Towards a more resilient built environment

Abstract

Over time, humankind’s lifestyle became increasingly dependent on finite resources. It follows that such a system is unable to sustain itself indefinitely. Several studies show that in the near future the climate may radically change and oil production will peak. Changes in the natural environment will possibly be so overwhelming that man has to radically change its response to environmental changes and thus its lifestyle. To cope with consequences of climate change the current efforts toward sustainability are likely not to suffice. An approach towards resilience is another way to deal with risks associated with climate change. Resilience is the capacity of a system to absorb disturbance and reorganize while undergoing change, so as to retain essentially the same function, structure, identity and feedbacks. A resilience approach offers a strategy to reduce dependence on finite sources. Thus, basing society on the resilience principle, by result society adheres to commonly accepted definitions of a sustainable society. The built environment can be regarded as the physical representation of society. Likewise the built environment influences society. Since society is not resilient enough, neither can be the built environment. It follows that when society becomes more resilient, this will affect the built environment in a positive way and vice versa. This paper outlines the theoretical framework for a resilience approach to the built environment, resulting in a more sustainable built environment than at present. This is done by discussing relevant literature and synthesizing concepts from the fields of ecology, sociology, sustainability and urban design.