Dwelling Choice: A Social Dilemma

Abstract

In order for people to make environmentally-friendly choices, they must first begin to care for people that are close to them. By living in a community with shared living functions, the residents will begin to care about what happens to the environment around them and therefore the people around them. One such example may be that the septic system of this community could be designed to be within close proximity to the main part of this community. This septic system discharges to a pond of an all-natural, black water filtering system maintained by an ecosystem of living organisms that eat the sewage-waste as a nutrient. Before Sally spills a chemical down the drain, she remembers the itty-bitty creatures that live in her septic system and also the smells and backups that will happen so close to home if she goes through with draining this chemical. Instead Sally takes proper precautions and takes the chemical to a facility to dispose of it properly. Ultimately, the goal for this thesis is to establish the necessary components for a community based on the environment-behavior relationships researched.