Climate change adaptation and resilience

Climate adaptation and resilience is a complex, multiagency and multidisciplinary challenge. Buro Happold offers a interconnected global network of technical experts and problem-solvers to help you manage climate risk and augment your adaptive capacity across all your assets. This may range from buildings and infrastructure to city and district scale.

As the climate changes, we are experiencing the impact of environmental, social and political conditions such as global supply chains, urban infrastructures, the spread and emergence of pests and diseases, water supplies and ecosystems. Our cities could see temperature rises of several degrees by the end of the century, whilst flooding and extreme weather conditions are becoming more frequent and intense worldwide.

The impacts of these climate risks are social, economic, environmental and technical. They vary significantly based on local context, resources and capacity. Climate risks exacerbate social vulnerabilities. Our work with the Los Angeles County Vulnerability Assessment is an example of how proactively identifying the people, places and systems most vulnerable to the effects of climate change can inform strategies that enable communities to flourish equitably, despite the risks faced.

Establishing an effective response is also a financial challenge. Factors such as changing land values in high and low risk geographies, new regulatory design and performance standards as we manage overheating and flood risk, escalating frequency of shock events like pandemics and crop failures all have significant financial and planning implications for cities and asset owners.

At Buro Happold, we understand this is an interdisciplinary challenge. Our experts understand how to deal with the high level of climate uncertainty by taking a systems view to diagnosing the issues, as well as an inclusive and participatory approach to developing appropriate solutions. We are committed to developing equitable climate resilience strategies that deliver wider social and economic benefits. Our work enables our built environments, our planet and our communities to thrive for future generations.

Our specialist services include:

• Climate risk assessment for buildings, infrastructure, operations and service delivery
• Climate risk and vulnerability assessment covering flooding, water resource management, extreme heat and natural capital
• Social and physical vulnerability assessment
• Analysis of future climate scenarios
• Stakeholder workshops and engagement
• Social value consulting, measurement and reporting
• Health impact assessment
• Management of biodiversity risk
• Climate action planning and strategy development
• Climate change adaptive pathway planning
• Programme delivery and organisation
• Organisational transformation
• Socioeconomic analysis and strategy
• Economic and financial appraisal and business case
• Nature based solutions for climate change
• Microclimate analysis and intervention planning
• Evidence base for local plans and supplementary planning guidance
• Funding strategies and implementation planning.