Through the Looking Glass: learning from past experiences towards a more sustainable future.

Boyd, Philippa, Coker, P. J., Larsen, Graeme D, Davies, Richard and Ritson, James (2026) Through the Looking Glass: learning from past experiences towards a more sustainable future. In: Sustainable Ecological Engineering Design for Society (SEEDS) 2026, 01, 02 & 03 September 2026, GEDU House - Stratford, London, UK. (In Press)

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Abstract

Taking the conference theme of “Looking at 2026 through the eyes of 2015”, this position paper explores how the implicit principles of weak sustainability, together with the forecasting lens championed in 2015, have influenced the development of a failing sustainability agenda over the last decades. Despite the development of several key national and international guiderails by built environment organisations, and with organisations and actors ostensibly subscribing to such guidance, progress towards meeting the challenges of a sustainable built environment has been slow, particularly with regard to environmental and social issues. Understanding the development of guidance principles and the subsequent strategies enacted in practice gives insights into how future attempts to shift the dial towards a sustainable future might be advanced. Mobilising alternative anticipatory and retrospective thinking, we discuss the vision and pathways which have led to our current state of sustainability and give three scenarios of what ‘might’ have been envisioned had the different principles of strong sustainability and backcasting been mobilised. In doing so, we can recast how 2026 might have looked from 2015 and how a different pathway might have unfolded. We suggest that approaches and models prevalent in 2015, together with a reluctance to revisit prevailing business models, relied on reductionism and fixed deterministic notions of limits and solutions. Our analysis shows that these assumptions have contributed to the divergence between visions of weak and strong sustainability which has brought us from 2015 to 2026. Recasting the future suggests possible ways of re-engaging with the sustainability agenda with a renewed vigour and vision for 2035 and beyond to drive a strong sustainability approach and deliver a sustainable eco-centric built environment that meets the needs of all now and for the future.

Item Type:	Conference or Workshop Item (Paper)
Sustainable Development Goals:	Goal 3: Good Health and Well-Being Goal 7: Affordable and Clean Energy Goal 8: Decent Work and Economic Growth Goal 9: Industry, Innovation, and Infrastructure Goal 10: Reduced Inequalities Goal 11: Sustainable Cities and Communities Goal 12: Responsible Consumption and Production Goal 13: Climate Action Goal 14: Life Below Water Goal 15: Life on Land
Keywords:	Strong sustainability, Backcasting, sustainability business models, institutional logics
Divisions:	Sustainable Built Environment & Property Research Centre > School of Town Planning
Depositing User:	Dr Pippa Boyd
Date Deposited:	20 Jul 2026 09:13
Last Modified:	20 Jul 2026 09:14
URI:	https://ube.repository.guildhe.ac.uk/id/eprint/281

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