Checklist
Designers, architects, developers and property managers should firstly ask:
Has the building or development been designed to be resilient to the expected impacts of climate change during the expected lifetime of the building(s)?
The likelihood and severity of climate change impacts and risks should be assessed early in order to effectively design in appropriate solutions (see the Section on “Assessing and Identifying Risks”). These questions provide a starting point for your building or development design.
The following questions address the specific risk areas:
Overheating
- Does the design of your building(s) and/or development site minimise excessive solar heat gain?
- How will ventilation and cooling be managed by your building(s) to reduce the risk of internal overheating?
- Have passive rather than mechanical measures for shading, ventilation and cooling been adopted? If not, have the most carbon-efficient solutions been used in order to limit maladaptation?
- Has the development’s contribution to urban heating/the urban heat island been reduced by employing appropriate solutions?
- Have solutions that provide other adaptation benefits been considered and prioritised in order to maximise on opportunities for climate change adaptation?
Precipitation and flooding
- Is your building or development in an area that could be at risk from future fluvial flooding (e.g. from rivers or streams)?
- Will your building or development exacerbate flood risk for areas and development downstream?
- What solutions have been incorporated into the development to manage fluvial flood risk and minimise flood risk to building occupants on site, in adjacent areas and downstream?
- Has a Sustainable Drainage System, or other design measures, been incorporated into the development design to reduce surface water runoff from roofing and external surfaces and minimise flood risk?
- Does the design of your development take into consideration measures to ensure resilience against severe weather events such as storms and heavy precipitation?
- Have solutions that provide other adaptation benefits been considered and prioritised in order to maximise on opportunities for climate change adaptation?
Pressure on water resources
- Does your building design include measures to minimise internal water consumption, for example from washing, bathing and WC flushing?
- Does your development design include measures to minimise external water consumption, for example for irrigating plants?
- Have you considered how wastewater, including surface water runoff, can be reused by the building(s) or development to reduce the use of mains water?
- Have solutions that provide other adaptation benefits been considered and prioritised in order to maximise on opportunities for climate change adaptation?
Ground conditions
- Is the development site at risk from shrink-swell due to its soil type or is located on or near steeply sloping land?
- If so, have both structural and vegetative measures been considered in the development’s design to increase the stability of the building(s)?
- Have solutions that provide other adaptation benefits been considered and prioritised in order to maximise on opportunities for climate change adaptation?