Standpoint: Te Herenga Waka researcher takes a stand on the environmental impact of cities—capitalism incompatible with environmental sustainability

Standpoint video series highlights the breadth and depth of the research that goes on at Te Herenga Waka. This week Building Science Programme Director Fabricio Chicca takes a stand on environmental impact of cities, capitalism, and democracy.

23 March 2024

Tell us about yourself.

My name is Fabricio Chicca. I'm an architect. I'm a senior lecturer at Te Kura Waihanga—Wellington School of Architecture.

My research is about sustainability. I measure the environmental impact of things, small little objects to families. And currently, I'm trying to measure the environmental impact of cities. That's what my research is about.

Where do you stand on this statement: Democracies are equipped to address climate change?

“I disagree with that. I'm not against democracy. I think democracy is a great system. The best that we have available, but it’s a consensus-based system where people have to agree. So, I do not agree that democracies are well equipped to sort out the environmental impact.

“They are well equipped to talk about and to find solutions, but we are not applying the democratic systems at the moment.”

Where do you stand on this statement: Part of the environmental impact of urban citizens cannot be addressed by individuals?

“I agree with that statement because part of the environmental impact is the services and the infrastructure that is available for that population. For example, if you go to a train platform and you only wait five minutes for that train, it has an environmental impact that is different than you have to wait for an hour.

“So, the quality of services, the infrastructure, the amount of tarmac available, all those things have an environmental impact. So, it's very hard to address infrastructure in your individual basis.”

Where do you stand on this statement: Capitalisim has proven to be incompatible with environmental sustainability?

“I agree with that. At the moment, that scenario that we have: we have an economic system that is based on growth and keeps growing indefinitely. And the system is finite. Everything is finite. Even renewable energy is finite. We renew, but there is a limit to production. So, at the moment, this system is based on keeping growing, and our environment cannot keep growing indefinitely.”