Print Email Facebook Twitter Formulating a capability approach based model to sustain rural Sub-Saharan African inhabitant's self-reliance towards their built environment Title Formulating a capability approach based model to sustain rural Sub-Saharan African inhabitant's self-reliance towards their built environment Author Smits, M.W.M. (TU Delft OLD Methods & Analysis) Date 2017 Abstract Changing climate conditions and depleting resources are becoming more important on the global agenda, the paradigm shifting to understand which means (resources) are necessary to generate future well-being. Unfortunately, the formal built environment remains the most polluting global industry and due to its conservative character seems difficult to change. Most undertaken efforts focus on improving characteristics of material, construction and processes in technology seeking the ability to solve all contemporary environmental problems. This article argues that in the informal rural African built environment examples of other attitudes towards the same goals can be found, providing many sustainable solutions that have a circular process and are based on local renewable materials. Rural communities perceived as a multitude of communities of practices, with a collective (sustainable) intelligence towards their built environment can provide a circular, sustainable, self-reliant and resilient model for the built environment. This article argues that in order to articulate sustainable 'local' solutions, the inhabitant's self-reliance is of vital importance, therefore stating a need for a model to evaluate what affords the inhabitant's self-reliance and how this model could be used as support for the 'expert' to evaluate the inhabitant's capabilities towards their built environment. This article uses the rural locality as a case study with the intention for subsequent global (urban and rural) application. Subject AffordancesCapability approachCollective intelligenceCommunity of practiceRural self-relianceSituated knowledgeSustainable development To reference this document use: http://resolver.tudelft.nl/uuid:6e4f2e07-dc47-485c-aa96-7479d1cd4d22 DOI https://doi.org/10.2495/SDP-V12-N2-238-251 ISSN 1743-7601 Source International Journal of Sustainable Development and Planning, 12 (2), 238-251 Part of collection Institutional Repository Document type journal article Rights © 2017 M.W.M. Smits Files PDF SDP120204f.pdf 2.08 MB Close viewer /islandora/object/uuid:6e4f2e07-dc47-485c-aa96-7479d1cd4d22/datastream/OBJ/view