Resilient Infrastructure: Using Tech to Build Climate-Adaptive Cities and Buildings
Resilience is a core tenant of sustainable design. Building resilient roads, bridges, energy grids, and water systems is crucial if we are to weather the incoming storm that climate change is sure to bring.
Resilient design is particularly important in urban areas where temperatures may be more likely to soar. This is due to increased paving and reduced space for vegetation and open spaces. In these urban areas, green construction firms will need to alter their designs to account for high winds, hot summer days, and increased precipitation.
If leveraged correctly, sustainable construction materials may even help in the fight against climate change. These buildings use significantly less energy than regular homes and may be able to generate solar electricity to supply the grid as we move away from fossil fuels. This will revolutionize energy infrastructure across the nation and help more people lead eco-friendly lives.
The Internet of Things
In the last five years, technology related to the Internet of Things (IoT) has hit mainstream markets. This is good news for folks who want to build more resilient, climate-adaptive infrastructure as IoT devices are capable of recording subtle changes in things like temperature or wind speed. This can be used to improve infrastructure design plans and will be crucial when climate-change-induced storms begin to form.
Some suggest that utilizing the IoT can reduce emissions by optimizing energy efficiency in buildings and improving renewable integration. These devices can also give building managers a more accurate assessment of their carbon emissions. Smart sensors and regulators may also help city planners build more efficient waste management systems and optimize infrastructure like public transport.
However, for the IoT to be successful, urban planners will need to secure reliable, high-speed wifi across city boundaries. Today, that means city councils should start preparing for the future of 6G technology. 6G will offer a 10X upgrade from 5G that will enable hyper-connected smart infrastructure designs to improve the management of traffic, water usage, and electricity demand. IoT devices connected to 6G internet can enhance homeowners’ security and minimize their energy waste, too.
Predictive Models
Resiliency is all about being prepared for the threats that cities and buildings are likely to face. However, as recent storm surges, wildfires, and heatwaves have shown, our current infrastructure is not currently prepared to face the climate-affected future.
Predictive models can improve response times and identify issues in city infrastructure by combining real-time data collected by IoT devices with historical data trends. This could, for example, identify a raised risk of wildfires if sensors note that dry heat and low rainfall have created conditions that are most likely to catch light and fuel a widespread blaze.
Some models may help decision-makers invest in the infrastructural improvements for their city, too. This could be crucial in areas where rising temperatures are likely to send more people to the hospital due to heat stroke or exhaustion. Decision-makers can make strategic decisions to increase hospital staffing levels due to predictive technology that can identify incoming heatwaves and highlight the needs of vulnerable people.
Innovative Construction
Cities that embrace eco-friendly construction can improve residents’ quality of life and increase resilience against threats like heatwaves, storm surges, and high winds. These tech-driven construction tools can reduce emissions associated with infrastructure like buildings and roadways, too. Examples of innovative climate-resilient design include:
- Trombe Walls: Solar heating is a great way to utilize the sun’s energy and keep homes and buildings warm without relying on high-emission heating systems. With proper shading and ventilation, these walls may be viable in areas that have cold winters but hot summers, too.
- Green Roofs: Green roofs disperse heat and minimize the risk of heat islands forming. This is crucial in cities where temperatures usually rise beyond rural levels. German developers already utilize these roofs by using a root-resistant coating to ensure the plant can’t push through the building’s ceiling.
- Passive Solar: Windows that face south take in the sun’s rays and trap heat in winter months. However, these modern windows can also shade southern-facing areas in the summer using solar control window tinting.
These construction tools can reduce emissions and help folks lead more eco-friendly lives. Residents use less forced-air heating when they have trombe walls and can keep their houses shaded when using solar-controlled window tinting. This minimizes energy waste and helps folks remain comfortable during extreme temperature events.
Sustainable Urban Design
Cities that embrace eco-friendly design can utilize a range of green tools to minimize emissions and improve the resilience of their infrastructure. For example, city planners can consider upgrades like:
- Waste Management: Incentivizing companies to clean up their own waste can boost the economy and keep rubbish out of landfills. Effective waste management increases the profits that recycling specialists stand to make and minimizes the amount of plastic, lumber, and glass that ends up in landfills. This is crucial, as poor waste management undermines the effectiveness of infrastructure like managed waterways.
- Water Conservation: Water plays a crucial role in the smooth functioning of many infrastructural systems. By installing improved rainwater collection systems, cities can bolster their resilience and reduce the risk of a drought. Similarly, city planners could invest in sensors to better measure rainfall and spot leaks before they result in massive water waste.
- Smart Planning: City planning plays a pivotal role in designing resilient cities and urban spaces. Planners who use tech like virtual reality and augmented reality are in a better position to effectively design cities and create spaces that support human and animal life in a climate-affected future.
- On-Site Installs: Installing cutting-edge infrastructural technologies like cloud software and safety technology can protect workers and speed up decision-making. For example, on-site IoT sensors detect movement in a building and will adjust lighting or building temperatures to keep workers safe. Similarly, cloud tech can cut down on paper document waste and will reduce delays by transferring paper documents like blueprints onto a shared drive where developers can work together in real-time.
These urban design features reduce the strain placed on infrastructure like waterworks and energy supply. They also make urban areas more habitable by minimizing pollution, improving infrastructural efficiency, and foregrounding the importance of resilience in the face of extreme weather events like heat waves.
Investing in high-tech urban design features can help planners identify shortcomings in the current soft infrastructure. This is crucial, as more people will rely on soft infrastructure (like healthcare and law enforcement) when climate change plays a more active role in our day-to-day lives.
Soft Infrastructure Investments
Soft infrastructure took center stage at COP 26 when leaders from around the globe met to discuss the looming climate crisis. Since then, developers like Susan Powers have taken the soft-infrastructure message to heart and have started to create green spaces and community zones that ensure urban areas are truly equitable and eco-friendly.
Powers explains that her team “went out and found nontraditional partners from the very beginning,” and that this approach helped them recognize shortfalls in the community. For Powers, this meant that they were able to discover that many school-age children in the area didn’t have access to bikes, thus making hard infrastructure (like cycle lanes) obsolete. Powers’ team decided to invest in local schools by supplying bikes for the nearby students.
Powers’ example highlights the need for community engagement and soft infrastructure. When leveraged correctly, strategic investments in soft infrastructure (like free or reduced-cost bikes for children) empower folks to fight back against climate change. Soft infrastructure like hospitals and utility providers can use smart tech to improve their data management programs and empower their community engagement officers, too.
Community Engagement
Climate-conscious, tech-based infrastructural changes have the potential to build resilience and combat global warming. However, for high-tech initiatives to be successful, they must be accompanied by a robust community engagement plan. Community engagement ensures that folks actually use features like city bikes and increases uptake in programs to boost solar energy.
Developers who do want to engage the community while planning upgrades to urban areas can survey the local populace to find out more about potential engagement initiatives. For example, water companies that want to boost their brand while improving engagement in waste-water management initiatives may want to sponsor local allotments or buy unused areas for urban gardening schemes. These are sure to capture the attention of folks who live within city limits and will increase uptake in water management initiatives.
This same approach can be used to alleviate fears about planning changes. For example, city planners who wish to install more green roofs may receive pushback from businesses and homeowners who are unaware of the benefits of green roofs. Community engagement events, like meet-and-greets and town halls, provide the perfect opportunity to explain the need for change and the safety of proposed schemes.
Conclusion
Building climate-adaptive cities and buildings requires a collaborative effort from homeowners, businesses, and city planners. Similarly, emission-reduction initiatives like solar panels and green roofs have the potential to boost resilience and minimize emissions but are dependent on clear communication from all stakeholders.
Progressive developers can secure the backing of stakeholders by investing in data collection tools, like IoT tech, that use predictive modeling to track trends and quantify the potential problems that urban populations will face in years to come. This will increase urban resilience and help combat climate change.
About the Author
Amanda Winstead is a writer focusing on many topics including technology and digital marketing. Along with writing she enjoys traveling, reading, working out, and going to concerts. If you want to follow her writing journey, or even just say hi you can find her on Twitter.