Intervention 8 Ensure everyone’s homes, offices, buildings, and infrastructure are resilient to future climate impacts Aim: To implement a set of activities which ensure climate resilience for new and existing homes, offices and energy, water, transport, and communications infrastructure, and to begin planning new infrastructure required for long-term resilience in Glasgow City Region. Where possible, such approaches should be linked to broader community wealth building and activity to enhance adaptive capacity. Background : By 2030, Glasgow City Region’s 1.8m population is forecast to grow, with need for an additional 80,200 homes 26 . Our built environment and energy, water, transport, and communications infrastructure rely on one another; together, they underpin our communities’ and economy’s ability to flourish. Over £16 bn. of capital investment is projected to be spent over the next 20 years to address existing challenges and new demands 27 . The challenge: Decisions made now on location and design of new houses, developments and infrastructure will influence patterns of exposure or vulnerability to future climate change over the next few decades. They involve a lock-in risk (i.e. development in areas that will become at risk in the future or buildings that are not designed for the climate of the 2050s). Infrastructures are interdependent and need careful planning and strong political commitment to ensure the whole system is climate resilient. Existing homes, offices, and infrastructure, as well as cultural heritage sites such as the UNESCO World Heritage Sites of New Lanark and the Antonine Wall were not designed with the future climate in mind. What’s more, there are many different actors such as private landlords and housing associations, who have much control in this space, particularly for those most vulnerable to climate impacts. We have a window of time to address this and plan for our future development, balancing the costs for residents, businesses, and government. New infrastructure specifically focused on delivering climate resilience may also be needed. Where are we now? The Glasgow City Region City Deal, and the emerging community wealth building agenda have the potential to be transformative in this space. The City Deal has already been assessed for climate risks 28 and there are opportunities to enhance climate risk screening and integration of adaptation. Projects like the University of Strathclyde’s Climate Resilient Climate Neutral Innovation District are already showcasing adaptation options and their wider benefits. There is also regional guidance embedding consideration of climate risk into new development and this is being used by some planning new developments. 29
48
Made with FlippingBook - professional solution for displaying marketing and sales documents online