resilient cities
DESIGNS FOR CHANGE
READY FOR ANYTHING: THE CITIES OF THE FUTURE
28
Cities are feeling the strain and it’s not likely to get any easier. According to projections, the world’s population will continue to grow until at least 2050. Complex environmental changes will alter the climate in which cities operate, the supply and availability of materials that are used in cities’ construction and maintenance, the energy that is required for their economies to function, the supply of food and clean water for their inhabitants and the provision of sustainable modes of transport to enable mobility. New and existing cities will encounter shocks and stresses associated with environmental change, energy scarcity and global population – issues that remain difficult to predict reliably. Only by attempting to understand these complexities will planners, designers and creators of sustainable societies be able to successfully meet these challenges head on in the future.
Why do we need these discussions and what do we mean by resilient and adaptive cities? Nick Roberts: “We need to have these discussions to explore the relationships between socio-economic, political, cultural and environmental change and their potential effects on cities over long periods. A resilient city is in essence about adaptability and diversity. The ability of a city to change, morph, adapt and reinvent itself continually is the key to sustainability.”
Elspeth Finch: “There is a huge range of factors that affect a city’s resilience and adaptability. Cities need to be physically durable to withstand the physical shocks associated with future climate change. This can mean designing mitigation measures to guard against potential floods or securing food supplies in case of long-term water shortages. They also need to be diverse in terms of their sources of energy, the economy and public institutions because with greater diversity comes an increased ability to survive and bounce back from these shocks.”
Changing climates, increasing populations and varying industry trends are affecting how cities function. Can masterplanners design for these developments? And how can a city’s resilience and adaptability be maximised when it comes to future unknowns? Nick Roberts, managing director of Atkins’ environment business, addresses these key questions in a round-table discussion with colleagues Elspeth Finch, futures director, and Guy Mercer, associate director for land and development.
Page 1 |
Page 2 |
Page 3 |
Page 4 |
Page 5 |
Page 6 |
Page 7 |
Page 8 |
Page 9 |
Page 10 |
Page 11 |
Page 12 |
Page 13 |
Page 14 |
Page 15 |
Page 16 |
Page 17 |
Page 18 |
Page 19 |
Page 20 |
Page 21 |
Page 22 |
Page 23 |
Page 24 |
Page 25 |
Page 26 |
Page 27 |
Page 28 |
Page 29 |
Page 30 |
Page 31 |
Page 32 |
Page 33 |
Page 34 |
Page 35 |
Page 36 |
Page 37 |
Page 38 |
Page 39 |
Page 40 |
Page 41 |
Page 42 |
Page 43 |
Page 44