⚡Emergency
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Design for Social Good
Maybe it’s because we’re designers and it’s about selfishly promoting the value of our work, but we really believe in the sappy notion that design can change the world, or at least make it more bearable. Here are a few cool examples:
Homeless Shelter Makeover
Many living on the streets avoid shelters because they’re not pleasant and dignified. Perkins and Will, an architecture firm, decided to recreate them.
“There are all these kinds of barriers that stop people from taking advantage of the resources that are available to them at these facilities and one of those things is personal space and privacy.” Yan Krymsky, Perkins and Will
The redesign. Homeless shelters may fit 20 to 30 beds in a single room. Privacy is basically non-existent. Dome, a new design for shelter furniture, could change this. These modular units have a 6 foot-tall cabinet for storage, built in nightstand, power outlet, and a space for a bed. When broken down, 32 can fit in one truck.
A temporary home. In Los Angeles, someone living in an interim housing facility might be there for six months to two years, so the designers wanted to create a space that offered more dignity.
“We’re trying to achieve attention to detail and quality that make people feel like they matter, and that’s a really important part of what we’re trying to do. It’s not about just getting as many people in beds as fast as possible. It’s about the quality of the thing that we’re making.”
Confederate Generals
Memphis designed its parks that were named after confederate generals into inclusive spaces. After removing the statues of Confederate president Jefferson Davis and KKK leader Nathan Bedford Forrest, the city is now considering how to redesign these spaces to support stronger community.
Rewind. Tennessee passed a law banning removal of public property without the permission of the Tennessee Historical Commission. So how did Memphis remove the statues? In a late-night vote, they transferred ownership of the two parks to a nonprofit called Memphis Greenspace using a loophole. No longer public property, they brought cranes and tore them down the same night.
The redesign. They started with the redesign of River Garden, formerly Jefferson Davis Park. They put up a giant treehouse, added swings and benches, and now host free yoga sessions, concerts, and dances. On Friday nights, visitors will roast marshmallows at a fire-pit.
“We’re trying in every way we can to mix people of different races, different ages, different family types,” Coletta says. “And most especially and most difficult, of different incomes.” Carol Coletta, head of the Memphis River Parks Partnership.
Connection. The organization realizes that low-income people need to be exposed to more diverse social networks to increase their opportunities for social mobility.
Lasting change. The statue will never be replaced by another statue, but by a table where people can sit and talk.
11,000 Scientists Warn of Climate Emergency
A letter signed by over 11,000 scientists from around the world warns “clearly and unequivocally that planet Earth is facing a climate emergency.”
What’s different. The scientists urge that we need to take the conversation of climate change beyond a consideration of just global surface temperature. To do so, they’ve studied a set of key indicators that convey the overall effects of human activities over the last 40 years.
Troubling signs. There are many — the scientists point to sustained increases in:
Both human and ruminant livestock populations
Per capita meat production
Global tree cover loss
Fossil fuel consumption
Number of airline passengers carried
CO2 emissions (overall and per capita), methane, and nitrous oxide
Encouraging signs. Not all trends were negative —
Decreases in global fertility rates
Decelerated forest loss rate in the Brazillian Amazon
Increases in consumption of solar and wind power
Institutional fossil fuel divestment of more than $7 trillion
(If you really want to get your nerd on — we definitely did this morning — check out the snapshots statistical analyses here and here)
We’re going in the wrong direction. Despite these encouraging signs, we’re going in the wrong direction — the decline in human fertility rates is slowing, and the pace of forest loss in the Brazillian Amazon is on the rise (by the way, the Amazon is still burning.
The impact. Ice has been disappearing, oceans are struggling (heat and acidity are rising, along with sea levels), extreme weather has been trending upward, and more. We’re rapidly towards irreversible climate tipping points that could lead to a catastrophic “hothouse Earth.”
What can we do. The scientists lay out six critical and interrelated steps —
Energy — Implement massive energy efficiency and conservation practices. Replace fossil fuels with low-carbon renewables. Leave remaining stocks of fossil fuels in the ground. Pursue negative emissions using carbon extraction technology. Eliminate subsidies for fossil fuels.
Short-Lived Pollutants — Reduce the emissions of short-lived climate pollutants like methane and black carbon, slowing down climate feedback loops and reducing the short-term warming trend.
Nature — Protect and restore Earth’s ecosystems like phytoplankton, coral reefs, grasslands, and more, since they naturally contribute to CO2 sequestration.
Food — Eat mostly plant-based foods and reduce the global consumption of animal products can both improve human health and significantly reduce GHG emissions. This also frees up croplands for much-needed human plant food.
Economy — Stop excessive extraction of materials and overexploitation of ecosystems. Shift goals from GDP growth towards the pursuit of sustaining ecosystems and improving human well-being.
Population —Stabilize and gradually reduce the world population, within a framework that ensures social integrity, through increased access to family-planning services and achieving gender equity.
By using empirical data, this study makes us feel confident in the recommendations and, perhaps more importantly, gives us a way to track our overall progress over time. That being said, we’ve known these solutions for a while — none of this should really be a surprise. The problem has never been a lack of knowledge about what we need to do; it has and will continue to be the institutional will to make change happen. Unfortunately, things still aren’t looking great — yesterday, Trump gave official notice to pull the US out of the Paris Climate Agreement, and global energy efficiency gains are slowing.
Short Takes
It is disturbingly easy to discover human traffickers selling slaves on Instagram and other social media apps, as found by an undercover BBC operation.
85 percent of retail investors, including 95 percent of millennials, are interested in impact investing. Check out this article to figure out how to get started with impact investing.
Google “intrapreneuers” pen an open letter to the executives demanding climate action.
A study in India found that either having boys and girls wear the same school uniforms or giving girls the option of wearing pants can help tackle gender inequality.
Microsoft Japan tried a four-day workweek and saw a productivity boost of 40 percent per worker, as measured by sales per employee.
Tomorrow Today
🎟️ Thursday, December 5: Community Event
Change cannot be achieved alone, only together. In that spirit, we are kicking off community events at our space in New York City. Mark your calendars for our very first event on Thursday, December 5 — we’ll be sending out more details soon!
Igniting Tomorrow
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