Inhabiting the earth as a finite world: An examination of the prospects of providing housing in a finite world in which prosperity is fairly shared, natural resources are not depleted, and the environment is protected

by Research Group on Living and Surviving (Editor)

Overview

Since the 'sixties anxiety about the future of mankind has led to a number of major publications on the world's vital problems and the relationship between them, the best known being the reports to the Club of Rome. This study of the problems of providing living accommodation for a rapid­ ly growing world population, taking into account the limits that must be set to this growth, was started in 1973 at the Academy of Architecture and Erasmus University, Rotterdam, and testifies to the same anxiety. Inhabiting the Earth as a Finite World is the impressive result of a study of the consequences of meeting the just demand for good accommodation for all the earth's in­ habitants, worked out with the aid of a world model and a number of case studies. The value of models, especially very complex ones, is at present debatable. Nevertheless, they can often cast light on complex situations. The simplified form of the real situation, which every model in fact is, allows certain impli­ cations of decisions to be discerned and taken into account in planning. The comparison of the results of the study with the design process is a clear example of this.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9789400992566
Publisher:	Springer Netherlands
Publication date:	10/13/2011
Edition description:	Softcover reprint of the original 1st ed. 1979
Pages:	163
Product dimensions:	6.10(w) x 9.25(h) x 0.01(d)

Table of Contents

1. The dangers threatening mankind.- 1.1 The interrelation of the problems.- 1.2 Natural resources.- 1.3 The food problem.- 1.4 The population problem.- 1.5 The effects on the environment.- 1.6 The significance of technological developments.- 1.7 Distribution of prosperity.- 2. Systems approach as a research method.- 2.1 Research strategy.- 2.2 The model approach.- 3. Seeking general data for a dynamic world-model.- 3.1 Population.- 3.2 Food.- 3.3 Natural resources.- 3.4 Energy.- 3.5 Pollution of the environment.- 3.6 Sharing prosperity.- 4. Basic elements of the building process.- 4.1 Specific input data.- 4.2 The Static approach to the limiting values.- 5. Possibilities for quantitative analysis of housing: test cases.- 5.1 The purpose of the test cases.- 5.2 Carib home in Surinam.- 5.3 Living in developing countries: Ghana development plan.- 5.4 Living in the industrial society.- 5.5 Comparison of test cases.- 6. The simulation model.- 6.1 General scheme of the model.- 6.2 Income trends.- 6.3 Income distribution.- 6.4 Population.- 6.5 Housing requirements.- 6.6 Agriculture and forestry.- 6.7 Pollution.- 6.8 The use of scarce resources.- 6.9 The limits.- 6.10 Simulation model results.- 7. Designing within the limits.- 7.1 Building estimate.- 7.2 Energy consumption and heat insulation.- 7.3 The specification of limits.- 7.4 Design methods.- 7.5 Designs for testing the specification of limits and the design method.- 8. The projects.- 8.1 Urban terraced house (Design: Frits Mastenbroek).- 8.2 A house in a poor country (Design: Piet Bennehey).- 8.3 House with own supply facilities: pyramid 2020 (Design: Willem van den Akker and Jan van Middelkoop).- 9. Conclusions and evaluation.- Appendix A: Some major air pollutants.- Appendix B: Technical life of the house.- Appendix C: Detailed estimates for pyramid 2020.- Appendix D: Heat and sound insulation.