Embodied carbon minimisation of retrofit solutions for walls

Energy saving in a building is mainly a function of the performance of building insulation and equipment. However, initial embodied carbon dioxide emissions increase as the operational energy decreases, so selecting the best energy retrofit solution should take this into account, together with building-specific needs. Currently there is no regulation of embodied carbon dioxide emissions in the European Union construction industry. The effectiveness of a low-carbon dioxide emission project should be judged by its energy in use together with the building-specific needs, not the total of the energy expended in its retrofit. Three different buildings with different occupant behaviours were studied, and five different retrofit solutions for the external rendering of walls were tested. The objective was to establish a relationship between the initial embodied carbon dioxide of a retrofit solution and the real operational energy consumed. A probabilistic approach was developed to predict the number of years that each solution takes to reduce the embodied carbon dioxide to 0·15 kg/kWh of operational energy in each building. The use of cork in mortars represents the most positive measure to reduce embodied carbon dioxide and increase energy efficiency

Design hazard identification and the link to site experience

The training, development and routes to charteredship of building design engineers have undergone a major transformation in recent years. Additionally, the duration and quality of site experience being gained by designers is reducing. While accident causation is often complex, previous research shows a potential link between design and construction accidents. The effectiveness of the UK’s Construction (Design and Management) (CDM) Regulations is being questioned, and designers regularly do not recognise the impact they can make on site safety. A newly developed hazard perception test was used to determine if students and design practitioners are able to identify hazards in designs and to establish if site experience impacts hazard identification. The results of the tests show an association between the ability to identify and mitigate hazards and possession of site experience. The results provide empirical evidence that supports previous anecdotal evidence. The results also question if the design engineers of today are suitably equipped to fulfil the designer’s responsibilities under the CDM Regulations

The Risk of Unexploded Ordnance on Construction Sites in London

Greater London, among many large cities, was subject to bombing by the German military in both the World Wars and was the target of many air raids during the Second World War (WW2). This was particularly the case during the Blitz, September 1940 – May 1941, when over 28,000 high explosive bombs and parachute mines were dropped on London. Post war research conducted in 1949 estimated that approximately 12,750 t of bombs, including V1 and V2 rockets, were dropped on London. The night of 16th – 17th April 1941 was one of the worst bombing raids, when 446 t of bombs were dropped on London and over 58 t did not detonate. Unexploded bombs remain buried underground today, as they were unidentified at the time or abandoned owing to difficulties in recovering them. Uncharted bombs continue to pose a potentially significant hazard for developments around London. This paper considers the probability of discovering unexploded ordnance (UXO), particularly WW2 ordnance, during intrusive groundworks in London. The prevalence of unexploded ordnance has been assessed using data obtained from governmental organisations to estimate the likelihood of discovery in London

Incremental residential densification and urban spatial justice: The case of England between 2001 and 2011

Study of the relation between urban density and social equity has been based mostly upon comparative analysis at the city level. It therefore fails to address variations in intra-urban experience and sheds no light on the process of urban densification. Incremental residential development is particularly poorly recorded and under-researched, yet cumulatively it makes a substantial contribution to the supply of dwellings. The article presents a detailed examination of this form of development in England between 2001 and 2011, and considers its impact on urban spatial justice. We find that the incidence of soft residential densification was very uneven. It had disproportionately large effects on neighbourhoods that were already densely developed and that were characterised by lower income households with access to relatively little residential space. It thus contributed to an increase in the level of inequality in the distribution of residential space, increasing socio-spatial injustice

How can the UK road system be adapted to the impacts posed by climate change? By creating a climate adaptation framework

This paper aims to analyse the impacts of climate change to the current and predicted future situations of road transportation in the UK and evaluate the corresponding adaptation plans to cope with them. A conceptual framework of long-term adaptation planning for climate change in road systems is proposed to ensure the resilience and sustainability of road transport systems under various climate risks such as flooding and increased temperature. To do so, an advanced Fuzzy Bayesian Reasoning (FBR) model is first employed to evaluate the climate risks in the UK road transport networks. This modelling approach can tackle the high uncertainty in risk data and thus facilitate the development of the climate adaptation framework and its application in the UK road sector. To examine the feasibility of this model, a nationwide survey is conducted among the stakeholders to analyse the climate risks, in terms of the timeframe of climate threats, the likelihood of occurrence, the severity of consequences, and infrastructure resilience. From the modelling perspective, this work brings novelty by expanding the risk attribute “the severity of consequence” into three sub-attributes including economic loss, damage to the environment, and injuries and/or loss of life. It advances the-state-of-the-art technique in the current relevant literature from a single to multiple tier climate risk modelling structure. Secondly, an Evidential Reasoning (ER) approach is used to prioritise the best adaptation measure(s) by considering both the risk analysis results from the FBR and the implementation costs simultaneously. The main new contributions of this part lie in the rich raw data collected from the real world to provide useful practical insights for achieving road resilience when facing increasing climate risk challenges. During this process, a qualitative analysis of several national reports regarding the impacts posed by climate change, risk assessment and adaptation measures in the UK road sector is conducted for the relevant decision data (i.e. risk and cost). It is also supplemented by an in-depth interview with a senior planner from Highways England. The findings provide road planners and decision makers with useful insights on identification and prioritisation of climate threats as well as selection of cost-effective climate adaptation measures to rationalise adaptation planning. © 2019 Elsevier Lt

Change in the political economy of land value capture in England

Variations in the character, performance and impact of policies and practices to capture land value for the community are usually examined by analysing experience in different countries. Such international comparative research is cross-sectional and does not cover the evolving relations between systems of land value capture and the economies, polities and societies within which they are set. This paper examines the relations in England between the extant political economy and supporting ideologies, and the distinctive forms of land value capture that they produced. It traces the shift from a top-down, strategic approach in an era of corporatist government before 1979 to the subsequent extension and consolidation of bottom-up practice set within the context of neo-liberalism. The analysis highlights the evolution of the idea of land value capture and the policies and practices associated with it, especially the contestation that informed such changes