Climate Change in the Built Environment

Abstract

Despite a growing awareness of climate change, there is little evidence that this is being addressed in cities and built environments. Events such as flooding in Houston, USA; landslides in Free Town, Sierra Leone; and water shortages in La Paz, Bolivia and Cape Town in South Africa demonstrate that it is increasingly important that climate change is understood and addressed in built environments to ensure that they become more resilient. This chapter introduces climate change and outlines the implications of this for built environments. It describes measures that can be incorporated into built environments to enable them to adapt to projected climate changes. Understanding climate change and preparing for this by developing built environments that are more resilient will be an increasingly valuable and important skill. Reading this chapter will support the development and refinement of skills and knowledge in this area and it is an essential reference for built environment students and practitioners.