Urban Planning for the unknowns

Gävle has decided to become climate neutral until 2030 to be in line with the Paris agreement. However, the pathways to climate neutrality might seem quite straight forward but there are many choices and hurdles to deal with on the way. There are many interdependencies with regional, national, and international level that has a great influence on our ability to become climate neutral. As well as political, institutional, and economical contradictions and above that new knowledge that needs to be gained and implemented. It’s about fundamental change and that is both exciting and difficult. The presentation will explore these discussion points.

The frequency and intensity of extreme weather events have increased in the last years. Building resiliency against different natural hazards (hurricanes, floodings, wildfires, etc.) is fundamental for the adaptation to climate change, even if it is hardly included in their design process. In this scenario, the presentation aims to provide an overview of strategies and challenges for the design of resilient buildings, able to meet users’ needs in terms of safety and environmental comfort, and in response to the current changing climatic conditions, highlighting the synergy between "mitigation" and "adaptation" strategies.

Prediction and modelling are needed to be able to foresee what can happen if natural hazards take place. We perform modelling to get scenarios that can help determine the impacts of extreme events, and to identify the geographic location and extent of areas that can possibly be affected if a hazard actualizes. Hence, modelling results are used as bases for early warning information. They are valuable for spatial planning, particularly in managing areas that can be of immediate risk, through implementation of mitigation measures. However, how reliable are they in providing the information we need to prepare for extreme events? Are they accurate enough to justify spatial planning decisions? How do we interpret these model results?

In a modern society where people spend most of their time indoors, the indoor air quality (IAQ) of buildings has the potential to significantly affect the quality of life. Accordingly, the importance of IAQ issues in terms of public health is also increasing. Therefore, the development of a comprehensive prediction method that integrates indoor air quality and exposure assessment is crucial for the creation of a healthy indoor environment. The overall objective of this presentation is to present a comprehensive and universal computer simulated human (i.e. in silico human model), integrating computational fluid dynamics (CFD), for use in ventilation and indoor environmental design and exposure assessment/infection control which in most cases is unpredicted.

Indoor environmental quality (IEQ) and human health have been on the agenda of the green building industry, with new directions focusing on building features that explicitly promote the experience of occupants. However, the performance of green-certified buildings from the occupant perspective remains inconsistent, with numerous questions arising both from the user experience and building performance more so now since there is uncertainty on future climate. Understanding this is important towards effective design, assessment and promotion of “healthy buildings”. This talk attempts to synthesize emerging knowledge related to IEQ and health; and to identify research and practical challenges that may impede the performance of green-rated buildings. It also sets the foundation for researchers and green rating system developers to capture immediate and long-term opportunities that can help to form an integrated vision for future directions in green buildings with particular emphasis on human health and well-being. The talk envisions the future of green buildings based on integrated management of human (subjective and objective IEQ, health and human experience) and environmental objectives (circularity, resources and energy use), while demonstrating adaptability to climate change. The envisioned future of green buildings will need to be based on a thorough knowledge of the building and its users, their inter- and intra-individual variability, their spatiotemporal localization, their activities, their history of exposures, together with a capacity of anticipation of the likelihood of future events and preparedness for them.

The energy systems are playing a critical role in enabling climate neutral cities and a high energy system resilience is of utmost importance to modern societies that are highly dependent on continued access to energy services. Today’s energy systems are facing more threats and challenges than ever from fuel deliverability, conflicts, natural disasters, cyber-attacks, higher share of renewables, electrification, and so forth. The energy system needs to be robust but also resilient against disruptive events. For example, the reliance on diverse sources is a cornerstone for energy security and resilience. This presentation will discuss various approaches to improve robustness, flexibility and resilience of energy systems.