ECOLOGICAL CONTROLS


Fuller distinguished two forms of ecological patterning: major, such as birds' seasonal global migrations, and minor, i.e. "local regenerative to-and-froing", like nest-building.

In the case of humans, he spoke of ecological controls. The major ecological control was identified as the global industrial resource, i.e. industrialization. The minor, or local, ecological control was shelter, construed in a generalized way to encompass tools and utilities beyond the house, including transport.

A certain relationship needs to be considered, as Golley points out:

"The built environment was useful when it helped humans adapt to the natural environment. It created an order and stability for humans that was lacking in the natural environment, and it enhanced human well-being. The built environment became a problem when it replaced the natural environment. The solution to the problems created by technology is to understand the environmental limits of human life and to design sustainable environments in which the built and natural environments interact so that both can adapt within their appropriate context." (p.36)


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THE FULLER MAP



© Paul Taylor 2001