Creating an Inclusive and Sustainable Built Environment Through Universal Design and Ekistics
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Published on: November 14, 2015
Sandeep Sankat1, Ipshita Sankat1
1School of Planning and Architecture, Bhopal, India.
Abstract:
Built environments worldwide face mounting pressure from population growth, resource scarcity, pollution, and biodiversity loss - a global problem that plays out locally. Addressing it requires treating the built environment as a system of systems spanning Nature, Anthropos, Society, Shells (building typologies), and Networks (per Ekistics Elements). This work combines two established frameworks - Universal Design [1] (accessibility) and Ekistics [2] (sustainability) - to define a "Sustainable and Accessible Built Environment." It proposes guidelines and a companion mobile/web app that identify the gaps driving unsustainable design and translate the combined framework into practical "Universal Design Principles and Guidelines, for Sustainability and Accessibility in Built Environment," treating the built environment as an integrated spatio-social-cultural and technical system.
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