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Civil, Environmental and Sustainable Engineering (2014/02/09)
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3.4. Clemson University - SystemsThinking in Sustainable Engineering

Department of Civil Engineering, Clemson University, Clemson, SC

Students in Sustainable Construction learn about the environmental, economic and social impacts brought

about by the construction industry. A primary objective of the course is for students to develop skills to eva-
luate engineering topics from a more holistic perspective, beyond purely technical issues. In particular, the

to teach students about this holistic approach to evaluating and solving engineering problems. This module

introduces this systems thinking approach to help students evaluate and solve problemsin a moreholistic, sus-

tainable manner.

3.4.1. Descriptionof theTopic

3.4.1.1. Systems Thinking Perspective

Systems thinking suggests an approach to problem solving that views the problem as a part of an overall sys-
tem. In the systems thinking framework, a system is considered a dynamic and complex whole in which the

components continually affect each other over time and operate toward a common purpose. These composing

elements can be best understood in the context of their interactions and also their relationship with other sys-

tems rather than in isolation (Capra, 1996).

Despite the classical, traditional, scientific approach that attempts to explain things deterministically and pre-

dict future trends, systems thinking is based on understanding rather than predicting. It tries to manage a pro-

blem rather than solve it. As opposed to the traditional approach which seeks a cause and effect relationships

between variables, systems thinking recognizes the multiple, mutual and recursive causation that exists in a
complex, dynamic system; therefore acknowledging that a change in one area of the system can have drastic

influence on other parts of the system.

The holistic approach introduced by systems thinking expands its view to consider a larger number of the
constituents and their interactions, instead of breaking them down into analyzable units. According to this

point of view, systems behavior results from reinforcing and balancing loops which, ons, allow the system to

maintain its equilibrium. As mentioned earlier, feedback loops are a salient feature of systems and act as ...

Table 1 shows a comparison of the key distinctions between classical and systems orientations.

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