Sanders, C H and Phillipson, M C (2003) UK adaptation strategy and technical measures: The impacts of climate change on buildings. Building Research & Information, 31(3-4), pp. 210-221. ISSN 0961-3218
Abstract
This paper discusses the importance of climate change for the UK building stock and reviews the predictions of the United Kingdom Climate Impacts Programme 2002 (UKCIP02) scenarios for the future climate that are of relevance to buildings and construction. The possible impacts of these changes on flooding, wind damage, driving rain impact, subsidence and the internal environment of buildings are reviewed and the steps that might be taken to mitigate these impacts discussed. The current response of regulators, standardisation bodies, building owners and the insurance industry to these impacts is examined, and it is shown that each body acts in different ways to different impacts. Some bodies, such as government departments responsible for building regulations and the insurance industry, are taking the possibility of climate change very seriously. However, the uncertainty of future climate predictions, especially as regards wind speed, means that it is not easy to incorporate these issues in formal legislation. The whole culture of standardisation, which is based on well-established data, such as mean climate data over the last 30 years, makes it difficult for British and European Standards, which underpin regulations, to react to the changing climate.
| Item Type: | Article |
|---|---|
| Uncontrolled Keywords: | building stock; climate change; governance; insurance; risk management |
| Index terms: | subsidence, building regulation, legislation, governance, wind speed, owner, building stock, United Kingdom, strategy, flooding, regulator, adaptation, programme, driving rain, insurance, standardization, regulation, risk management, climate change |
| Subjects: | Geography, performance measurement, management, political science, environmental hazards, regulatory law, geotechnical engineering, asset management, sociology, project controls, climate science, user focus, business, risk assessment, economic analysis, environmental science, legal systems |
| Topics: | Time Control, Design Practice, Legal Issues, Quality Management, Stakeholder Management, Risk Management, Governance, Sustainability, Business Strategy, Engineering Principles, Geographical Context |
| Descriptive scope: | 2 PC |
N.B. Descriptive scope is a count of how many of the five facets of empirical research are indicated by the words used in title, abstract and keywords. It is not intended as a judgement on the research; merely a count of the kind of word we would expect to indicate Phenomenon, Concepts, Theoretical framing, Empirical techniques, Analytical techniques. If all five are present, then a code of “5 PCTEA” will indicate this. If you feel the coding for this record is questionable, we welcome discussion around the terms we matched or the way we categorized them. The facet you would expect may not be coded, or a facet may be coded inappropriately. This can also bear on a larger question, of which facets should be treated as defining in construction management research. Please get in touch, and we will look at it. More details here