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Innovation Design: Sustainable Communities: Track 11

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Can you picture the future in a world without fossil fuels? Perhaps you think that living an "alternative" lifestyle has to mean painful and radical changes to the way you live now. This album looks at various small scale initiatives which show that living sustainably may not be as unpalatable as you might imagine. Bedzed, Findhorn, Hockerton, Samsoe Island; these are all decentralised communities at the forefront of a major social and technological experiment. In our world of finite resources and massive over-consumption, “breathing” walls, earth-shelters, composting toilets, "living machines" to deal with wastewater – are just some of the technologies which we may all have to get used to. These eco-communities are all breaking new ground by demonstrating how implementation of innovative solutions can create changes in social behaviour, so that people live in harmony with the Earth’s living systems, rather than against them. You might also wish to explore the other T307 albums "Energy and Sustainability" and "Design and Sustainability". This material forms part of The Open University Course T307 Innovation: designing for a sustainable future.

Track 11: The 'magic' of island life

How people living on small islands are able to influence policy and how this is done on Samsoe Island.



Tracks in this podcast:

Track Title Description
1 Innovation Design: Sustainable Communities A short introduction to this album. Play now Innovation Design: Sustainable Communities
2 Demonstrating sustainability in Scotland A community designed to be sustainable, environmentally friendly and ecologically sound. Play now Demonstrating sustainability in Scotland
3 Designing an eco-village The architect of Beddington zero fossil energy development talks about the advantages of living in an eco-village. Play now Designing an eco-village
4 The design of Hockerton The design and build of the Hockerton housing project. Play now The design of Hockerton
5 How effective are eco-villages? The impacts that eco-villages and eco-communities can have on society and environmental awareness. Play now How effective are eco-villages?
6 Bedzed: a compromise Highlights the technologies in place at Bedzed and the shortcomings of the development. Play now Bedzed: a compromise
7 Recycling action groups in school How a school has encouraged students to take action against the waste that is produced in the school. Play now Recycling action groups in school
8 Three stages in changing behaviour A talk through the three stages in changing behaviour and how schools provide the best value as a driver of change. Play now Three stages in changing behaviour
9 Voicing concerns for sustainability How stakeholders can be involved in sustainability initiatives. Play now Voicing concerns for sustainability
10 Demonstrating renewable energy technology in Denmark A demonstration project of how renewable technologies can be used to provide energy to power an island in Denmark. Play now Demonstrating renewable energy technology in Denmark
11 The 'magic' of island life How people living on small islands are able to influence policy and how this is done on Samsoe Island. Play now The 'magic' of island life
12 Radical changes to 'save the world' How changes that need to be made have to be done on a larger scale in order to have any real effect. Play now Radical changes to 'save the world'
13 The road to success in sustainability How making samsoe sustainable has been a community project and dependent on decentralised development. Play now The road to success in sustainability
14 The Road to renewable energy in Samsoe How Samsoe chose to reject nuclear power in favour of renewable resources. Play now The Road to renewable energy in Samsoe

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