Sustainable Futures in the Built Environment to 2050

Sustainable Futures in the Built Environment to 2050

by Tim Dixon, John Connaughton, Stuart Green
Released February 2018
Publisher(s): Wiley-Blackwell
ISBN: 9781119063810

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Book description

Brings together leading thinking on issues of new professional practice and on the future of a sustainable built environment 

This book focuses on both construction and development issues, and examines how we can transition to a sustainable future by the year 2050—bringing together leading research and practice at building, neighbourhood, and city levels. It deftly analyses how emerging socio-economic, technological, and environmental trends will influence the built environment of the future. The book covers a broad spectrum of interests across the scales of buildings, communities and cities, including how professional practice will need to adapt to these trends. The broader context is provided by an analysis of emergent business models and the changing requirements for expert advice from clients. 

Sustainable Futures in the Built Environment to 2050: A Foresight Approach to Construction and Development features chapters covering: data and trends, including historical data and UK and international case studies; policies and practice related to the field; current state of scientific understanding; key challenges; key technological advances (including disruptive and systemic technological innovations); change issues and critical uncertainties; and future visions. It provides:

  • A strong conceptual framework based on a ‘Foresight' approach
  • Discussion of the key data and trends that underpin each chapter
  • Coverage of both construction and property development
  • Specially commissioned chapters by academics and practitioners
  • A synthesis of the main findings in the book and key insights for the future to 2050

Sustainable Futures in the Built Environment to 2050: A Foresight Approach to Construction and Development is an important book for postgraduate students and researchers, construction, real estate and property development specialists, engineers, planners, architects, foresight and futures studies specialists, and anyone involved in sustainable buildings.

Table of contents

  1. Cover
  2. Title Page
  3. Editorial Board
    1. Editors
  4. List of Contributors
  5. Note on Contributors
  6. Foreword by Sir Terry Farrell
    1. References
  7. Preface
  8. Acknowledgements
  9. Book Endorsements
  10. 1 Introduction
    1. 1.1 Background and context
    2. 1.2 Sustainable futures in the built environment: some important definitions
    3. 1.3 Futures studies in construction: an overview and critique
    4. 1.4 Conceptual framework for the book
    5. 1.5 Overview of book
    6. References
  11. Part 1: Sustainability and the Built Environment
    1. 2 Climate Change, Resilience and the Built Environment
      1. 2.1 Introduction
      2. 2.2 Hot in the city: urbanisation and changing urban climates
      3. 2.3 Policies and guidelines in the UK relating to climate change and the built environment
      4. 2.4 Climate adaptation options: modelling tomorrow’s buildings today
      5. 2.5 New approaches: combining city growth, weather and building energy models
      6. 2.6 Prospects and challenges for constructing resilient built environments
      7. 2.7 Conclusions
      8. Acknowledgements
      9. References
    2. 3 Sustainability in Real Estate Markets
      1. 3.1 Real estate and sustainability
      2. 3.2 Building environmental assessment methods
      3. 3.3 Sustainability risks
      4. 3.4 Green value
      5. 3.5 Conclusion
      6. References
    3. 4 From the ‘Sustainable Community’ to Prosperous People and Places
      1. 4.1 Introduction: The ‘sustainable community’ in crisis
      2. 4.2 Sustainable communities: an ambiguous goal in an unsustainable system
      3. 4.3 Local perspectives on sustainable and prosperous communities
      4. 4.4 Connecting the future and the present
      5. 4.5 Building prosperity: re‐thinking value and innovation in the built environment
      6. 4.6 Conclusion
      7. References
    4. 5 Smart and Sustainable?
      1. 5.1 Introduction
      2. 5.2 Why is thinking about cities important?
      3. 5.3 The evolution and growth of the future cities discourse: from garden cities to smart cities
      4. 5.4 Being ‘smart and sustainable’: what does it mean for a city?
      5. 5.5 Driving forces for smart and sustainable cities
      6. 5.6 Smart and sustainable cities in practice
      7. 5.7 What is the future for ‘future cities’?
      8. 5.8 Conclusions: opportunities and challenges to 2050
      9. References
    5. 6 Sustainable Infrastructure
      1. 6.1 Introduction
      2. 6.2 Infrastructure policy
      3. 6.3 Key challenges
      4. 6.4 Planning for uncertainty
      5. 6.5 Infrastructure systems modelling
      6. 6.6 Analysing future infrastructure choices: examples from the energy and solid waste sectors
      7. 6.7 Critical uncertainties
      8. 6.8 Conclusions
      9. Acknowledgements
      10. References
    6. 7 Sustainable Design of the Built Environment
      1. 7.1 Introduction
      2. 7.2 The social production of space, place and environment
      3. 7.3 Sustainable community
      4. 7.4 Architectural design
      5. 7.5 Impact of architectural design
      6. 7.6 Critical regionalism
      7. 7.7 Future vision case studies
      8. 7.8 The future
      9. References
  12. Part 2: Changing Professional Practice
    1. 8 Planning for Sustainability
      1. 8.1 Introduction
      2. 8.2 Sustainability and planning
      3. 8.3 Future trends and opportunities
      4. 8.4 Conclusion
      5. References
    2. 9 Sustainable Construction
      1. 9.1 Introduction
      2. 9.2 Our common future
      3. 9.3 Systems thinking for sustainability
      4. 9.4 Meanwhile back in the UK construction sector
      5. 9.5 Modernisation of the construction sector
      6. 9.6 Sustainable construction as a ‘wicked’ problem
      7. 9.7 Strategy for sustainable construction
      8. 9.8 The battle lines for sustainability
      9. 9.9 Conclusions: towards 2050 and beyond
      10. References
    3. 10 Sustainable Procurement
      1. 10.1 Introduction
      2. 10.2 Construction procurement and related practices
      3. 10.3 Concepts of sustainable procurement
      4. 10.4 Sustainable procurement in construction
      5. 10.5 Looking ahead to 2050: meeting key challenges
      6. 10.6 Conclusions
      7. References
    4. 11 Social Media in the Built Environment
      1. 11.1 Introduction
      2. 11.2 Historic trends
      3. 11.3 Classifying social media
      4. 11.4 Future context
      5. 11.5 Future scenarios
      6. 11.6 Conclusions
      7. References
  13. Part 3: Provocations about the Future
    1. 12 Sustainability through Collaboration and Skills Development
      1. 12.1 Introduction
      2. 12.2 Complexity versus sustainability
      3. 12.3 Greenwashed change in an era of urgency
      4. 12.4 The externality of performance
      5. 12.5 Looking ahead to 2050
      6. 12.6 Conclusions
      7. References
    2. 13 Built Environment Professionals as Sustainability Advocates
      1. 13.1 A view from ‘the middle’
      2. 13.2 Built environment professionals as sustainability advocates
      3. 13.3 Challenges in being a sustainability advocate
      4. 13.4 Opportunities for more effective sustainability advocacy
      5. 13.5 Personal reflections on practice
      6. 13.6 Conclusions
      7. Acknowledgements
      8. References
  14. Part 4: Transformative Technologies and Innovation
    1. 14 Energy Interactions
      1. 14.1 Introduction: energy interactions
      2. 14.2 Emerging trends with energy supply and power system challenges
      3. 14.3 Understanding energy demand
      4. 14.4 Balancing supply and demand
      5. 14.5 Characteristics of balancing options
      6. 14.6 Emerging challenges
      7. 14.7 Conclusions
      8. References
    2. 15 Sustained Innovation Uptake in Construction
      1. 15.1 Introduction
      2. 15.2 Background
      3. 15.3 Central themes of innovation
      4. 15.4 Where to look at the problem from
      5. 15.5 Sustained innovation uptake through networks
      6. 15.6 Incentives for the supply network
      7. 15.7 Market networks
      8. 15.8 Summary: seeing both the wood and the trees
      9. 15.9 Concluding thoughts
      10. References
    3. 16 Humanising the Digital
      1. 16.1 Introduction
      2. 16.2 Previous futures
      3. 16.3 Social appropriateness of digital technologies
      4. 16.4 Socio‐digital integration
      5. 16.5 Conclusions: the consequences for humanising the digital world
      6. References
  15. Part 5: Conclusions and Common Themes
    1. 17 Understanding and Shaping Sustainable Futures in the Built Environment to 2050
      1. 17.1 Introduction
      2. 17.2 Understanding the future
      3. 17.3 What lies ahead for the built environment? Lessons from the chapters
      4. 17.4 Shaping the future: techniques, practice and policy
      5. References
  16. Index
  17. End User License Agreement

Product information

  • Title: Sustainable Futures in the Built Environment to 2050
  • Author(s): Tim Dixon, John Connaughton, Stuart Green
  • Release date: February 2018
  • Publisher(s): Wiley-Blackwell
  • ISBN: 9781119063810