Design for Social Equity

1. carlo vezzoli politecnico di milano . INDACO dpt. . DIS . faculty of design . Italy Learning Network on Sustainability course System Design for Sustainability subject 4. D esign for social equity and cohesion learning resource 4.2 System design for social equity and cohesion

2. CONTENTS Emerging hypothesis for a design field of action A new (potential) role for design Not all system inovations are socio-ethically sustainable System design for social equity and cohesion criteria Improve employment/working conditions Equity and justice in relation to stakeholders Enable a responsible/sustainable consumption Favour/integrate weak and marginalized Improve social cohesion Empower/enhance local resources

3. “ a (product-service) system innovation ( approach) may act as a business opportunity to facilitate the process of social-economical development in an emerging context - by jumping over the individual consumption/ownership of mass produced goods stage - towards a “satisfaction-based” and “low resource-intensity” advanced service-economy, characterized by the development of locally-based and network-structured enterprises and initiatives, for a sustainable re-globalisation process aiming at the democratisation of access to resources, goods and services”. EMERGING HYPOTHESIS: > DESIGN (RESEARCH) WORKING HYPOTHESIS

4. promoting/facilitating system innovation for network-structured and local-based sustainable enterprise/initiatives A NEW (POTENTIAL) ROLE FOR DESIGN:

5. VERY FEW projects carried out to develop methods/tools to support and orientate the design process towards equitable and cohesive solutions NOT ALL SYSTEM INOVATIONS ARE SOCIO-ETHICALLY SUSTAINABLE!

6. POLITECNICO-DIS METHOD/TOOL ORIENTED RESEARCHES: . DIS-ITCP NETWORK PROJECT (ON-GOING): development of system design tools/methods for social incubator . MEPSS, EU PROJECT, 2005 SDO-toolkit: socio-ethical section, and DIS up-grade

7. DIS-Politecnico di Milano in 2005 started a collaboration with the network of Incubadora Tecnológica de Cooperativas Populares (ITCP) : adapt/develop/test system design for sustainability tools/methods for ITCP WORKSHOP 2 AT ITCP-UFPR/COEMBRA coop., CURITIBA [Vezzoli , 8. 2006] WORKSHOP 1 AT ITCP-USP, SAO PAOLO [Penin, 1.2006]

8. WORKSHOP: exploring opportunity with COEMBRA cooperative DIS-Politecnico Milano, ITCP-UFPR, 7.08.2006

9. SYSTEM DESIGN FOR SOCIAL EQUITY AND COHESION CRITERIA . improve employment/working conditions . increase equity and justice in relation to stakeholders . enable a responsible/sustainable consumption . favour/integrate the weak and marginalized . improve social cohesion . empower/enhance local resources

10. IMPROVE EMPLOYMENT/WORKING CONDITIONS SYSTEM DESIGN FOR, PROMOTING AND ENHANCING EMPLOYMENT/WORKING CONDITIONS (within the enterprise)

11. IMPROVE EQUITY AND JUSTICE IN RELATION TO STAKEHOLDERS SYSTEM DESIGN FOR, FAIR AND JUST RELATION (outside the enterprise): within the partnerships, up-stream, down-stream and in the community where the offer takes place

12. ENABLE A RESPONSIBLE/SUSTAINABLE CONSUMPTION SYSTEM DESIGN FOR, ENABLE A RESPONSIBLE AND SUSTAINABLE CLIENT/END-USER CHOICE OR BEHAVIOUR

13. FAVOUR/INTEGRATE THE WEAK AND MARGINALIZED SYSTEM DESIGN FOR, FAVOURING (MORE OR LESS INTEGRATING): . kids, elderly, differently able,… (weak) and . unemployed, illiterate, … (marginalized)

14. IMPROVE SOCIAL COHESION SYSTEM DESIGN FOR, PROMOTING SYSTEMS ENABLING SOCIAL INTEGRATION: in neighbourhood, between generations, between genders and between different cultures

15. EMPOWER/ENHANCE LOCAL RESOURCES DESIGN FOR, REGENERATING AND EMPOWERING LOCAL ECONOMIES