Can We Sustain Sustainability? A Critical Synthesis of Pertinent Literature

Architects and designers, along with their corporate clients, generally embrace the importance of environmental stewardship, saving the earth’s ecosystem, and sustainable design. However, research is needed to link sustainable design with relevant human behavior (e.g., in corporate offices and educa...

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Autores principales:	Jay L. Brand, Sally Augustin
Formato:	article
Lenguaje:	EN
Publicado:	MDPI AG 2021
Materias:	organizational strategy sustainable design environmental psychology information processing well-being performance Environmental effects of industries and plants TD194-195 Renewable energy sources TJ807-830 Environmental sciences GE1-350
Acceso en línea:	https://doaj.org/article/0f7b97744b2a4ba4b224c01b01a0583e
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spelling	oai:doaj.org-article:0f7b97744b2a4ba4b224c01b01a0583e2021-11-25T19:04:04ZCan We Sustain Sustainability? A Critical Synthesis of Pertinent Literature10.3390/su1322127532071-1050https://doaj.org/article/0f7b97744b2a4ba4b224c01b01a0583e2021-11-01T00:00:00Zhttps://www.mdpi.com/2071-1050/13/22/12753https://doaj.org/toc/2071-1050Architects and designers, along with their corporate clients, generally embrace the importance of environmental stewardship, saving the earth’s ecosystem, and sustainable design. However, research is needed to link sustainable design with relevant human behavior (e.g., in corporate offices and educational settings) to ensure its enduring legacy. Regarding changing people’s behavior, the majority of human experience results from unconscious processes, i.e., brain–environment interactions not available to awareness; thus, in general, people cannot articulate the nature of these associations. Using theoretical roots stemming from William James and running through ecological psychology (e.g., James J. Gibson to Roger Barker), Harry Heft has argued that the influence of environmental design precedes conscious awareness and information processing. Assuming Heft’s conjecture, this implies that—if informed by biologically influential signals (e.g., biophilic design)—the design of the ambient physical environment may positively ‘nudge’ human behavior in ways useful to sustainability and sensitivity to the environment—although relevant critical perspectives suggest that dynamic conditions and contextual complexity may modify the potential of nudge theory applications. Still, could it be that sustainable design can improve human health and well-being? Research suggests that environmentally responsible and biophilic design may accomplish at least a few elements of this goal and perhaps also enhance some aspects of cognitive performance. Could this approach support environmental sustainability by linking sustainable design to its potential economic benefits via worker productivity or student success? If so, then the strategy of improving positive well-being through design aligns well with the goal of maintaining the long-term viability of the earth’s ecosystem.Jay L. BrandSally AugustinMDPI AGarticleorganizational strategysustainable designenvironmental psychologyinformation processingwell-beingperformanceEnvironmental effects of industries and plantsTD194-195Renewable energy sourcesTJ807-830Environmental sciencesGE1-350ENSustainability, Vol 13, Iss 12753, p 12753 (2021)
institution	DOAJ
collection	DOAJ
language	EN
topic	organizational strategy sustainable design environmental psychology information processing well-being performance Environmental effects of industries and plants TD194-195 Renewable energy sources TJ807-830 Environmental sciences GE1-350
spellingShingle	organizational strategy sustainable design environmental psychology information processing well-being performance Environmental effects of industries and plants TD194-195 Renewable energy sources TJ807-830 Environmental sciences GE1-350 Jay L. Brand Sally Augustin Can We Sustain Sustainability? A Critical Synthesis of Pertinent Literature
description	Architects and designers, along with their corporate clients, generally embrace the importance of environmental stewardship, saving the earth’s ecosystem, and sustainable design. However, research is needed to link sustainable design with relevant human behavior (e.g., in corporate offices and educational settings) to ensure its enduring legacy. Regarding changing people’s behavior, the majority of human experience results from unconscious processes, i.e., brain–environment interactions not available to awareness; thus, in general, people cannot articulate the nature of these associations. Using theoretical roots stemming from William James and running through ecological psychology (e.g., James J. Gibson to Roger Barker), Harry Heft has argued that the influence of environmental design precedes conscious awareness and information processing. Assuming Heft’s conjecture, this implies that—if informed by biologically influential signals (e.g., biophilic design)—the design of the ambient physical environment may positively ‘nudge’ human behavior in ways useful to sustainability and sensitivity to the environment—although relevant critical perspectives suggest that dynamic conditions and contextual complexity may modify the potential of nudge theory applications. Still, could it be that sustainable design can improve human health and well-being? Research suggests that environmentally responsible and biophilic design may accomplish at least a few elements of this goal and perhaps also enhance some aspects of cognitive performance. Could this approach support environmental sustainability by linking sustainable design to its potential economic benefits via worker productivity or student success? If so, then the strategy of improving positive well-being through design aligns well with the goal of maintaining the long-term viability of the earth’s ecosystem.
format	article
author	Jay L. Brand Sally Augustin
author_facet	Jay L. Brand Sally Augustin
author_sort	Jay L. Brand
title	Can We Sustain Sustainability? A Critical Synthesis of Pertinent Literature
title_short	Can We Sustain Sustainability? A Critical Synthesis of Pertinent Literature
title_full	Can We Sustain Sustainability? A Critical Synthesis of Pertinent Literature
title_fullStr	Can We Sustain Sustainability? A Critical Synthesis of Pertinent Literature
title_full_unstemmed	Can We Sustain Sustainability? A Critical Synthesis of Pertinent Literature
title_sort	can we sustain sustainability? a critical synthesis of pertinent literature
publisher	MDPI AG
publishDate	2021
url	https://doaj.org/article/0f7b97744b2a4ba4b224c01b01a0583e
work_keys_str_mv	AT jaylbrand canwesustainsustainabilityacriticalsynthesisofpertinentliterature AT sallyaugustin canwesustainsustainabilityacriticalsynthesisofpertinentliterature
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Can We Sustain Sustainability? A Critical Synthesis of Pertinent Literature

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