Analyzing Systems
Thinking in All Dimensions
Systems exist in the full realm of reality. They grow in time, occupy space, and are connected to other systems on a variety of levels. To gain full understanding, SiD analyzes systems across three dimensions: Space, Time, and Context.
Because a full overview is important to prevent new externalizations, we need to evaluate our actions in all three dimensions. In theory, a full analysis would require at least 72 maps (3 dimensions x 3 scales x 8 ELSI layers). In practice, we combine maps and rarely make more than 10.
Space
When working on spatial development such as urban redevelopment or architecture, many spatial components are familiar. Using SiD, we map additional properties: the flow of resources, movement of people, value relationships, and ecosystems in space.
For example, a Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) typically does not consider spatial relationships. A SiD process challenges you to map these as well. The impact of exhaust particulates differs enormously between rural areas and dense cities -- you would score combustion engines differently in each context.
Time
Sustainability is a state of a "dynamic" system. Dynamic behavior can only be expressed in time. You are never designing a static solution -- you are designing something fluid over time. Systems go through various cycles, often several simultaneously (day/night, seasons, maturity stages), and respond differently in each.
An action that was a great support of the system in its growth phase might damage it in maturity. Extend the timeline beyond the start and finish of any project: monitor future effects and track past reasons for existence, to learn from periodic patterns.
Context
The context dimension is the most creative and often the most insightful. It allows you to map relationships within a system freed from spatial and temporal restrictions. This can reveal relationships that were not apparent before.
Context mapping is more common than you might realize. Causal loop diagrams, organizational charts, electrical circuit diagrams, grocery lists, and life cycle assessment spreadsheets are all context maps.
Thinking in Scales
We divide each dimension into relevant scales to ensure a comprehensive look. Essential system relations and dynamics can be found in both critical details and large-scale patterns.
Spatial Scales
When mapping a system, include a variety of spatial scales. For a building redevelopment: map the direct neighborhood (stakeholders, recyclable materials), the city district, the state, and perhaps its global influence. In practice, 3-5 scale steps are sufficient.
Temporal Scales
Look at the past as well as the future. History is the best teacher. The typical division is: hours, days, weeks, years, decades, and about 50 years before and after. Looking back is much easier than looking forward -- make use of this wherever you can.
Contextual Scales
Scales in context refer to how many steps you trace in relationships. In a family tree, parents are 1st degree, grandparents 2nd degree. For a multinational company: the first level is the company itself, the second level includes all primary suppliers and customers, and the third level encompasses everyone affected by the organization.
The Global Reporting Initiative (GRI) uses a similar tiering: Tier 1 = the organization's departments, Tier 2 = plus primary suppliers, Tier 3 = plus all remaining suppliers. The complexity is exponential at each tier.
Scales of Impact
Understanding different orders of magnitude is fundamental to finding effective interventions:
1st level -- Direct Impacts: Directly and materially linked to an action. Measurable in kWh, temperature, GDP. Easy to quantify but limited in telling us about systemic influence.
2nd level -- Network Impacts: Results of relationships between objects. Building a school far from a community increases transport, which causes energy use, emissions, and time costs. These cascading effects are network impacts.
3rd level -- System Impacts: The abstraction level where system behavior is perceived. Long-term resilience, educational value, adaptive capacity. Harder to express but by far the largest impacts. These always have large influence on all network relationships and objects.
Practical Application
To avoid the pitfalls of band-aid sustainability solutions, investigate on what level the effects of planned interventions will play out. When effects are only in the first degree, there is a good chance they will not have a significant long-term benefit.
As a general rule: aim for at least one strong positive network effect for any intervention. Preferably, create a strong positive systemic effect -- but that is not always achievable.