Engineering for Sustainable Communities

Engineering for Sustainable Communities
Author: William Edward Kelly
Publisher:
Total Pages: 466
Release: 2017
Genre: Electronic books
ISBN: 9780784414811

Engineering for Sustainable Communities: Principles and Practices defines and outlines sustainable engineering methods for real-world engineering projects.

Engineering and Society

Engineering and Society
Author: Caroline Baillie
Publisher: Morgan & Claypool Publishers
Total Pages: 339
Release: 2009
Genre: Philosophy
ISBN: 1598296620

Engineers work in an increasingly complex entanglement of ideas, people, cultures, technology, systems and environments. Today, decisions made by engineers often have serious implications for not only their clients but for society as a whole and the natural world. Such decisions may potentially influence cultures, ways of living, as well as alter ecosystems which are in delicate balance. In order to make appropriate decisions and to co-create ideas and innovations within and among the complex networks of communities which currently exist and are shaped by our decisions, we need to regain our place as professionals, to realise the significance of our work and to take responsibility in a much deeper sense. Engineers must develop the 'ability to respond' to emerging needs of all people, across all cultures. To do this requires insights and knowledge which are at present largely within the domain of the social and political sciences but which need to be shared with our students in ways which are meaningful and relevant to engineering. This book attempts to do just that. In Part 1 Baillie introduces ideas associated with the ways in which engineers relate to the communities in which they work. Drawing on scholarship from science and technology studies, globalisation and development studies, as well as work in science communication and dialogue, this introductory text sets the scene for an engineering community which engages with the public. In Part 2 Catalano frames the thinking processes necessary to create ethical and just decisions in engineering, to understand the implications of our current decision making processes and think about ways in which we might adapt these to become more socially just in the future. In Part 3 Baillie and Catalano have provided case studies of everyday issues such as water, garbage and alarm clocks, to help us consider how we might see through the lenses of our new knowledge from Parts 1 and 2 and apply this to our every day existence as engineers.

Engineering for Sustainable Human Development

Engineering for Sustainable Human Development
Author: Bernard Amadei
Publisher:
Total Pages: 504
Release: 2014-08-01
Genre: Electronic books
ISBN: 9780784413531

The challenge of improving the daily lives of people in developing communities calls for a new generation of global engineers who can operate in environments vastly different from those in the developed world. Engineers must become creative and innovative as they contend with uncertainty, complexity, and constraints in unfamiliar cultural settings. They must also deal with a multitude of technical and nontechnical issues beyond their accustomed practice. In this book, Bernard Amadei addresses the role of engineering in poverty reduction and human development. He introduces a framework to help engineers conduct small-scale projects in communities vulnerable to the consequences of a wide range of adverse events. His framework combines concepts and tools traditionally used by development agencies with techniques from engineering project management and systems thinking. When blended, these tools and techniques from seemingly unrelated fields offer engineers better methods to manage the difficulties inherent in community development projects.Engineering for Sustainable Human Development is about the delivery of projects that are done right from a performance (technical) point of view and are also the right projects from a social, environmental, and economic (context) point of view. This multidisciplinary approach to sustainable engineering will be valuable to practitioners and students, as well as people associated with development organizations and aid agencies.

The Global Engineers

The Global Engineers
Author: Evan Thomas
Publisher: Springer Nature
Total Pages: 94
Release: 2020-07-17
Genre: Education
ISBN: 3030502635

The Global Engineers: Building a Safe and Equitable World Together, is inspired by the opportunities for engineers to contribute to global prosperity. This book presents a vision for Global Engineering, and identifies that engineers should be concerned with the unequal and unjust distribution of access to basic services, such as water, sanitation, energy, food, transportation, and shelter. As engineers, we should place an emphasis on identifying the drivers, determinants, and solutions to increasing equitable access to reliable services. Global Engineering envisions a world where everyone has safe water, sanitation, energy, food, shelter, and infrastructure, and can live in health, dignity, and prosperity. This book seeks to examine the role and ultimately the impact of engineers in global development. Engineers are solutions-oriented people. We enjoy the opportunity to identify a product or need, and design appropriate technical solutions. However, the structural and historical barriers to global prosperity requires that Engineers focus more broadly on improving the tools and practice of poverty reduction and that we include health, economics, policy, and governance as relevant expertise with which we are conversant. Engineers must become activists and advocates, rejecting ahistorical technocratic approaches that suggest poverty can be solved without justice or equity. Engineers must leverage our professional skills and capacity to generate evidence and positive impact toward rectifying inequalities and improving lives. Half of this book is dedicated to profiles of engineers and other technical professionals who have dedicated their careers to searching for solutions to global development challenges. These stories introduce the reader to the diverse opportunities and challenges in Global Engineering.

Communities in Action

Communities in Action
Author: National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine
Publisher: National Academies Press
Total Pages: 583
Release: 2017-04-27
Genre: Medical
ISBN: 0309452961

In the United States, some populations suffer from far greater disparities in health than others. Those disparities are caused not only by fundamental differences in health status across segments of the population, but also because of inequities in factors that impact health status, so-called determinants of health. Only part of an individual's health status depends on his or her behavior and choice; community-wide problems like poverty, unemployment, poor education, inadequate housing, poor public transportation, interpersonal violence, and decaying neighborhoods also contribute to health inequities, as well as the historic and ongoing interplay of structures, policies, and norms that shape lives. When these factors are not optimal in a community, it does not mean they are intractable: such inequities can be mitigated by social policies that can shape health in powerful ways. Communities in Action: Pathways to Health Equity seeks to delineate the causes of and the solutions to health inequities in the United States. This report focuses on what communities can do to promote health equity, what actions are needed by the many and varied stakeholders that are part of communities or support them, as well as the root causes and structural barriers that need to be overcome.

Sustainable Communities Design Handbook

Sustainable Communities Design Handbook
Author: Woodrow W. Clark II
Publisher: Elsevier
Total Pages: 441
Release: 2010-07-03
Genre: Science
ISBN: 0080963366

The objective of Sustainable Communities Design Handbook is to ensure a better quality of life for everyone, both now and for generations to come. This means creating a better and safer environment internationally through the sustainable use of natural resources, encouraging sustainable development which supports a strong economy, and ensuring a high quality environment that can be enjoyed by all. Sustainable Development Partnerships brings together in one reference today's most cutting edge technologies and methods for creating sustainable communities. With this book, Environmental Engineers, Civil Engineers, Architects, Mechanical Engineers, and Energy Engineers find a common approach to building environmental friendly communities which are energy efficient. The five part treatment starts with a clear and rigorous exposition of sustainable development in practice, followed by self-contained chapters concerning applications. - Methods for the sustainable use of natural resources in built communities - Clearly explains the most cutting edge sustainable technologies - Provides a common approach to building sustainable communities - Coverage of sustainable practices from architecture to construction

Engineering, Social Justice, and Sustainable Community Development

Engineering, Social Justice, and Sustainable Community Development
Author: National Academy of Engineering
Publisher: National Academies Press
Total Pages: 79
Release: 2010-06-14
Genre: Technology & Engineering
ISBN: 0309156947

Engineering, Social Justice, and Sustainable Community Development is the first in a series of biennial workshops on the theme of engineering ethics and engineering leadership. This workshop addresses conflicting positive goals for engineering projects in impoverished areas and areas in crisis. These conflicts arise domestically as well as in international arenas. The goals of project sponsors and participants, which are often implicit, include protecting human welfare, ensuring social justice, and striving for environmental sustainability alongside the more often explicit goal of economic development or progress. The workshop, summarized in this volume, discussed how to achieve the following: Improve research in engineering ethics. Improve engineering practice in situations of crisis and conflict. Improve engineering education in ethics and social issues. Involve professional societies in these efforts.

Profession Without Community

Profession Without Community
Author: Robert Perrucci
Publisher:
Total Pages: 212
Release: 1969
Genre: Civil engineering
ISBN:

Sociological analysis of the profession of engineer in the USA - includes chapters on the effects of social status origins on occupational choice of student engineers, changing patterns of technical education and its effect on the social role of engineers, career promotion, professionalism and social mobility, the relationships between family and career, future trends, etc. References and statistical tables.

Field Guide to Environmental Engineering for Development Workers

Field Guide to Environmental Engineering for Development Workers
Author: James R. Mihelcic
Publisher: Amer Society of Civil Engineers
Total Pages: 550
Release: 2009
Genre: Technology & Engineering
ISBN: 9780784409855

In this complete handbook for international engineering service projects, James Mihelcic and his coauthors provide the tools necessary to implement the right technology in developing regions around the world.

Engineers, Society, and Sustainability

Engineers, Society, and Sustainability
Author: Sarah Bell
Publisher: Springer Nature
Total Pages: 95
Release: 2022-06-01
Genre: Technology & Engineering
ISBN: 303102110X

Sustainable development is one of the key challenges of the twenty-first century. The engineering profession is central to achieving sustainable development. To date, engineering contributions to sustainability have focused on reducing the environmental impacts of development and improving the efficiency of resource use. This approach is consistent with dominant policy responses to environmental problems, which have been characterised as ecological modernisation. Ecological modernisation assumes that sustainability can be addressed by reforming modern society and developing environmental technologies. Environmental philosophers have questioned these assumptions and call into question the very nature of modern society as underlying the destruction of nature and the persistence of social inequality. Central to the crises of ecology and human development are patterns of domination and the separation of nature and culture. Engineering has a clear role to play in ecological modernisation, but its role in more radical visions of sustainability is uncertain. Actor-network theory provides an analysis of socio-technical systems which does not require the separation of nature and culture, and it provides a way of thinking about how engineers are involved in shaping society and its relationship to the environment. It describes the world in terms of relationships between human and non-human actors. It shows that social relationships are mediated by technologies and non-human nature, and that assumptions about society and behaviour are ""baked-in"" to technological systems. Modern infrastructure systems are particularly important in shaping society and have significant environmental impacts. Modern infrastructure has allowed the consumption of resources far beyond basic human needs in developed countries. Failure to deliver infrastructure services has resulted in billions of the world's poorest people missing out on the benefits of modern development. Engineers have an important role to play in developing new infrastructure systems which acknowledge the relationships between technology and society in shaping demand for resources and environmental impacts, as well as alleviating poverty. Engineers have an important role in mediating between the values of society, clients, the environment and the possibilities of technology. Constructive Technology Assessment and Value Sensitive Design are two methodologies which engineers are using to better account for the social and ethical implications of their work. Understanding engineering as a hybrid, socio-technical profession can help develop new ways of working that acknowledge the importance of technology and infrastructure in shaping social relationships that are central to achieving sustainability. Table of Contents: The Origins of Sustainability / Ecological Modernisation / Environmental Ethics / Society and Technology / Engineering Consumption / Sustainable Urban Water Systems / Engineering, Technology and Ethics / Conclusion