Design, Poverty, and Sustainable Development

Abstract

no attention. 7n informal discourse anal4sis shows that desi%n and povert4 have not been lin<ed/ the two bein% seen as mutuall4 e.clusive. This paper aims to e.amine the relationships between desi%n and desi%ners/ povert4 and the poor/ and sustain> able development/ which aims to alleviate povert4. ?n the face of it/ there would appear to be little that lin<s them@ however/ this paper aims to identif4 specific desi%n initiatives that relate to poor people in the southern hemisphere as producers and consumers of desi%ned %oods. A Bt briefl4 outlines definitions of povert4 and sustainable development/ then describes selected desi%n interven> tions. Bt anal4Ces the contribution that these initiatives ma<e to the reduction of povert4/ and to the different aspects of sustainable development. /e0ining the 3e4 5e$ms: 9ove$t4 and ;ustainable /evelopment Doth of these terms are contested/ and their meanin% and the prob> lem of definin% them has been discussed e.tensivel4 elsewhere. E/ F Bn the conte.t of this paper/ povert4 is defined as livin% on less than GA dollar a da4/ a state affectin% about A.E billion of the worldHs si. billion people. Iustainable development is that development that considers social/ environmental/ and economic factors to%ether in a s4stemic wa4 over a period of time. J /esign in 9oo$ ,onte.ts: ;ome ?.amples What is desi%nHs contribution L to povert4 reductionM B want to sepa> rate the discussion of desi%n in poor economies into two partsN the production of %oods that provide income and %enerate wealth for poor producers/ and the consumption of %oods in poor mar<ets. 9$oduction Oraft %oods made for e.port are handicrafts made as part of income> %eneratin% or povert4>reduction schemes. The products/ of all <inds/ but t4picall4 such thin%s as te.tiles/ clothin%/ Pewelr4/ potter4/ paper %oods/ and the li<e reach developed world mar<ets throu%h several routesN first/ b4 tourists visitin% QThird WorldR countries@ second/ throu%h e.patriates temporaril4 livin% in the developin% countries@ 1 The poorer nations of the world are given various labels: underdeveloped, less-developed, less-industrialized, developing, and the Third World. Like all labels, these mask huge differences between countries and within them; and, as Southeast Asia and China industrialize and develop at such a pace; they become increasingly misleading.

Key guidelines for designing integrated solutions to support development of marginalised societies

“…These remotely designed solutions are not adopted and used by the marginalised people on sustained and continued basis. Such externally conceived designs fail to create a positive and sustainable impact on the lives of marginalised people when the outsiders leave the community or begin to work on other projects (e.g., Nieusma, 2004;Thomas, 2006). Several solutions designed by using remote or top-down design approaches have been unsuccessful to support the development of low-income individuals, since they are typically disconnected from the target communities (e.g., Viswanathan et al, 2009).…”

“…The study revealed that the marginalised people give higher importance to the 'income generation opportunities' provided by a design solution. Their higher preference for livelihood opportunities or economic benefits afforded by a solution has also been identified in Thomas's (2006) analysis of designs aimed to serve lowincome people. His analysis of a design solution to alleviate physical burden of washerwomen revealed that the washerwomen gave higher preference to economic gains.…”

Design for Social Sustainability: Using Digital Fabrication in the Humanitarian and Development Sector

“…This project provides a 'quick win' solution which is relatively incremental and user-focused. Overall, this comparison draws attention to the need for more long-term, open ended solutions in which sustainability is embedded early on [45,52,53].…”

“…The identification of product factors builds on existing approaches to Design for Sustainability that focus on quality, usability, durability and inclusive design [62]. Central to much of this dialogue is the increasing focus on user needs [44,52,63] which are recognised as being contextual and situated [64,65]. This leads to the process factors which confirm normative arguments that DfSS is participatory [45,66,67] democratic [68,69] and cultivates local ownership [37,70].…”

“…Cont.Cooley [34], Margolin and Margolin[44], Thomas[52], Melles et al[63], Cipolla and Bartholo[83] Interviewee details and codes.…”