Abstract
The pursuit of sustainability in regenerative design from a systemic perspective is becoming increasingly vital. In recent years, design practices aiming to reintegrate human social systems into the dynamics of natural ecosystems have gained global attention. At the same time, systemic design approaches that identify leverage points and facilitate transitions in complex social systems are also receiving increased interest. Even if regenerative efforts are undertaken at the intersection of ecological and human production systems, the restoration of ecosystems inherently requires a long temporal horizon. Thus, regenerative design must not remain a transient activity; the sustainability of the practices themselves is essential. However, without favorable social and economic conditions to support such regenerative design initiatives, even the most promising efforts may ultimately come to a halt. How, then, can designers contribute to the long-term continuity of regenerative design practices? To explore this research question, this study focuses on regenerative agricultural practices within the "Lake Biwa System," designated as a Globally Important Agricultural Heritage System (GIAHS) in Japan. Specifically, it examines the "fish cradle rice paddies," an initiative that reconnects rice paddies with aquatic ecosystems to restore biodiversity. Utilizing systemic design methods, the project involved local stakeholders in evaluating and exploring connections between the region’s socio-economic systems and environmentally regenerative agricultural practices. The results demonstrate that designers can apply systemic design approaches to co-create with local communities and identify strategies for sustaining regenerative efforts from a comprehensive and relational perspective.
Keywords
Systemic design; Regenerative Systems; Social structure; Co-design
DOI
https://doi.org/10.21606/iasdr.2025.550
Citation
Mizuuchi, T., Yoda, M., Tsuda, K., Feteira, E.,and Van Kaathoven, D.(2025) Sustaining Regenerative Design through Systemic Interventions: A Case Study of Fish Cradle Rice Paddies, in Chang, C.-Y., and Hsu, Y. (eds.), IASDR 2025: Design Next, 02-05 December, Taiwan. https://doi.org/10.21606/iasdr.2025.550
Creative Commons License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License
Conference Track
Track 8 - Circular/Sustainable Design
Sustaining Regenerative Design through Systemic Interventions: A Case Study of Fish Cradle Rice Paddies
The pursuit of sustainability in regenerative design from a systemic perspective is becoming increasingly vital. In recent years, design practices aiming to reintegrate human social systems into the dynamics of natural ecosystems have gained global attention. At the same time, systemic design approaches that identify leverage points and facilitate transitions in complex social systems are also receiving increased interest. Even if regenerative efforts are undertaken at the intersection of ecological and human production systems, the restoration of ecosystems inherently requires a long temporal horizon. Thus, regenerative design must not remain a transient activity; the sustainability of the practices themselves is essential. However, without favorable social and economic conditions to support such regenerative design initiatives, even the most promising efforts may ultimately come to a halt. How, then, can designers contribute to the long-term continuity of regenerative design practices? To explore this research question, this study focuses on regenerative agricultural practices within the "Lake Biwa System," designated as a Globally Important Agricultural Heritage System (GIAHS) in Japan. Specifically, it examines the "fish cradle rice paddies," an initiative that reconnects rice paddies with aquatic ecosystems to restore biodiversity. Utilizing systemic design methods, the project involved local stakeholders in evaluating and exploring connections between the region’s socio-economic systems and environmentally regenerative agricultural practices. The results demonstrate that designers can apply systemic design approaches to co-create with local communities and identify strategies for sustaining regenerative efforts from a comprehensive and relational perspective.