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On 18/01/12 12:44 PM, "Christopher Brisbin" <[log in to unmask]> wrote: >Snip Aren't citizens whom take responsibility for a personal/individual response to environmental pressures, as they perceive them, far more informed and likely to be invested in addressing the broader environmental issues that collectively face each and every one of us. > Yes, but expecting individual citizens to be responsible doesn't always work. There's that attitude/behaviour gap. For example, research on domestic water consumption in Australia showed that individuals who took up a government grant to put in their own rainwater tanks ended up using the same amount of urban water supply as those who didn't. The tankwater became 'their own water' to be used as they liked - so they could water their gardens more. Soufoulis & Williams study the water problem and recommend building networks at the 'meso-level' (eg street or neighborhood), rather than trying to bring about change at individual or macro levels. They also talk about encouraging new identities, such as 'recyclers' or 'watersavers', who can then be mobilized as a group. So, if cultures can be changed by building new identities and networks, we could look at design students as a meso-level group and teach them about a range of interesting new sustainable social identities that challenge what they see as normal and taken-for-granted. Personally, I like Kate Soper's alternative hedonism ;) I'd like to see resources for design students which draw on the work of cultural researchers and philosophers as above, to help with this type of transformation.... my 2 cents. Amanda Sofoulis, Z., & Williams, C. (2008). From Pushing Atoms to Growing Networks: Cultural Innovation and Co-Evolution in Urban Water Conservation. Social Alternatives, 27(3), 50-57.