Designing resilient cities: a guide to good practice (EP 103)
BRE (Building Research Establishment) is an independent, research-based consultancy, testing and training organisation, operating in the built environment and associated industries.
On 11 April 2012 BRE published Designing resilient cities: a guide to good practice (EP 103) by DR Lombardi, JM Leach and CDF Rogers (University of Birmingham) and the Urban Futures Team.
Global urbanisation is increasing dramatically and most of the world’s population now lives in cities, making urban sustainability a top priority. Designing resilience is about putting in place solutions that are resistant to future uncertainties. Large investments are being made today to make our cities more sustainable; the success of these investments depends on their resilience and how the future develops.
The 126-page BRE guide presents the Urban Futures Method for testing the likely future performance of urban developments and regeneration-related sustainability solutions (actions taken today in the name of sustainability) in a series of possible future scenarios in the year 2050. If a proposed solution delivers a positive legacy, regardless of the future against which it is tested, then it can be adopted with confidence.
The method was developed as result of a four-year, £3.1 million grant from the UK Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council on Urban Futures, and was directed by a steering committee and expert panellists representing industry, government, academia and the third sector. It provides insights into the potential impacts of today’s urban planning and design decisions, and challenges the conventional mainstream approach to sustainability by incorporating changing priorities and different ways of thinking into today’s actions.
The contents of the guide are:
- Abbreviations and glossary; Executive summary.
- Part One: Introduction to the Urban Futures Method.
- Part Two: The Urban Futures Method: delving more deeply.
- Part Three: worked examples of sustainability solution-benefit pairs.
[edit] Find out more
[edit] Related articles on Designing Buildings Wiki
- BRE articles on Designing Buildings Wiki
- Building flood resilience.
- Building research establishment.
- Design flexibility.
- Engineering in the 21st century.
- Engineering resilience to human threats.
- Environmental plan for building design and construction.
- Future proofing construction.
- Managing and responding to disaster.
- Property flood resilience.
- Resilience.
- Risk assessment.
- Sustainability in building design and construction.
- Two steps towards a more resilient world.
Featured articles and news
HAB is a bridge design concept which incorporates an integrated hydraulic system in order to carry more weight.
ICE publish a discussion paper looking at the role of the engineer in creating inclusive cities.
A PQP describes the activities, standards, tools and processes necessary to achieve quality in a project's delivery.
How Lidl has been actively working to reinforce their brand through sustainability.
Association of British Insurers describe full-scale cladding tests as 'utterly inadequate'.
This article examines the changing policy commitments and evolving definitions of the zero carbon home.
Researchers believe they may have created a 'game-changing' new form of concrete using graphene.
Grouting refers to the injection of materials into a soil or rock formation to change its physical characteristics.
Part of Designing Buildings Wiki, BREEAM Wiki will advance knowledge sharing for the BRE family of sustainability tools.
Iron, glass and wood underfoot
From the decorative to the utilitarian, and from the photographed to the forgotten.
New BRE book considers the progression from project-based knowledge creation to whole-life urban knowledge management.
This CIOB article explores the concept of value in building design and construction.