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Systemic Design pp 293–318Cite as

Permaculture as a Systemic Design Practice

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Part of the book series: Translational Systems Sciences ((TSS,volume 8))

Abstract

Current discourse frequently situates design as a science of the artificial, but it has always been necessary to design our interaction with natural systems as well. Permaculture is a systemic design approach that aims to develop sustainable (permanent) agriculture and settlements. We present permaculture’s relationship to systemic design, providing historical context to understand its ecological, agricultural, and design origins. Permaculture has made many contributions to systemic design, including simple-to-remember lists of guiding ethics and principles; a vocabulary of categories that allow the discussion of interactions; a toolbox of design methods for selecting and assembling systems of elements; overall design processes; and some agroecological and social system design insights. However, this exchange of ideas can go both ways, as there are current challenges to permaculture in which systemic design can assist, including forming stable objectives, assessing appropriate technology, stakeholder engagement, and launching viable projects. While permaculture is undertaking new developments that show progress in addressing these challenges, systemic designers can join permaculture practitioners in these efforts.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Wolfram Alpha LLC, Champaign, IL, USA

    John B. Cassel & Susan V. Cousineau

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  1. John B. Cassel
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  2. Susan V. Cousineau
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Correspondence to John B. Cassel .

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Editors and Affiliations

  1. OCAD University, Toronto, ON, Canada

    Peter Jones

  2. Graduate School of Decision Science and Technology, Tokyo Institute of Technology, Meguro, Tokyo, Japan

    Kyoichi Kijima

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Cassel, J.B., Cousineau, S.V. (2018). Permaculture as a Systemic Design Practice. In: Jones, P., Kijima, K. (eds) Systemic Design. Translational Systems Sciences, vol 8. Springer, Tokyo. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-4-431-55639-8_10

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