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A Design Framework For Sustainable Infrastructure, Jacqualyn Blizzard

All Theses

Aristotle theorized, 'The whole is more than the sum of its parts.' Design engineers often overlook this simple philosophy. We employ a reductionist approach when designing the built environment: engineering solutions for the individual parts rather than the system as a whole, creating and exacerbating problems in the process. A whole system, interdisciplinary approach that considers the interrelatedness of global issues is increasingly recognized as essential to finding truly sustainable engineering solutions (NSB, 2007). However, both the precise nature of this whole systems approach, and the best ways to incorporate it in engineering education remain undefined. To address this gap …