Planning for Behavior Change towards Sustainability (Houston, TX)

Planning for Behavior Change towards Sustainability

When it comes to sustainability we usually focus on technical solutions that promise to make the built world more resource-efficient and environmentally responsible (e.g. building public transit instead of highways insulating our houses putting solar panels on our roofs etc.). However the technological availability of infrastructure systems is not the main reason why people change from driving their cars to using public transit. The root causes for human behavior and the choice of 1 option over another are very complex and have to be addressed on a deeper level. The multidiscipline nature and complexity of urban planning and design enable us to understand the different levels of a decision making process and allow us to change behavior by changing the environment in which the behavior takes place. This session will explore why people tend to choose unsustainable options over sustainable alternatives....