Final Seminar for Jorge Zapico

Opponent: Daniel Pargman

Supervisors: Marko Turpeinen, Nils Brandt.

Download the thesis draft.

Abstract

The potential of information and communication technologies to contribute to sustainability is increasingly being explored, from optimizing existing systems, visualizing impacts, to triggering behavior change. This thesis explores this research area of using ICT for Sustainability, focusing on how it can empower practical sustainability work and research. The hacking in the title refers to the hacker ethic connected to computer culture, and it points to the practical approach of the thesis. This thesis follows a research through design method where applications, prototypes, and events were created and released following an iterative design process. These “hacks” have the goal both of testing theory in practice and exploring the research area, but also of having an impact as the applications are used.

This text argue that new technologies and paradigms coming from ICT, such mashups, crowdsourcing, open licenses, can transform how sustainability work is performed, changing the way that sustainability data is created, shared and visualized. This opportunities are analyzed based on the practical proof of concepts, outlining a data-driven sustainability approach that is characterized by a bottom-up way of data gathering, based on automatic data collection and crowdsourcing, a real time orientation, a focus on transparency and openness, dynamic and interactive visualizations, and driven by open innovation.

Finally it is argued that these innovations in ICT for Sustainability and the data-driven sustainability approach, are not only technological, but that the hacker ethic values connected with computer technologies, such as an open way of sharing knowledge, creativity as a driving force, a focus on hands-on action, are key for the understanding of this research area. These values are important contributions that information technologies, not only as a new technology, but as a new way of working and creating, can provide to sustainability practice and for helping work towards a more sustainable future.

Feedback

This text is still a draft and feedback is welcomed.
Do you have comments, typos, criticisms, praise, just-wanna-talk?Contact me at: zapico[at]kth.se