Z E M C H 2 0 1 2 I n t e r n a t i o n a l C o n f e r e n c e
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"Being nomads, travellers, experiencing the unknown, the unexpected,
in a daily life full of surprises, learn about far away worlds walking,
riding, going by car, by boat, on a plane ....
And bring your own home ”
(Pilar Echavarria M.)
Introduction
This paper aims to make some reflections on a new concept of living from the
interpretation, in the construction industry, of the theory of sustainable development,
introduced for the first time by a document issued in 1987 by the World Commission on
Environment and Development, known as the Brundtland Report (Our Common Future).
The definition of sustainable development proposed was: “
It is a development that meets
the actual needs without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own
needs
" (WCED 1987). This statement is intended as an exhortation for the society, to
find solutions for the exploitation of natural resources to allow their regeneration and the
conservation of the environment for future generations.
In particular, during the UN Conference on Environment and Development in Rio de
Janeiro in 1992, an important document was issued, named Agenda 21, that tried to
define all the actions that the UN, governments and administrations have to take,
worldwide, national and local level, in every area where human presence has impacts on
the environment. Summarising, the global planning is set on three key concepts: the
needs and changes of modern society, new instances of environmental efforts to its
preservation and economic factor.
Even within the Horizon 2020, the new integrated EU funding program for research,
particularly in Part III, "
Challenges for society", the following actions have been identified.
They work to "improve the health and the welfare of all throughout life, ... to make the
transition to an energy system, sustainable and competitive in the face of increasing
scarcity of resources, the growing need for energy and climate change .... to achieve an
efficient economy in terms of resources and climate resilient and sustainable supply of
raw material … and to create a European efficient transport system
"(Horizon 2020).
Desertification, global warming, shrinking forests, endangered species, difficulties in the
disposal and recovery of waste, contamination of soil, sea and air, are some of the main
effects legible in the environment, as a result of human society who is posing a threat to
the balance of our ecosystem. The main causes are identified both in economic activities,
which often are not able to handle the needs of product-services, in relation to available
resources or to recover and recycle waste, and in individual activities that do not always
operate to the optimal extent natural resources (water, energy, matter).
By contrast, our cities are undergoing a process of transformation that, in recent years,
has led to an explosion of the building’s construction resulting in a densification of the
free soil (ISTAT) and the inevitable expansion of the boundaries of the city as a result of
the population growth (Fig.1).
From the mid-twentieth century until today the population is rocket, raising the level of
world population from 2,5 to 6,7 billion (World POP Clock Projection). It’s expected that
in 2042 it will reach the threshold of 9 billion; in order to meet global demand, the
consequence of this, will be the increase of the exploitation of existing resources (Fig.2).
This action has also inevitably led to an unregulated and unplanned land use that it’s
showing the expansion of cities totally unsustainable (CRESME/SI 2010). "
In recent
