The challenges contemporary societies are facing are far more numerous than before and include the dangers of climate change, the loss of biodiversity, food shortages, the economic crises that cyclically arise, and the social inequity that grips the weakest segments of the population. As reported in a recent INGV study (Vecchio, Anzidei and Spelloni, 2023), the Mediterranean area is confirmed as one of the areas most at risk of extreme meteorological and hydrogeological phenomena, and the societies that populate these areas will have to learn to change their urban behaviour along a trajectory of increasing sustainability and smartness as well as adaptation to increasingly unpredictable environmental conditions. Faced with this need to engender a lasting change in behaviour, the question arises as to what instruments are most appropriate to induce institutions, the primary and secondary sectors, and social individuals to make sustainable choices and implement sustainable behaviour. In other words, the questions are: how do we make a society both smart and sustainable? What tools can be used? Against what objectives? In order to answer these questions, the hypothesis that tiny habits and nudging can represent real tools for policy and orientation of social action will be explored. Tiny habits theories, in fact, refer to a series of small behaviours that can be taught and learned in order to induce a change in lifestyle and consumption choices. Similarly, nudge theories aspire to identify strategies and playful practices - personalised according to the objectives to be pursued and the segments of the population to be involved - capable of inducing individuals and communities to change their behaviour without restricting their freedom of choice. The article therefore aims to provide a useful framework for the design, implementation and evaluation of this type of activity through the user's perspective. On an epistemological and methodological level, this paper will try to transcend the merely definitional and content-oriented approach, in order to grasp other more 'hard' aspects and more refined processes that are generally overlooked in the reference literature.
Towards Smart and Sustainable Societies. The Role of Tiny Habits and Nudging in Promoting Sustainable Behaviours
r. gurashi
2024-01-01
Abstract
The challenges contemporary societies are facing are far more numerous than before and include the dangers of climate change, the loss of biodiversity, food shortages, the economic crises that cyclically arise, and the social inequity that grips the weakest segments of the population. As reported in a recent INGV study (Vecchio, Anzidei and Spelloni, 2023), the Mediterranean area is confirmed as one of the areas most at risk of extreme meteorological and hydrogeological phenomena, and the societies that populate these areas will have to learn to change their urban behaviour along a trajectory of increasing sustainability and smartness as well as adaptation to increasingly unpredictable environmental conditions. Faced with this need to engender a lasting change in behaviour, the question arises as to what instruments are most appropriate to induce institutions, the primary and secondary sectors, and social individuals to make sustainable choices and implement sustainable behaviour. In other words, the questions are: how do we make a society both smart and sustainable? What tools can be used? Against what objectives? In order to answer these questions, the hypothesis that tiny habits and nudging can represent real tools for policy and orientation of social action will be explored. Tiny habits theories, in fact, refer to a series of small behaviours that can be taught and learned in order to induce a change in lifestyle and consumption choices. Similarly, nudge theories aspire to identify strategies and playful practices - personalised according to the objectives to be pursued and the segments of the population to be involved - capable of inducing individuals and communities to change their behaviour without restricting their freedom of choice. The article therefore aims to provide a useful framework for the design, implementation and evaluation of this type of activity through the user's perspective. On an epistemological and methodological level, this paper will try to transcend the merely definitional and content-oriented approach, in order to grasp other more 'hard' aspects and more refined processes that are generally overlooked in the reference literature.I documenti in IRIS sono protetti da copyright e tutti i diritti sono riservati, salvo diversa indicazione.
