Wednesday, May 27, 2009

The Other World

I know the paradigm of three worlds still exists, perhaps the more culturally sensitive term now is "developing nations". Either way, it seems clear to me that there are two, and they co-exist in every country throughout the world now. Call it urbanization, globalization, or any of a host of -ations you can muster. What's clear is the growing contrast between the rich and the poor in the world. Today, 85% of the world's population makes less than $5 a day while 10% makes more than $50 a day. With only 5% of the population now making up the 10 fold difference, it seems pretty clear that the second world has all but disappeared. There is no more global middle class.

Driving through Jakarta, the urban landscape tells the same story with seas of slums and luxurious high rises as their backdrop amidst clouds of smog. On that journey to the airport, a simple, albeit phenomenally complex, truth was revealed to me. The cloud of smog comes from our world, the $50+ world, that consumes too much. And the massive spread of preventable disease comes from the other world.
Perhaps sustainability needs a new, practical definition. If we really want to make the world better, we should probably just design ways of living that consume less. And if we really want to preserve humanity, we should probably just focus on designing public health.

1 comment:

Stevo said...

I think you hit the nail right on the head. "Sustainabile" building has gained so much attention recently that's it's becoming a fad - instead of something we do as self-aware beings. And it's only the top 5% that can afford it. So how sustainable is that?