In 2020, will behavioral science be the answer to architecture tackling climate change?

Now that 2020 is here, many are looking to the new year with optimism and initiative to face the world's pressing issue of climate change. Amid the constant reminders of the globe's current climate crisis, a December editorial piece and report from Nature.com elicits a reason to reflect on what can be done.

After reading through the piece, I'm reminded of the words "sustainability" and "sustainable development" and how their definition and usage have transitioned over the years. According to the Nature article, "The change in meaning can be traced to the 1987 report Our Common Future, chaired by Norway's then-prime minister, Gro Harlem Brundtland. The report involved social scientists, natural scientists, industrialists, environmentalists, and policymakers emerging from their silos to talk to each other to understand how humans alter the global environment. The report helped such collaborative processes to become mainstream, alongside the idea of treating the environment and develop...