Every year, Earth Day, celebrated on April 22, presents us with an opportunity to contemplate the conditions of our planet and our impact upon it. Generating around 37% of global carbon emissions, the construction industry has an important, often detrimental, role to play, thus placing an increasingly urgent responsibility on architects and builders to devise strategies for reducing this number. Still, the built environment represents the habitat for most of humanity, and so it has the potential to protect and shelter people from the risks posed by the changing climate. Read on to discover a collection of articles delving into the strategies available at urban and architectural scales for mitigating the effects of climate change and minimizing the industry’s impact upon it.
Mitigating the Risk of Extreme Heat
The month of June 2023 has been the hottest month on record, pointing to a trend of increasing temperatures worldwide. While it is difficult to identify all the complex reasons behind this increase, it poses a threat, especially in urban settings, where the temperature can be intensified through the “urban heat island effect.” Local administrations, along with urban planners and architects, thus have a responsibility to minimize this risk to protect the citizens through multifaceted strategies, from offering climate shelters or expanding the green infrastructure to apps mapping the risk zones or designing with heat-dispersing materials.
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Resilient Water Management
As climate change exacerbates the frequency and severity of extreme weather events, including floods and droughts, resilient water-management strategies become crucial for urban environments. Integrated systems that capture, store, and distribute water effectively can mitigate the risks posed by these events, providing a lifeline for communities facing water scarcity or inundation. Additionally, cities are also beginning to reconsider the role of waterways in urban environments, looking at ways in which this invaluable resource can be recuperated, made safe and offered back to local communities.
Urban Waterways Reborn: European Cities Leading the Change in River Restoration and Revitalization
Urban Anti-Flooding Strategies in Latin American Cities
How NYC Plans to Deal With Rainstorms: Global Precedents
What is Peatland: A Powerful Carbon Store and Ecosystem
The Potential of Urban Spaces
Urban spaces hold not only potential, but also responsibility for mitigating the impacts of climate change while enhancing quality of life for residents. From rooftop gardens to community parks, these spaces offer opportunities to combat urban heat islands, improve air quality, and promote biodiversity. These spaces can welcome a plethora of strategies, each contributing to creating a better environment for both human and non-human residents.
The Barcelona Model: Public Space as a Synonym for Urban Adaptation
Navigating 2024: European Cities Tackle Urban Cooling, Congestion, and Connection
Cities Embrace Climate Action Planning to Mitigate the Adverse Effects of Climate Change
Site-Specific Strategies Informed by Vernacular Practices
Drawing inspiration from traditional building techniques and indigenous knowledge, architects and urban planners can develop site-specific strategies to address climate challenges. By understanding how vernacular architecture interacts with the local environment, such as natural ventilation systems or passive solar design, designers can create buildings that are better adapted to their surroundings and less reliant on energy-intensive technologies. Additionally, incorporating indigenous land management practices can help communities mitigate the impacts of drought, erosion, and other environmental hazards. By combining modern innovation with traditional wisdom, these strategies can foster resilience and sustainability in diverse landscapes around the world.
Yasmeen Lari Sets Out to Build One Million Flood-Resistant Homes in Pakistan by 2024
Climate Lessons From the Floating Villages of Cambodia
“Habitat: Vernacular Architecture for a Changing Climate” Offers Strategies and Instruments for a Sustainable Transition
Architecture’s Response
Architects play a pivotal role in responding to the challenges of climate change by designing buildings that are both environmentally responsible and resilient to extreme weather events. Passive strategies can reduce energy consumption while optimizing thermal comfort, the sustainable materials contribute to minimizing the industry’s carbon footprint. So far, the construction sector has focused on reducing the “operational” carbon emissions, those streaming from energy used for heating, cooling and lighting. Now emerging strategies are also beginning to also address the “embodied” emissions, those generated by the production and deployment of materials during the construction phase.
How to Replace Air Conditioning? Passive Strategies for Addressing Global Warming
7 Bioclimatic Façade Strategies for Tropical Architecture
Introspection, Elevation, Covering-Up: Radical Architectural Operations for Adverse Climates
Cooling and Energy Efficiency: A New Era in Building Design
Embodied Carbon in Real Estate: The Hidden Contributor to Climate Change
The Energy Efficiency Policy Package: Key Catalyst for Building Decarbonisation and Climate Action
