On building sustainable communities: A perspective for HFE practitioners

Area of Science:

• Human Factors and Ergonomics
• Systems Ergonomics
• Community Sustainability

Background:

• Current understanding of sustainable community characteristics is insufficient, with diverse perspectives in HFE literature.
• Communities are crucial for human future, linking to climate change and general sustainability concerns.
• Unsustainable communities face collapse, as highlighted by Tainter's work.

Purpose of the Study:

• To provide a systems ergonomics perspective on sustainable communities.
• To extend socio-technical understanding for HFE practitioners.
• To assist HFE practitioners in contributing to community renewal processes.

Main Methods:

• Defining 'sustainable community' and its legal basis.
• Outlining sustainability goals based on social justice principles.
• Discussing characteristics, resources, complexities, and hindrances to community sustainability.

Main Results:

• A conceptual framework for sustainable communities is presented.
• The paper links theoretical concepts to practical HFE applications.
• Approaches and processes for HFE practitioners are outlined.

Conclusions:

• A systems ergonomics approach is vital for enhancing community sustainability.
• HFE practitioners can play a key role in the continuous renewal of communities.
• This work aims to prevent community unsustainability and potential collapse.