Christopher Alexander theorized about this in a great short article entitled Specifications for an Organic and Human Building System: http://worrydream.com/refs

Christopher Alexander theorized about this in a great short article entitled Specifications for an Organic and Human Building System: http://worrydream.com/refs/Alexander%20and%20Jacobson%20-%20Specifications%20for%20an%20Organic%20and%20Human%20Building%20System.pdf http://worrydream.com/refs/Alexander%20and%20Jacobson%20-%20... His key attributes: 1. A common pattern language 2. User design 3. Repair and piecemeal growth 4. A human-scale building system