31
This is indeed a complex and global issue. Due to the complexity of climate change and its related
impacts, in this chapter we will explore only those climate change impacts and issues that will assist
in framing the overall narrative in relation to how we need to consider the application of a regenerative-adaptive pattern language to solve issues for our settlements, one that needs to adapt to a new
climate and environment. It is assumed that the reader accepts that major impacts on coastal environments in the near future due to sea level rise and climate change are undisputable, and that it is in the
interests of our future generations to seek new methods of design and planning for sustainable
development.
Methods are needed that result in offering possible resilience strategies for our communities, and
providing a secure regenerative- adaptive future for humans and other species including the natural
environment. Thus, both need capacity to adapt and evolve continuously in an integrated, holistic and
resilient future. It is acknowledged that in a larger context, the environmental issues due to climate
change need many solutions in order to adapt to the vast variety of climatic, environmental, economic,
political and cultural conditions in which humans create their habitats. These cannot be solved by only
one solution. However, I do propose as a potential strategy the application of a regenerative-adaptive
pattern language to address this issue, which employ design and planning methods for the built environment that include the understanding of the interconnectedness of ecological and human systems,
which considers The Whole [1].
3.3 Climate Change and the Built Environment
As a starting point urban climates are different from rural climates, due to the hard surfaces and predominantly built structures. The more people move to and live in cities, the more there is an everincreasing effect of the modification of theirclimates (Souch & Grimmond, 2006). Two major factors
that impact the global climate as a result of urbanisation are the ‘urban heat island’ effect, and pollution that includes greenhouse gas (GHG) and sulfur dioxide emissions amongst others (Phelan,
Kaloush, Miner, et al., 2015; Smith, Pitcher, & Wigley, 2001). The GHG emissions from buildings are
projected to increase from 8.8 GtCO 2 /yr. in 2010 to 17 or even 22 GtCO 2 /yr. in 2050 according to
IPCC baseline scenarios (IPCC, 2014a). Significant lock-in risks are the result of the increasing longlife spans of infrastructure and buildings, and their continued high demand for energy. The IPCC,
however, does acknowledge that a change in lifestyle, culture, and behavioural change such as building usage, energy requirements, new technologies and a ‘more green architecture’ that supports sustainable development may assist in the reduction of GHG emissions (IPCC, 2014a, p. 60). This means
that the built environment can serve as a potential medium where problems can be addressed, both at
the cause point of climate change, and at the impact point by climate change levels (McGranahan
et al., 2005). The climate change and built environment discourse can thus be divided in two sections;
one is the impact on the climate as a result of the constant development and growth of the built environment, and the other is the impact upon the built environment due to climate change.
3.3.1 Impact of the Built Environment on the Climate
The built environment constitutes only 2.8% of the global land area of the earth (Ruth & Coelho,
2007, p. 207). This area hosts the main locations for human social, cultural and economic life, and
more than half of the world’s population lives in urban environments in and around cities (UN, 2007).
The UN estimates that in the next thirty years the current 3.5 billion city dwellers will nearly double,
at a rate of between 2.5 billion and 3 billion people (UN Habitat, 2013). Global economic growth and
3.3 Climate Change and the Built Environment
This is indeed a complex and global issue. Due to the complexity of climate change and its related
impacts, in this chapter we will explore only those climate change impacts and issues that will assist
in framing the overall narrative in relation to how we need to consider the application of a regenerative-adaptive pattern language to solve issues for our settlements, one that needs to adapt to a new
climate and environment. It is assumed that the reader accepts that major impacts on coastal environments in the near future due to sea level rise and climate change are undisputable, and that it is in the
interests of our future generations to seek new methods of design and planning for sustainable
development.
Methods are needed that result in offering possible resilience strategies for our communities, and
providing a secure regenerative- adaptive future for humans and other species including the natural
environment. Thus, both need capacity to adapt and evolve continuously in an integrated, holistic and
resilient future. It is acknowledged that in a larger context, the environmental issues due to climate
change need many solutions in order to adapt to the vast variety of climatic, environmental, economic,
political and cultural conditions in which humans create their habitats. These cannot be solved by only
one solution. However, I do propose as a potential strategy the application of a regenerative-adaptive
pattern language to address this issue, which employ design and planning methods for the built environment that include the understanding of the interconnectedness of ecological and human systems,
which considers The Whole [1].
3.3 Climate Change and the Built Environment
As a starting point urban climates are different from rural climates, due to the hard surfaces and predominantly built structures. The more people move to and live in cities, the more there is an everincreasing effect of the modification of theirclimates (Souch & Grimmond, 2006). Two major factors
that impact the global climate as a result of urbanisation are the ‘urban heat island’ effect, and pollution that includes greenhouse gas (GHG) and sulfur dioxide emissions amongst others (Phelan,
Kaloush, Miner, et al., 2015; Smith, Pitcher, & Wigley, 2001). The GHG emissions from buildings are
projected to increase from 8.8 GtCO 2 /yr. in 2010 to 17 or even 22 GtCO 2 /yr. in 2050 according to
IPCC baseline scenarios (IPCC, 2014a). Significant lock-in risks are the result of the increasing longlife spans of infrastructure and buildings, and their continued high demand for energy. The IPCC,
however, does acknowledge that a change in lifestyle, culture, and behavioural change such as building usage, energy requirements, new technologies and a ‘more green architecture’ that supports sustainable development may assist in the reduction of GHG emissions (IPCC, 2014a, p. 60). This means
that the built environment can serve as a potential medium where problems can be addressed, both at
the cause point of climate change, and at the impact point by climate change levels (McGranahan
et al., 2005). The climate change and built environment discourse can thus be divided in two sections;
one is the impact on the climate as a result of the constant development and growth of the built environment, and the other is the impact upon the built environment due to climate change.
3.3.1 Impact of the Built Environment on the Climate
The built environment constitutes only 2.8% of the global land area of the earth (Ruth & Coelho,
2007, p. 207). This area hosts the main locations for human social, cultural and economic life, and
more than half of the world’s population lives in urban environments in and around cities (UN, 2007).
The UN estimates that in the next thirty years the current 3.5 billion city dwellers will nearly double,
at a rate of between 2.5 billion and 3 billion people (UN Habitat, 2013). Global economic growth and
3.3 Climate Change and the Built Environment