Perception of the Concept of Sustainable Development in Design - Essay Example

It is commonly known that the quality of the environment has an enormous influence on our behavior and physical and physiological wellbeing. We need the natural life-giving resources that only the biosphere can provide: clean air and water, soil in which to grow our crops, resources to maintain our industrial lifestyle that in turn generates wealth to support the development of technology. Unfortunately, rapid technological progress and the excessive use of the planet’s resources over the course of the past centuries have resulted in extremely high levels of consumption and environmental damage which now threatens the long-term continuation of our existence.

Although it is believed that the reasons for our depleted and polluted planet are fairly complex, it is undeniable that designers and the design industry, in general, are co-responsible with others for this alarming situation. It is therefore inevitable that design responds to the environment and takes into consideration natural resources, and, in effect, the human future. An important aspect of this approach is the concept of sustainability, which as a term is defined as ‘meeting the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs.

Although the definition is very straightforward it is interesting to discover that depending on individual interpretation its meaning can vary from person to person, resulting in different perceptions of the same subject matter. Considering that various aspects are taken into consideration by different individuals, including environmental protection and resource conservation, social well-being and equity, and economic prosperity and continuity, the emphasis can be therefore put on one of these three: planet, people, or profit, instead of all of them, which in fact is inevitable for a product to be truly sustainable.

Timothy Luke suggests that the analysis of the concept of sustainability provokes many unresolved questions: how long is it for a product to be sustainable? What level of human appropriation defines it as sustainable? Who is it sustainable for? Under what conditions is it sustainable?