Doughnut for Urban Development: Manual and Tools
Putting Doughnut Economics into practice for urban development
Version 1.0 (September 2023)
📢 This manual is available for free as a PDF (below) or for purchase as a printed book from Danish Architectural Press. It is also available in Danish.
* Denne manual findes også på dansk som PDF *
Overview
The Doughnut visualises the goal of meeting the needs of all people within the means of the living planet, but what does this mean for the urban spaces where we live, work, and play?
We have explored this question in relation to urban development by applying the ‘Doughnut Unrolled’ framework, which takes us from the global Doughnut to 'four lenses' that invite us to look at the interplay between local aspirations and global responsibilities – both socially and ecologically – to identify possible focus points for transformative action in the buildings we develop and live in.
This tool - Doughnut for Urban Development: A Manual - contains useful guidance and accompanying resources to assess the on-site and off-site impacts of urban development projects within social and planetary boundaries. It presents the process and findings of a 2-year collaborative research initiative co-created by an international team of authors and contributors led by Kasper Guldager Jensen (Home.Earth) and Dani Hill-Hansen (EFFEKT).
Doughnut for Urban Development: A Manual includes the following set of open-access resources (also available to download at the bottom of this page and from Home.Earth's website):
- Manual (PDF), which includes the main findings and discussion.
- Supplementary Appendix (PDF), which includes additional discussion of methodological details and tools to measure social and ecological impact.
- Database (Spreadsheet), which includes a library of impact indicators and benchmarks with data sources.
Why use this tool?
This tool was created with the aim of providing developers and other building industry experts with knowledge that supports the application and practice of Doughnut Economics in urban development. It could be used by architects, planners, engineers, local government officers and others working on the design, planning and delivery of buildings.
The manual and accompanying resources were developed with a broad group of leading researchers and building industry practitioners, aiming to integrate Doughnut Economics with the latest research and innovation from existing building standards in a format that is easily accessible to urban developers and building industry professionals alike.
Acknowledgements
Doughnut for Urban Development: A Manual was edited by Dani Hill-Hansen and Kasper Guldager Jensen and co-created by an international team of cross-disciplinary experts from Aalborg University - BUILD, Danish Technical University, Doughnut Economics Action Lab, Green Building Council - Denmark, EFFEKT, Home.Earth, SLA, Sweco, Stockholm Resilience Centre and Vandkunsten. Please see the extended credits within the Manual for additional details on the co-creative team and contributing experts.
Suggested citation to reference this work:
- Birgisdóttir, H., Bjørn, A., Branny, A., Clausen, C., Fanning, A., Fetzer, I., Francart, N., Grcheva, L., Heide, M., Lassen, E., Leonardsen, J., Moberg, F., Nørgaard, R., Pham, D., Rasmussen, K.K., Raworth, K., Ryberg, M. and Sahan, E. (2023) Doughnut for Urban Development: A Manual. Hill-Hansen, D. and Guldager Jensen, K. (Eds.), Copenhagen, The Danish Architectural Press.
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I am a 60 year old holistic practitioner who works with horses and land. Following ten years in professional science, I lived in France for 20 years, then returned to the UK where I retrained in Reiki and Kinesiology. I subsequently founded my holistic practice in Wiltshire, working with horses, people, other animals and land. I am passionate about the environment. And have been convinced for some years that the present form of capitalism is one of the greatest threats to our, and our planet's safety. It was through the Great Simplification Podcast, Nate Hagens in conversation with Kate Raworth, that I discovered Doughnuts. And so here I am!
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[The Glass Doughnut at Immersio 2023 (Telekom Museum)]
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Fran Karlović
Enschede, Netherlands
Coming from Zagreb, Croatia, I am a bachelor student of Creative Technology at the University of Twente, Netherlands. Working as the Research & Education sustainability officer at GreenHub Twente. I have found out about DEAL through my job, and am dedicated to spreading the word about it around me, both in the Netherlands and Croatia. I have started by giving presentations about it at my university, but who knows where it will take me!
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Siu Melody
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An architect based in Hong Kong. Currently in Rotterdam to complete a six-month work experience, which is part of the undertaking for the DFA Young Design Talent Award. Keen to explore what I call "conscious design" practice, which is about designing with a participatory approach and with all stakeholders in mind, including humans, the ecology, the planet, etc. I think this aligns with the doughnut economic principles, so am keen to explore how this could be applied in the built industry, particularly from a designer's perspective.
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Dorothée Lamé-Laroche
Nice, France
I spent 15 years in fostering local #economic development and designing major public infrastructure. I worked as Deputy Managing Director for Economy, Innovation, Employment and Int'l at Nice Côte d'Azur Metropolis and used to run Sophia Antipolis Technopolis. I also gained international experience as project director in one of the major French concession and construction company. After realising economic development is a complex issue, in which we need to reconcile economic growth, planetary boundaries and social thresholds, I decided to focus on raising collective awareness about this issue, using the Donut Economic Model, which I find particularly clear and enlightning. I also decided to make a radical turn in my carreer and undertook the transformation of the family farm into an organic farm. I currently pursue my efforts to developping biodiversity within the family farm and help organisations shift their focus from economic development to Donut Economics! Let's shape a fairer and livelier future together!
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Guille Thesius
At earth, we are committed to Sustainable economics, Kate raworth was a game Changer for us. I am based in France, my colleague, Neil netherton is based in UK
