Urban Design for Addressing Climate Resilience

In an article for Architecture Daily, Maria-Cristina Florian describes how cities around the world are responding to and preparing for three major types of extreme climate events: flooding, wildfires, and earthquakes.

Florian provides examples of resiliency initiatives from cities facing a variety of threats. In the case of flooding, “Architects and urban planners are now exploring alternatives that rethink stormwater as a resource rather than a hazard, incorporating it into the ecosystem of the city.”

When it comes to wildfires, cities can use mapping to understand high-risk areas. “As peripheric neighborhoods usually have a lower density, they create the ‘wildland-urban interface’ (WUI), an intermediary space typically containing fire fuel, dry material such as fallen leaves. These areas can benefit from the planting of fire-resistant vegetation like low-growing high-moisture plants and hardwood trees with low sap or rising content.” Mitigation strategies also include prescribed burns and building codes that ensure fires are less likely to catch and spread.

To build resilience against earthquakes, “In the areas more prone to seismic activity, structural solutions such as retrofitting with eccentrically braced steel frames, or EBFs, can improve a building’s seismic resilience.”

Florian adds a fourth category: disaster response. “Architects have a role to play, especially in offering fast, efficient, and comfortable solutions for emergency accommodation.” Urban design and architecture can have an effect on how quickly and effectively emergency services can be provided and reached.