Design as Civics: Simple principles and values of a citizens’ practical philosophy of flourishing to redress the systemic issue of sustainability, the first steps.

• Authors:

  • Paul Emmerson
  • Robert Young

Abstract

For today’s and future generations, we prohibit the ‘good life’ due to the lack of fairness resulting from the unsustainable systemic environmental effects of capitalist defined lifestyles. This paper challenge capitalism’s power that dominates design practice and pedagogical theory. It first presents an overview of a new transdisciplinary theory. Its foundations being the synthesis of the Ancient Greek practice of civics – guided by its teleological goal the ‘good life’ – with design,
termed design as civics (DaC). A theory representing the simple principles and values of a citizens’ practical philosophy of flourishing.  The paper discusses a co-design project operationalising DaC’s and its potential to enable citizens designers to ‘aim’ for ‘fairness between citizen’ and steer their City towards the ‘good life,’ towards flourishing.

Design as Civics Simple principles and values of a