Sustainability and Privilege: A Critique of Social Design Practice

Social design is a popular field in contemporary architecture, but it has been criticized for marginalizing and displacing vulnerable populations. Gabriel Arboleda's book "Sustainability and Privilege" proposes an interdisciplinary approach called ethnoarchitecture to improve this practice by eliminating the imposition of architects' ideas on vulnerable populations and foregrounding the peoples' voices, experience, and input.

Format: Hardback
Length: 286 pages
Publication date: 13 May 2022
Publisher: University of Virginia Press

Social design, the practice of designing for poverty relief, is a prominent field in contemporary architecture. Advocates praise architects' creativity and good intentions, while detractors argue it expresses cultural imperialism. Gabriel Arboleda's book, Sustainability and Privilege, explores the lessons learned from social design's limitations and proposes a way to improve this practice. Arboleda argues that social designs' invocation of sustainability often marginalizes and displaces vulnerable populations through faulty alternative technologies, green gentrification, or untoward economic burdens. He criticizes the way social design has been carried out in impoverished regions, particularly in Africa and Latin America. The book proposes ethnoarchitecture, an interdisciplinary approach that eliminates the casual imposition of architects' ideas on vulnerable populations, prioritizing the voices, experiences, and input of the people in social design practice.

Introduction:
Social design, the practice of designing for poverty relief, has gained significant attention in contemporary architecture. While its advocates celebrate architects' creativity and good intentions, detractors argue that it perpetuates cultural imperialism. This book aims to explore the lessons learned from social design's limitations and propose a feasible way to improve this practice.

Social Design and Sustainability:
Social design seeks to address poverty and social inequality through architectural interventions. However, the invocation of sustainability in social design often leads to unintended consequences. Arboleda contends that social designs often prioritize experimentation with faulty alternative technologies, resulting in projects that fail to meet the needs of vulnerable populations. Additionally, social designs that promote green gentrification or impose untoward economic burdens on impoverished regions further exacerbate social inequalities.

Critique of Social Design:
Arboleda is fiercely critical of the way social design has been carried out in impoverished regions of the world, particularly in Africa and Latin America. He argues that social designs often fail to consider the local context, culture, and needs of the people they aim to serve. Instead, architects impose their ideas on vulnerable populations, disregarding their voices, experiences, and input.

Ethnoarchitecture as a Solution:
In addressing the challenges posed by issues of privilege in social design's use of sustainability, the book proposes a new interdisciplinary approach called ethnoarchitecture. Ethnoarchitecture emphasizes a simpler, open-ended, and stakeholder-driven process that eliminates the casual imposition of architects' ideas on vulnerable populations. It prioritizes the voices, experiences, and input of the people in social design practice, ensuring that the final design reflects their needs and aspirations.

Conclusion:
Social design has the potential to make a significant impact on poverty relief and social inequality. However, its current limitations need to be addressed. By adopting ethnoarchitecture, social design can become more inclusive, responsive, and effective in addressing the needs of vulnerable populations. It is essential to recognize the power of architecture to shape society and to ensure that it is used for the greater good.

Weight: 309g
Dimension: 229 x 178 (mm)
ISBN-13: 9780813947488