Category: Engineering

Sponge Cities

Sponge Cities

Sponge Cities

02/19/20

“How can cities be designed to absorb water from floods instead of block it?”

 

With rising sea levels and rain penetration due to climate change, cities are looking for ways to adapt. Although the most popular methods typically involve building massive pieces of infrastructure such as sea walls, more natural ways to solve this are available. One innovative way is to remodel urban areas as Sponge Cities. Sponge cities are cities with large volumes of greenery that can absorb any torrent of water. These green spaces can range from gardens to green roofs to simple porous designs. Sponge cities not only make municipalities more resilient to climate change but also prevent discharge of polluted water, increases biodiversity, and improve quality of life.

 

Image credit http://www.sciencefriday.com

Multi-Hazard Resilience Planning

Multi-Hazard Resilience Planning

Multi-Hazard Resilience Planning

02/18/20

“How can resilience planners prepare for multiple effects?”

 

Climate change is exacerbating more than just a single disaster per zone. In many locations, multiple hazards are occurring at the same time. For example, in the San Francisco Bay Area not only are wildfires becoming more frequent and powerful but coastal flooding is also growing day by day. Because of this, resilience professions will have to prepare for all of these using Multi-Hazard Resilience Planning, in which every single piece that can go wrong will be taken into account. 

Why Urban Sprawl is a Climate Resilience Issue

Why Urban Sprawl is a Climate Resilience Issue

Why Urban Sprawl is a Climate Resilience Issue

02/17/20

“Why is urban sprawl a climate resilience issue?”

 

Urban Sprawl has been known for a long time to be a climate mitigation issue. However, having a sprawling urban form also makes it more vulnerable to the effects of climate change. Being reliant on automobile transportation makes evacuation much more difficult and deadly in the case of a climate emergency such as a wildfire or a hurricane. Sprawling development encourages living spaces to be built on environmentally unsafe spaced such as flood zones and the wildland-urban interface. This shows Why Urban Sprawl is a Climate Resilience Issue.

Material Use Reduction as a Form of Resilience

Material Use Reduction as a Form of Resilience

Material Use Reduction as a Form of Resilience

02/14/20

“How can reducing material use be a form of resilience?”

 

Our modern civilization rests upon the consumption of materials. However, in the case of a supply-chain shock, whether it be natural or human-driven, can disrupt our internal balance. But just like reducing energy use can lead to increased security, reducing material use can protect against these sudden events. This is Material Use Reduction as a Form of Resilience.

Building Reuse

Building Reuse

Building Reuse

02/08/20

“How can we reuse already-built buildings for alternative purposes?”

 

Buildings are the core of every facet of infrastructure, whether it be the housing that we live in or the metro rails that we ride on. And although new construction is thought of as the ultimate path to growth, the embodied carbon can add a heavy increase to GHG emissions. Building Reuse can ensure that already-built edifices can be repurposed for new uses, ensuring greater sustainability.

 

Image credit images.adsttc.com

Why Moving Into Newer Housing Can Increase Resilience to Climate Change

Why Moving Into Newer Housing Can Increase Resilience to Climate Change

Why Moving Into Newer Housing Can Increase Resilience to Climate Change

02/03/20

“Why is it that moving into newer housing can increase your resilience to climate change?”

 

Whether you like it or not, Climate Change is coming and you will need to prepare. One of the biggest vulnerabilities that people have is the quality of their housing. Older housing is usually built according to outdated standards and with aged materials, increasing the risk of breakdown when disaster strikes. By moving into newer housing, it is more likely that you will be living in a place that has been designed with the new climate in mind in addition to being composed of more modern materials. This is Why Moving Into Newer Housing Can Increase Resilience to Climate Change.