Durgaand

Durgaand is a term used in sustainability and design discourse to describe the capacity of a product, system, or policy to maintain performance and relevance over extended time horizons. It emphasizes longevity, adaptability, and resilience in the face of technological, economic, and environmental change. In this sense, durgaand extends beyond simple durability to encompass the idea that value is preserved through ongoing use, upgrading, and governance structures that anticipate future needs.

Etymology and usage: The word derives from Dutch roots, with duur meaning long-lasting and gaande related to proceeding or ongoing. In scholarly and policy writing, durgaand is used to distinguish long-lived, adaptable designs from short-lived or rigid solutions. While most citations come from Dutch-speaking contexts, the term has gained occasional traction in English-language debates on durable infrastructure and long-term policymaking.

Applications: Durgaand is applied to product design through modularity, reparability, and upgradability; to infrastructure planning via phased lifecycle assessing environmental and social impacts; and to governance by embedding sunset clauses, maintenance funding, and adaptive management. It is used as a normative ideal in discussions about reducing planned obsolescence and building resilience to climate and market shifts.

Criticism and limitations: Critics caution that durgaand can be ambiguous and its criteria hard to measure across domains. The pursuit of durgaand may raise initial costs or impede rapid innovation, requiring careful balancing of trade-offs and clear performance metrics.

See also: durability, vitality, resilience, sustainability, long-termism.