Design for the Other 90%

Book excerpt: Of the world's total population, 90% has little or no access to most of the products and services many of us take for granted; in fact, nearly half do not have regular access to food, clean water, or shelter. This publication explores a growing movement among designers to design low-cost solutions for this "other 90%." Through partnerships both local and global, individuals and organizations are finding unique ways to address the basic challenges of survival and progress faced by the world's poor and marginalized. Designers, engineers, students and professors, architects, and social entrepreneurs from all over the globe are devising cost-effective ways to increase access to food and water, energy, education, healthcare, revenue-generating activities, and affordable transportation for those who most need them.