Social interaction and the sustainable industrial landscape

Abstract

In a world dominated by headlines on climate change, population expansion, economic issues and social dilemmas, it seems hardly surprising that landscape architects are now often being called upon to design landscapes that support sustainability rather than just provide visual appeal. Sustainable design is increasingly pushed as a planning tool in urban areas to solve these issues at a local scale. Industrial sites, with their association with pollution and degradation, should be a significant target of this movement towards sustainable design. Industrial sustainability needs to focus on not only environmental issues but on social and economic sustainability as well, to ensure they survive and thrive. A new shift in the approach to sustainable landscape design within an industrial context could generate a more holistic sustainability.

Human behaviour is recognized as an important element of sustainability, as people often contribute regularly to unsustainable practices. Changing behaviour through design, psychological applications, and organisational manipulation can alter how people view sustainability and how they behave in their environments. Positive social interactions can improve personal well-being, environmental awareness and care, and aesthetic perception; which can be utilised to increase sustainable behaviour and attitude. This can be used to advance the overall sustainability within an industrial context.

A design methodology has been developed around the concept that positive social interactions can improve sustainability by altering people’s behaviour and attitude. Through the design of an industrial landscape using a social framework, the project tests whether the social methodology works successfully to improve the site’s level of sustainability through an increase in the quantity and quality of social interactions.

Harbourside Business Park was chosen to test the design methodology. This site is situated within the industrial precinct of Rosebank Peninsula in Auckland and is composed of medium to light industry types. The site provides a wide range of opportunities and limitations from topography to management. The proposed landscape design outcome aims to improve and increase social interaction by encouraging visual and physical connectivity and providing opportunities for engagement between people and their environment, with the goal of increasing site sustainability.