By: Rumanda Young
As I begin a new semester of teaching I am met by eager master’s level students who want to learn how to marry design with the environment. These future professionals are exposed to the idea of sustainability and environmental ethics much more than students of the past. Today, professionals in the planning, design, and construction industry must understand Aldo Leopold’s statement that “a thing is right when it tends to preserve the integrity, stability, and beauty of the biotic community. It is wrong when it tends otherwise” (1933).
Not only do professionals have an obligation to design for the welfare and safety of people they represent; they also have an obligation to safeguard the environment. There is an ethical obligation to promote excellence of design and endeavor to conserve and preserve the integrity and heritage of the natural and built environment. Professionals are faced with issues, including:
• Loss of natural areas
• Land consumption
• Energy efficiency
• Water quality
• Air quality
• Endangered/threatened species
• Resource conservation
• Habitat destruction
• Noise pollution
• Light pollution
• Encroachment issues
Environmental consideration in design and development is based on the idea that “land is a community is the basic concept of ecology, but that land is to be loved and respected is an extension of ethics” (Leopold 1933). Development professionals are not the only people faced with ethical judgments regarding land use. The following individuals also play an integral role in making ethical land use choices:
Not only do professionals have an obligation to design for the welfare and safety of people they represent; they also have an obligation to safeguard the environment. There is an ethical obligation to promote excellence of design and endeavor to conserve and preserve the integrity and heritage of the natural and built environment. Professionals are faced with issues, including:
• Loss of natural areas
• Land consumption
• Energy efficiency
• Water quality
• Air quality
• Endangered/threatened species
• Resource conservation
• Habitat destruction
• Noise pollution
• Light pollution
• Encroachment issues
Environmental consideration in design and development is based on the idea that “land is a community is the basic concept of ecology, but that land is to be loved and respected is an extension of ethics” (Leopold 1933). Development professionals are not the only people faced with ethical judgments regarding land use. The following individuals also play an integral role in making ethical land use choices:
• Landowners
• Land developers
• Builders
• Public land-users (e.g. campers, hunters)
• Citizens involved in interest groups
• Public officials (e.g. elected, appointed)
• Land-use professionals (e.g. planners)
• Resource Managers
• Banking Institutions
• Homeowners
• Environmental and conservation groups.
Professionals in the planning, design and construction industry should strive to make environmentally sound decisions for the sake of future generations. How professionals (and the general public) treat the natural and built environment today will diminish or enhance the quality of life for future generations. Timothy Beatley wrote that although “some degree of human intrusion on the natural environment is inevitable, there is an ethical obligation to ensure that the human footprint is a small one” (Beatley 1994).
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