An excerpt from an article by Good Homes Alliance’s Sophie Hockley, who leads on our Placemaking work.
The UK government’s independent advisor on tackling climate change, the CCC, published its latest climate adaptation progress report earlier this year, making it clear that the current approach to climate adaptation is not working.
Rising temperatures and the increasingly frequent cycles of drought and flooding are putting more pressure on homes, schools, hospitals, and other related infrastructure.
Given that most homes being built today will still be in use in 60-80 years’ time, climate-resilience needs to be at the forefront of current building design and placemaking. In practical terms, this means planning, designing and building homes and places that are ready for 2ºC of warming by 2050 and 3-4ºC by the end of the century.
We look at some of the strategies that are – or could be – effective for climate adaptation in the built environment, including:
- Spatial planning and the importance of location
- The multiple benefits of green-blue infrastructure
- Reducing car dependency
- Building healthy, sustainable homes