Permaculture in New Zealand

Greetings

I believe many of the issues I see and face at the local/group/national/international level are created by individuals/groups/governments/corporations who attempt to resolve perceived issues by
planning rather than by designing solutions

I'll try and explain how I think planning differs from designing. I've
added some footnotes where appropriate

A plan commences by defining my current position and implementing
changes [1] to move me closer to my forecast/prediction for the
future

A design commences [2] by defining what/how I want my future to be [3]
and them proceeding to implement changes to achieve that vision using
the available resources

A plan causes me to adjust to different situations/conditions/external
forces as they appear[4]

A design allows me to adapt known situations/conditions/external
forces to achieve my vision

When I plan I attempt to acheive a result defined by set goals

When I design I look at my-self to provide the means for change
accorindg to my vision of the future

Ultimately implementation of a design is a factor of scale, at the
detail level I plan and the pattern level I design

The thoughts above were originally published on the PNZ members group 20080829. At the time Bryan Innes commented and added the following observation "planning is linear and design is multidimensional"

Comments, criticisms, thoughts etc... invited - Go on you know you
have a some ;o)

Cheers

Chew

'Design your future, it is the only one you have'

[1] Any action causes a change

[2] Assume post observation phase

[3] Based on observations and resource evaluation/availability

[4] Plan B?