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2021 | Book

The State of the Planet: From Anthropocene Dominant to Regenerative-Adaptive Futures Read chapter Read first chapter

Regenerative-Adaptive Design for Sustainable Development

A Pattern Language Approach

Author: Dr. Phillip B. Roös

Publisher: Springer International Publishing

Book Series : Sustainable Development Goals Series

Part of: Springer Professional "Wirtschaft+Technik" , Springer Professional "Technik" , Springer Professional "Wirtschaft"

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About this book

In this book, the author tests a regenerative-adaptive pattern language theory towards investigating the possibilities of a holistic, integrated design and planning method for sustainable development that incorporates the principles of regenerative design, as well as an adaptive pattern language that re-establishes our wholeness with nature, and considers the vulnerabilities of a changing landscape. The book examines an integral approach to contemporary theories of planning and design that explores the human-nature relationship patterns in social and spatial interconnections, between people and their natural environments. The interconnectedness of human and natural systems is used to scaffold possible solutions to address key environmental and sustainability issues that specifically address the need for patterns of behaviour that acknowledge the duality of ‘man and nature’.

In 12 chapters, the book presents a holistic, regenerative-adaptive pattern language that encapsulates how communities can better appreciate landscape change under future climate effects, and acknowledges the importance to adapt to patterns of change of place and the environment and therefore inform the communities’ responses for sustainable development. The application of the regenerative-adaptive pattern language was tested along the Great Ocean Road region of the Victorian coast in Australia. The concluding chapters argues that for human settlements and cities to be resilient and sustainable, we must understand the interconnected patterns of human-built environments and natural systems, and how we function in a social-spatial dimension with these. The book is intended for practitioners and academic scholars with interest in sustainable development, regenerative design, pattern languages, biophilia, settlement planning, and climate change adaptation.

Table of Contents

Frontmatter
Chapter 1. The State of the Planet: From Anthropocene Dominant to Regenerative-Adaptive Futures
Abstract
 From the twentieth to the twenty first century humans have passed through a unique period; one in which the planning, design and construction of the built environment has been almost un-imaginably bad and unacceptable. The way we have designed and built our cities has resulted in a degeneration of the earth’s natural systems, now eventuating in unprecedented impacts of a changing climate. The dominant approach to address this planetary issue is to apply sustainable development practices, focusing primarily on reducing damage to nature and aiming for a ‘neutral’ outcome using resources more efficiently. Ultimately, this practice is only resulting in a mitigation approach that is just slowing down the degradation of our living earth. Missing from the design, planning and adaptation practice discourse is a more deeply integrated approach to the design and planning of human settlements that considers the whole, which moves away from the current view that humans standing apart from nature, rather than participating, co-evolving and adapting with nature. Identifying key issues of concern to be dealt with – our human’s affinity to water and unprecedented coastal development; the challenge of a changing climate with increased natural disasters; the degradation of ecosystems; and the half-hearted attempt by a global anthropogenic and utilitarianism society to achieve sustainability; this chapter introduces a pattern language approach to deal with these complexities. The narrative sets out the fundamentals for a more holistic, all encompassing, integral method, presenting a regenerative-adaptive pattern language for sustainable development, that re-establishes our wholeness with nature, and considers the vulnerabilities of a changing landscape. Setting in place the typical structure of a pattern language, the chapter concludes with the fundamental pattern The Whole, [1].
Phillip B. Roös
Chapter 2. The Importance of a Sustainable Future
Abstract
 Globally, there is an acknowledgement that the inclusion of sustainability in our day-to-day operations is necessary. The United Nations has put forward the adoption of the 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), many governments have agreed to them, and are putting in place actions to achieve the targets. However, the mantra of sustainable development has been challenged by various scholars, scientists and philosophers, and there is a need for change to move beyond it. This chapter investigates the concept of sustainability, questions our linear throughput system of an industrial society that still prevails in the twenty-first century, and puts forward an implementation of a new integral sustainable worldview. With regenerative systems thinking at its core, this chapter introduces the fundamental thinking of deep sustainability by Christopher Alexander (Sustainability and morphogenesis: The birth of a living world. Berkeley, CA: Centre for Environmental Structure, 2004), and progresses further with the Integral Sustainable Design theory by Mark DeKay (Integral sustainable design: Transformative perspectives. London/Washington, DC: Earthscan, 2011), where an integral approach to sustainability is found in the consideration of multilevel complexity, and the intersecting of the domains of self, culture, and Nature. The chapter concludes with the fundamental pattern Integral Sustainable Worldview [2], supporting an argument that we need to move beyond sustainable development, towards a regenerative-adaptive paradigm which will consider sustainable design practices and that fundamentally forms a new integral, sustainable worldview.
Phillip B. Roös
Chapter 3. The Challenge of a Changing Environment
Abstract
 Climate change is one of the biggest challenges of our time. The impacts from a changing climate will affect both built environments and the natural world, requiring a new holistic approach to adaptation and the establishment ofc All decisions relating to the built environment, future planning of our cities, assessments of environmental impacts, identifying risks, setting standards and codes, are made based on data and knowledge of the past. The future will be very different and the challenges we face in a changing environment, from the degrading of ecosystems to a drastic change in the climate, will force us to consider a new knowledge system. Resilience comes from having the capacity to mitigate and diminish impacts or to adapt to change. It signifies the capacity of a system to absorb disturbances and surprises, achieving a state of dynamic equilibrium, that enables systems to grow and evolve while keeping their coherence. In the face of a rapid changing climate, this is indeed a complex, magnitude in scale, global issue. Due to the complexity of climate change and its related impacts, in this chapter we explore impacts and issues that will assist in framing the overall narrative in relation how we need to consider the application of fundamental patterns as part of the regenerative-adaptive pattern language approach, to adapt to a challenging and changing environment. The chapter concludes with the fundamental pattern Climate Change Co-Adaptation [3], informing us that adaptation practice needs to include both humans and nature.
Phillip B. Roös
Chapter 4. Affinity to Water: The Coastal Zone and Coastal Settlements
Abstract
 Humans have an affinity with water, especially with the coast and the sea. This is not surprising because the coastal zone provides many resources for human use, including economic benefits that accrue from access to ocean navigation, coastal ports at river mouths, fisheries, tourism and recreation. Historically settlements have been established around these resources, and are scattered along coastlines world-wide. In the context of landscape, it is the beauty and visual attributes of coastal areas that attract humans, resulting in more and more people settling on the coast. This human-coastal interface sounds simplistic, but in fact it is an interface that is a complex social-ecological system characterized by natural ecological processes and human-induced changes. The discussions in this chapter investigate the beauty and visual attributes of coastal areas, the landscape and the coastal place character that attracts humans to the coast, and analyse the meaning of ‘sense of place’, where settlements are inherently part of the surrounding natural environment. The chapter also further explores the complex patterns of human-ecological systems and conclude with the importance to manage and plan the interface between these human and nature systems towards a sustainable future. The chapter concludes with the fundamental pattern Affinity To Water [4], instructing us how to deal with the complexities of environments next to water.
Phillip B. Roös
Chapter 5. Origins of Advanced Knowledge
Abstract
 This chapter focuses on identifying the longer-term history of human and landscape interaction, and the knowledge of these landscapes, more specific those of Indigenous peoples. It is well known that Indigenous cultures have an intimate relationship and knowledge of the natural environment. It is thus imperative to explore the Indigenous knowledge of the land and nature, with an aim to identify the deeper interconnections between people and their natural environments. The identification of the longer-term histories of human and landscape interactions of a specific region can be discovered through investigating the Indigenous knowledge of a specific place, as well as the Indigenous living and continuing ‘history’ of the area. Relevant to the narrative of this book is the identification of the deeper relationships that were evident in the cultures and daily activities of the Indigenous people of the land. To understand the deeper forms of the land and waters, the intimate human-climate and nature relationship, and human settlement patterns of the past, this chapter further explores advanced Indigenous knowledge of the land through investigating specifically Aboriginal knowledge in Australia. Detailed accounts of the Wadawurrung people and their interconnections with the environment are presented. The chapter concludes with the fundamental pattern Advanced Indigenous Knowledge [5], identifying the importance of including this knowledge in our design and planning for sustainable futures.
Phillip B. Roös
Chapter 6. Interconnections Between People and Their Natural Environments
Abstract
 Progressing from Chap. 5 that investigated the longer history of humans and nature, through the narrative of Indigenous knowledge systems, this chapter explores the phenomena of Biophilia, the innate tendency of our human attraction to nature. It brings the narrative to a culmination within the contemporary context of our current twenty-first century, reflecting on the vast and complex interconnections and patterns between people and their natural environments, through the lens of a nature language. Further, the chapter highlights the issues of the declining health and well-being of urbanites, noting the need for human-nature connections by establishing future Biophilic Cities (Beatley, Biophilic cities. Washington, DC: Island Press, 2011). The principles of biophilic design practice are explored through the 15 biophilic design patterns, identifying the key requirements of improving both physiological and psychological well-being resulting in a deeper embedded human-nature affiliation. The chapter concludes with the fundamental pattern Love For Nature [6], stipulating an emphasis on the need to apply this deep affiliation with nature to our design practice.
Phillip B. Roös
Chapter 7. Design and Planning with Nature
Abstract
 Planning and design has had a considerable impact upon the structure and evolution of settlements and urban cities worldwide and in Australia. Most cities and settlements have been planned by way of survey, plan and subdivision. Over time the planning of cities evolved, and in the 20th and twenty-first century planning practice evolved to cope with the urgent need to enable the rapid expansion of cities due to unprecedented population growth. The result was that planning movements focused on urban renewal and tried to grasp issues brought about by increasing populations due to city migration and internal growth. The result was that the consideration of environmental and ecological stewardship and the need to look after our natural environment have been lost. In this chapter, the concept of ‘planning’ is regarded as one of the components in a collective approach to the practice of design and planning of the built environment and its interconnectedness with nature, amongst the disciplines of architecture, urban design and landscape architecture. The chapter explores the existing knowledge systems of design and planning of our human settlements through the lens of contemporary environmental design practice, and progress to chart the seminal ecological planning and design theory of Ian McHarg, identifying the consideration of ‘the whole’ in his work. The chapter concludes with how Design with Nature (1992 [1969]) can be used today in a contemporary practice to align with the regenerative-adaptive pattern language, and how to apply the fundamental pattern – Nature’s Design [7] – to the design and planning of our current and future human settlements.
Phillip B. Roös
Chapter 8. Regenerative Design, Ecology as Teacher
Abstract
 Regenerative design requires a change of our current processes of design and planning, moving from the piecemeal, technological and mechanical approach to a model that better reflects the understanding how the universe actually works as a whole. In this chapter we explore the importance of this shift in thinking, and provide information on how to design and develop systems that actually consider the whole system.
When considering the whole system, learnings from ecology need to be explored and these connections of the larger framework (scale linking) of the whole are dealt with in levels of scale and at a certain local place-based scale (Lyle, 1991 [1985]). To work within the larger context, a set of hierarchical scales in a larger organised system gets applied. As part of design thinking, the context of scale and order are fundamental in the process of ‘ecosystem design’, which considers hierarchies of scale and represents in the midst of complexity, the nature of order. This chapter discuss the phenomenon of order as suggested by Christopher Alexander (2001–2005a, 2001–2005b) and the three modes of eco-systematic order described by John T. Lyle (1991 [1985]), encapsulating modes of structure in structural order, function of materials and entities in functional order, and order in locational patterns. The chapter concludes with the Regenerative Ecosystems [8] pattern, representing the reasoning that an ecosystem thinking needs to be fundamentally embedded in the discourse of regenerative design.
Phillip B. Roös
Chapter 9. Living Structures: The Fundamental Properties of Wholeness
Abstract
 In ecological design and planning, as well as in regenerative design, the consideration of the whole is paramount, as indicated in the literature that were reviewed and in the previous chapters. If we are to shift from our current mechanical ‘set of parts’ thinking, to a holistic, integral based systems thinking, we must understand the nature of the change required. The foundation for the evolution of understanding, and thereby of the way we participate as part of nature, is through understanding the patterns of the whole. Wholeness thinking recognizes that the entirety is interconnected, and moves us beyond mechanics into a world activated by complex interrelationships such as natural systems, human social systems, and the conscious forces behind their actions (Seamon, Christopher Alexander and a phenomenology of wholeness. In EDRA – Environmental Design Research Association, Architecture Department. Manhattan, KS: Kansas State University, 2007). It is thus appropriate to introduce the concept of wholeness as a fundamental entity of nature, and in this chapter, we investigate the phenomena of the unfolding of the whole which creates living structures, and group these emergent characteristics as the 15 fundamental properties of wholeness. The chapter further discuss the generative processes of design, including patterns and pattern languages, morphogenetic sequences, and the generative code. The chapter concludes with the fundamental pattern Transformations Of Wholeness [9], providing guidance on an all-encompassing philosophy.
Phillip B. Roös
Chapter 10 . A Regenerative-Adaptive Pattern Language
Abstract
 Going beyond sustainability, which is mostly focused on a minimum or ‘less harm’ approach, the concept of regenerative design and development considers the improvement of a sustainable system as going beyond just being ‘sustainable’. The central message from the regenerative paradigm is that not only should human activities that are degenerative to the environment be minimized, but rather we should move towards a concept of maximising human activities that restore and regenerate ecological systems.
The regenerative design approach, which includes regenerative development, engages communities and practitioners in a dialogue to develop higher orders of aspirations of sustainability through understanding and problem-solving by storytelling – in essence, developing a language for place that regenerates and improves the environment. This shifts the focus of a design problem from singular, separate parts (or mechanical approach) to an all-encompassing, integral approach that looks at the whole system. However, forces of change are always present, and regenerative systems need to have the ability of adaptation. To deal with this complexity, the regenerative-adaptive pattern language was developed, which considers the dynamics of both humanmade and natural environments and includes the formulation of the ‘notion of regenerative-adaptive patterns’ equation. This chapter proceeds with the devising of the regenerative-adaptive pattern language, accumulating key aspects and messages from previous chapters, and charters a new knowledge system. The concluding section describes a regenerative-adaptive design model that can be used to apply the pattern language to the design of our human settlements, with the premise that this model provides an innovative solution that goes beyond the current practice of sustainable design and development. The chapter concludes with the fundamental pattern Notion Of Regenerative-Adaptive Patterns [10], providing instructions how to navigate through the complexity of the pattern language.
Phillip B. Roös
Chapter 11. Case Study: Application of the Regenerative-Adaptive Pattern Language
Abstract
 The fundamentals of the regenerative-adaptive pattern language have been described in previous chapters, including the formulation of the regenerative-adaptive design model. The need to apply the key principles of the notion of regenerative-adaptive patterns equation to the design and planning of our future built and natural environments has been highlighted. In this chapter the application of all the elements of the regenerative-adaptive pattern language, the regenerative-adaptive design model, and the notion of regenerative-adaptive patterns equation are tested on the case study of a coastal town called Anglesea, located on the Victorian coast in Australia.
This chapter start with an introduction to the case study area, the Great Ocean Road coastal region, and progresses with documenting the application of the regenerative-adaptive design model to the case study town Anglesea. The case study area has been analysed using the framework of the regenerative-adaptive pattern language. Similar to the process of A Pattern Language (Alexander et al., A pattern language: Towns, buildings, construction. Oxford University Press, New York, 1977) and the Ecological systems method, the whole is considered and the analysis starts with the bigger regional context, moving down in levels of scale to the local context of Anglesea. Findings resulted in the identification of many similarities between the settlements along the coast, concluding with detailed documentation of the application of the regenerative-adaptive design model to the town of Anglesea. Recommendations are provided how these findings can be applied to adaptive planning and design of other coastal settlements and larger cities around the world. The chapter concludes with the fundamental pattern Evolutionary Adaptation [11], which includes practical applications of the regenerative-adaptive pattern language.
Phillip B. Roös
Chapter 12. The Living Earth: Revenge or Celebration?
Abstract
 This final chapter brings together the cumulative knowledge built up throughout the book, and summarises how the regenerative-adaptive pattern language offers a holistic approach, informed by nature, to better craft and strengthen our built and natural environment for the future. The ‘knowledge of making life’ is embedded in the fractal geometry and morphological sequences of nature, and if we can establish a process and method to reconnect the human-nature relationship and secure resilience through our actions – both in planning and design practice, and in sustainable development – we can potentially be liberated. However, the chapter highlights that the Living Earth system behaves as a single, self-regulating system to support life, as emphasised by the Gaia Hypothesis (Lovelock, Atmospheric Environment 6:579–580, 1972). Facing an unprecedented changing climate and environment due to anthropogenic causes, the question remains as to whether we as humans can achieve a symbiosis with the revenge or celebration of Gaia. The chapter concludes with the fundamental pattern Giai’s Revenge [12], reminding us of the ultimate reality that we as humans are only a small part of this larger self-regulating system of Life on Earth.
Phillip B. Roös
Backmatter
Metadata
Title
Regenerative-Adaptive Design for Sustainable Development
Author
Dr. Phillip B. Roös
Copyright Year
2021
Electronic ISBN
978-3-030-53234-5
Print ISBN
978-3-030-53233-8
DOI
https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-53234-5