Make the environment the (Next) Economy

Abstract

How can designers make people get in touch with sustainable development? “km -1: make the environment the (Next) Economy” is an experimental study that explores the characteristics of the “Next Economy” (Manzini, 2011). First: it’s a social economy. Second: it’s strongly linked to the ongoing dynamics of social innovation, emerging from the grassroots. Third: its aim is the production of goal-specific systems. The study combines two ambits which have had few chances to communicate: community centered design and material driven design, aiming to define new scenarios regarding the relationships among local communities, urban spaces, waste and meanings. The author has worked within the specific framework of urban convivial gardens, which become the space of social innovation, using the Material Driven Design Method (Karana, Barati, Rognoli, Zeeuw van der Laan, 2015). The study explores the opportunity to transform bio-waste into a do-it-yourself material which can be used inside the gardens.