IN-PERSON Lisbon Livable Cities. Section B

Abstract

Sustainable designs for livable cities should always consider what Ursula Franklin (1995) asks us to think about in any development process: ‘who benefits and who pays: socially, environmentally and economically?’ The Sustainable Cities Initiative (Herrman and Lewis (2015) suggest that a livable city must include support and value for existing communities and neighbourhoods – but how is this valuing actually carried out in practice? This paper presents an innovative model of participatory design and development which combines waste management with poverty reduction. Waste for Life (2024) emerged from the concept of socializing knowledge about upcycling technologies, with those communities that would not normally have access to such knowledge but would benefit from ‘upcycling’ locally found waste into high quality, reproducible composite material products (combining plastic and other waste usually destined for landfill) which they can sell (Baillie et al, 2011). Developed with marginalized communities in Argentina, Sri Lanka, and Mexico, this paper raises questions about the potential that this process has for adoption in European cities. Furthermore, it will facilitate a broader discussion about the need to include local communities in sustainable and liveable urban designs and development. Baillie, C., Matovic, D., Thamae, T., Vaja, S. (2011) Waste-based composites: Poverty Reducing Solutions to Environmental problems, Resources, Conservation and Recycling, 55 973-978; Franklin, U. (1990). The real world of technology. Toronto: House of Anansi Press. Herrman, Tyce, and Rebecca Lewis. What Is Livability?: Framing Livability. Sustainable Cities Initiative, 2015. Waste For Life, (2024) wasteforlife.org