item Type:	Book Section
Keywords:	ENVIRONMENTAL PHILOSOPHY
Divisions:	School of the Built Environment > Research
Depositing User:	Graeme Larsen
Date Deposited:	17 Jul 2025 08:20
Last Modified:	17 Jul 2025 08:20
URI:	https://ube.repository.guildhe.ac.uk/id/eprint/179

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