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INDUSTRIAL ECOLOGY AND SUSTAINABLE SYSTEMS INNOVATION: A STUDENT DESIGN PROJECT ON MOBILITY IN THE POST-AUTOMOBILE ERA
Description:
The emergent field of industrial ecology (IE) has been described as the "science and engineering of sustainability" and the "technological core of sustainability." Some proponents of IE draw on metaphors from systems ecology and suggest that a design revolution is necessary to stem the production of harmful byproducts at their source and to significantly transform the contemporary system of production and consumption. Because of the scope and scale of its impacts, especially in terms of energy use and landscape appropriation over the past decade, industrial ecologists have devoted a great deal of attention to developing a systems view of automobility. The proposed project assembles a group of graduate students in environmental policy (and related areas) to plan for sustainable mobility futures 25-50 years from now. Students will use management scanning techniques to assess: the findings of recent sustainable mobility research; the role of alternative fuel vehicles in launching a system redesign revolution; the integration of communication and transportation technologies; the emergence of virtual accessibility and mobility technologies; the future of telecommuting and other alternative work arrangements; the sustainability challenges facing several key industrial sectors; and the strategic planning presently taking place in the automobile industry and elsewhere for a post-automobile era. The end product of this initiative will be a series of scenarios envisioning possible mobility futures that may evolve over the next several decades as sustainability becomes more embedded within public consciousness and planning practices.