A sustainable day Imagining a climate neutral life An experimental team exploration done during a service design internship at (ink). Amsterdam. Led by Mayra Kapteyn. Presented to David de Rothschild.
THE WORLD IS CHANGING
The system needs to be redesigned Otherwise we’re - as the Dutch say mopping the floor with the tap open. And new solutions would just make that mop a fancy one.
Approach
ONS PROCES
Hoe we een It’ssysteem cheesy herontwerpen but true:
If you can dream it, you can do it. Walt Disney
ONS PROCES
Hoe we een systeem Mayra’s herontwerpen story:
My grandfather was an Argentinian revolutionary. Not a very successful one, they were imprisoned after their very first revolutionary attempt. But that didn’t break his mind. In prison, he wrote letters to my father about the future. Even though it was the 70’s, he was writing of the future “ministry of flowers and plants”.
If you can’t dream it, you want to go back to what you know. Jonas & Jonathan Sulk
Question
How might a climate neutral life look like?
Should everyone just live in the woods? This is not reasonable nor desirable for many people. The thought alone evokes fear.
We need a new mental model about the future
MISSIE
What does a sustainable life look like?
What does ‘a day in the life of’ look like? How do we eat, live, work, play?
What kind of products & services do we use? How will technology help us to live our dreams in harmony with the planet?
What does it have to do with class? How might we enable people with limited means to boost their social identity through sustainable behavior?
MISSIE
SDG's are a vision for the future But only a few developed countries are reaching that goal‌ Why don't global regulations for environmental protection work? How do local approaches to sustainability look like in the future?
MISSIE
Policy design Nations are chasing after a flourishing economy. However, the economy is subservient to the environment. To seek economy without ecology is to try to manage an environment with no knowledge or concern of how it works in itself. Questions How might we reimagine "healthy" policies of the future? Can we fictionalise new forms of government for a sustainable future?
MISSIE
Sustainability and heritage The environment has enabled cultures to thrive, from a dozen languages to the Niagara Falls and the Great Barrier Reef. It adds to local heritage and thriving of communities. People are protective about their contextual heritage. Questions Can we then use thriving culture and heritage as a driving force for a sustainable fiction? Will these mental models connect to people more? Ex. : http://www.morethangreen.es/en/hitachis-seaside-park-a-floraltsunami/
MISSIE
Healthy me, healthy we Human health is directly connected to taking care of the environment. Questions How might we imagine a future where humans are healthy and they in turn make a healthy planet? (Like active transport. What are the trade offs?) What products, services & policies can we make today to attain that vision tomorrow?
MISSIE
We are human beings. The dinosaurs were destroyed when an asteroid hit Earth. But what killed the rest of the planet was the climate changes that the asteroid bought with it. Interestingly enough, the climate changes caused by the asteroid are similar to those we as humans are creating today. We are human beings, not asteroids. We have the power of our brains. No matter where we come from or what we do, we are capable of mitigating environmental harm. Questions What would the ‘utopic’ Earth look like (back then) if the asteroid didn't hit it? And how do humans fit into that? Can we fictionalise it as our “new normal”? How can we, today, move towards that Earth?
How might we communicate these visions to the mass in order to plant a seed of change in their minds?
This exploration was generated after rounds of desk research and lunch time discussions. Post this question, we came up with ideas of outcomes, possible funds and partners available in the Netherlands. These were presented to David de Rothschild, who gave positive feedback for future developments.
Bedankt! Schaafstraat 26b, 1021 KE Amsterdam www.ink.team