Climate shelters

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Climate shelters are a place of refuge for populations that seek shelter from extreme climate events exacerbated by the effects of urban heat islands. They include cooling centers, but also encompass parks and other outdoor spaces designed to provide a harbor for cooler temperatures than surrounding areas. Several cities have designed programs to implement urban climate shelters.

Contents

Purpose

Climate shelters are essential urban facilities aimed at facilitating adaptation to extreme weather events, particularly heat waves, which have been increasingly linked to elevated mortality rates. [1] These shelters, whether situated indoors or outdoors, are designed to maintain a safe and comfortable temperature for individuals vulnerable to extreme weather conditions. [1]

Benefits

Climate shelters offer crucial protection for communities vulnerable to climate-related disasters like floods, storms, and extreme temperatures. [2] These designs not only reduce the risk of damage but also prove cost-effective in the long run by preventing losses. [2] For economically disadvantaged communities, access to affordable resilient housing is particularly vital, as it helps safeguard their homes and livelihoods. [2]

Innovative solutions, often identified through competitions, have shown that even simple and low-cost design features can significantly enhance the resilience of homes. [2] Moreover, both qualitative and quantitative analyses consistently demonstrate that investments in resilient housing yield high benefit-cost ratios across various scenarios. [2] This emphasizes the economic justification for prioritizing such initiatives.

They remain a crucial component of broader climate adaptation strategies, offering tangible benefits in terms of risk reduction, cost savings, and community resilience. [2] By investing in resilient housing, we not only protect lives and property but also contribute to sustainable development and climate resilience in vulnerable communities. [2]

Challenges

Despite the clear advantages, barriers to accessing resilient housing persist, primarily due to challenges in securing affordable financing and ensuring builders are adequately trained and aware of resilient design principles. [3] Addressing these barriers is essential to ensure that vulnerable populations can benefit from the protection offered by resilient shelters. [3]

Climate shelters face numerous challenges, stemming primarily from the dynamic and often unpredictable nature of climate change itself. [3] Firstly, there's the issue of design and construction - shelters must be resilient to extreme weather events such as hurricanes, floods, or wildfires, while also being adaptable to changing conditions over time. [3] This demands innovative engineering solutions and materials that can withstand harsh environmental conditions. Secondly, there's the logistical challenge of placement and maintenance. [3] Identifying suitable locations for shelters involves complex considerations of geography, population density, and vulnerability to climate risks. [3] Additionally, maintaining shelters in remote or disaster-prone areas can be costly and resource-intensive. [3] Moreover, ensuring equitable access to shelters for marginalized communities poses another significant challenge, requiring proactive policies and strategies to address socio-economic disparities. Finally, there's the overarching challenge of funding and political will, as the implementation of climate shelters often requires substantial investment and long-term commitment from governments and other stakeholders. [3]

It is difficult for cities with Climate Shelter programs to ensure their services are accessible to all populations, especially those without adequate structures or parks nearby in which to construct shelters. In Barcelona, the organization Barcelona Social Emergency and Urgent Care Centre (CUESB) oversees the city's social services pertaining to heat-related events. [4] If risk is at a maximum, CUESB is able to transport vulnerable populations to areas where they can obtain access to climate shelters. [4]

Through the lens of intersectional climate justice, including surveys conducted within the climate-exposed community of La Prosperitat, it has been revealed that the current climate shelters may not fully meet the needs and expectations of the most vulnerable populations. [3] Marginalized groups face intersecting vulnerabilities that often go unaddressed, primarily due to disparities in access to coping mechanisms compounded by their social positions. [3]

Notably, low-income residents and individuals originating from Global South countries are disproportionately affected by housing inadequacies and energy poverty, rendering them the most susceptible and least equipped to cope with extreme temperatures. [3] Furthermore, women exhibit heightened sensitivity to climate impacts and express greater concerns regarding present and future risks. [3]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Natural disaster</span> Type of adverse event

A natural disaster is the very harmful impact on a society or community after a natural hazard event. Some examples of natural hazard events include avalanches, droughts, earthquakes, floods, heat waves, landslides, tropical cyclones, volcanic activity and wildfires. Additional natural hazards include blizzards, dust storms, firestorms, hails, ice storms, sinkholes, thunderstorms, tornadoes and tsunamis. A natural disaster can cause loss of life or damage property. It typically causes economic damage. How bad the damage is depends on how well people are prepared for disasters and how strong the buildings, roads, and other structures are. Scholars have been saying that the term natural disaster is unsuitable and should be abandoned. Instead, the simpler term disaster could be used. At the same time the type of hazard would be specified. A disaster happens when a natural or human-made hazard impacts a vulnerable community. It results from the combination of the hazard and the exposure of a vulnerable society.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Extreme weather</span> Unusual, severe or unseasonal weather

Extreme weather includes unexpected, unusual, severe, or unseasonal weather; weather at the extremes of the historical distribution—the range that has been seen in the past. Extreme events are based on a location's recorded weather history. They are defined as lying in the most unusual ten percent. The main types of extreme weather include heat waves, cold waves and heavy precipitation or storm events, such as tropical cyclones. The effects of extreme weather events are economic costs, loss of human lives, droughts, floods, landslides. Severe weather is a particular type of extreme weather which poses risks to life and property.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Climate change adaptation</span> Process of adjusting to effects of climate change

Climate change adaptation is the process of adjusting to the effects of climate change. These can be both current or expected impacts. Adaptation aims to moderate or avoid harm for people, and is usually done alongside climate change mitigation. It also aims to exploit opportunities. Humans may also intervene to help adjust for natural systems. There are many adaptation strategies or options. For instance, building hospitals that can withstand natural disasters, roads that don't get washed away in the face of rains and floods. They can help manage impacts and risks to people and nature. The four types of adaptation actions are infrastructural, institutional, behavioural and nature-based options. Some examples of these are building seawalls or inland flood defenses, providing new insurance schemes, changing crop planting times or varieties, and installing green roofs or green spaces. Adaptation can be reactive or proactive.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Disaster risk reduction</span> Preventing and reducing disaster risk factors

Disaster risk reduction aims to make disasters less likely to happen. The approach, also called DRR or disaster risk management, also aims to make disasters less damaging when they do occur. DRR aims to make communities stronger and better prepared to handle disasters. In technical terms, it aims to make them more resilient or less vulnerable. When DRR is successful, it makes communities less the vulnerable because it mitigates the effects of disasters. This means DRR can make risky events fewer and less severe. Climate change can increase climate hazards. So development efforts often consider DRR and climate change adaptation together.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Water security</span> A goal of water management to harness water-related opportunities and manage risks

The aim of water security is to make the most of water's benefits for humans and ecosystems. The second aim is to limit the risks of destructive impacts of water to an acceptable level. These risks include for example too much water (flood), too little water or poor quality (polluted) water. People who live with a high level of water security always have access to "an acceptable quantity and quality of water for health, livelihoods and production". For example, access to water, sanitation and hygiene services is one part of water security. Some organizations use the term water security more narrowly for water supply aspects only.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Climate change and poverty</span> Correlation of disproportionate impacts of climate on impoverished people

Climate change and poverty are deeply intertwined because climate change disproportionally affects poor people in low-income communities and developing countries around the world. The impoverished have a higher chance of experiencing the ill-effects of climate change due to the increased exposure and vulnerability. Vulnerability represents the degree to which a system is susceptible to, or unable to cope with, adverse effects of climate change including climate variability and extremes.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Urban resilience</span> Ability of a city to function after a crisis

Urban resilience has conventionally been defined as the "measurable ability of any urban system, with its inhabitants, to maintain continuity through all shocks and stresses, while positively adapting and transforming towards sustainability".

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Climate change in Bangladesh</span> Emissions, effects and responses of Bangladesh related to climate change

Climate change is a critical issue in Bangladesh. as the country is one of the most vulnerable to the effects of climate change. In the 2020 edition of Germanwatch's Climate Risk Index, it ranked seventh in the list of countries most affected by climate calamities during the period 1999–2018. Bangladesh's vulnerability to the effects of climate change is due to a combination of geographical factors, such as its flat, low-lying, and delta-exposed topography. and socio-economic factors, including its high population density, levels of poverty, and dependence on agriculture. The impacts and potential threats include sea level rise, temperature rise, food crisis, droughts, floods, and cyclones.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Climate and Development Knowledge Network</span> Network for Climate knowledge and development

The Climate and Development Knowledge Network (CDKN) works to enhance the quality of life for the poorest and most vulnerable to climate change. CDKN does this by combining research, advisory services and knowledge management in support of locally owned and managed policy processes. It works in partnership with decision-makers in the public, private and non-governmental sectors nationally, regionally and globally.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Effects of climate change on human health</span>

The effects of climate change on human health are profound and increase the likelihood of many diseases and conditions. There is widespread agreement among researchers, health professionals and organizations that climate change is the biggest global health threat of the 21st century.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Resilience (engineering and construction)</span> Infrastructure design able to absorb damage without suffering complete failure

In the fields of engineering and construction, resilience is the ability to absorb or avoid damage without suffering complete failure and is an objective of design, maintenance and restoration for buildings and infrastructure, as well as communities. A more comprehensive definition is that it is the ability to respond, absorb, and adapt to, as well as recover in a disruptive event. A resilient structure/system/community is expected to be able to resist to an extreme event with minimal damages and functionality disruptions during the event; after the event, it should be able to rapidly recovery its functionality similar to or even better than the pre-event level.

Climate resilience is a concept to describe how well people or ecosystems are prepared to bounce back from certain climate hazard events. The formal definition of the term is the "capacity of social, economic and ecosystems to cope with a hazardous event or trend or disturbance". For example, climate resilience can be the ability to recover from climate-related shocks such as floods and droughts. Different actions can increase climate resilience of communities and ecosystems to help them cope. They can help to keep systems working in the face of external forces. For example, building a seawall to protect a coastal community from flooding might help maintain existing ways of life there.

Passive survivability refers to a building's ability to maintain critical life-support conditions in the event of extended loss of power, heating fuel, or water. This idea proposes that designers should incorporate ways for a building to continue sheltering inhabitants for an extended period of time during and after a disaster situation, whether it be a storm that causes a power outage, a drought which limits water supply, or any other possible event.

Community resilience is the sustained ability of a community to use available resources to respond to, withstand, and recover from adverse situations. This allows for the adaptation and growth of a community after disaster strikes. Communities that are resilient are able to minimize any disaster, making the return to normal life as effortless as possible. By implementing a community resilience plan, a community can come together and overcome any disaster, while rebuilding physically and economically.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Climate change in Puerto Rico</span> Climate change in the US territory of Puerto Rico

Climate change has had large impacts on the ecosystems and landscapes of the US territory Puerto Rico. According to a 2019 report by Germanwatch, Puerto Rico is the most affected by climate change. The territory's energy consumption is mainly derived from imported fossil fuels.

Ecosystem-based adaptation encompasses a broad set of approaches to adapt to climate change. They all involve the management of ecosystems and their services to reduce the vulnerability of human communities to the impacts of climate change. The Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD) defines EBA as "the use of biodiversity and ecosystem services as part of an overall adaptation strategy to help people to adapt to the adverse effects of climate change".

<span class="mw-page-title-main">2020 Middle East storms</span>

The 2020 Middle East storms occurred on 12 March 2020 when the Gulf of Aqaba-Eilat was struck by an intense storm system, in the form of a cyclone, that brought heavy rain, thunderstorms, floods and sandstorms to 9 countries in the eastern Mediterranean. The countries that were affected by the storm include Egypt, Jordan, Israel, Syria, Lebanon, Turkey, Saudi Arabia, Sudan, Iran and Iraq.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Climate change and cities</span>

Climate change and cities are deeply connected. Cities are one of the greatest contributors and likely best opportunities for addressing climate change. Cities are also one of the most vulnerable parts of the human society to the effects of climate change, and likely one of the most important solutions for reducing the environmental impact of humans. The UN projects that 68% of the world population will live in urban areas by 2050. In the year 2016, 31 mega-cities reported having at least 10 million in their population, 8 of which surpassed 20 million people. However, secondary cities - small to medium size cities are rapidly increasing in number and are some of the fastest growing urbanizing areas in the world further contributing to climate change impacts. Cities have a significant influence on construction and transportation—two of the key contributors to global warming emissions. Moreover, because of processes that create climate conflict and climate refugees, city areas are expected to grow during the next several decades, stressing infrastructure and concentrating more impoverished peoples in cities.

Climate change vulnerability is a concept that describes how strongly people or ecosystems are likely to be affected by climate change. Its formal definition is the "propensity or predisposition to be adversely affected" by climate change. It can apply to humans and also to natural systems. Issues around the capacity to cope and adapt are also part of this concept. Vulnerability is a component of climate risk. It differs within communities and also across societies, regions, and countries. It can increase or decrease over time. Vulnerability is generally a bigger problem for people in low-income countries than for those in high-income countries.

Climate gentrification is a subset of climate migration, in which certain lower-socioeconomic communities are displaced in place of housing for more wealthy communities. Areas affected by this phenomenon are typically coastal cities, islands, and other vulnerable areas that are susceptible to rising sea levels, extreme weather events, and other climate-related disasters.

References

  1. 1 2 "Climate Shelters Network | Barcelona for Climate | Ajuntament de Barcelona". www.barcelona.cat. Retrieved 2024-02-27.
  2. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 "Sheltering From a Gathering Storm: The Costs and Benefits of Climate Resilient ShelterSheltering From a Gathering Storm: The Costs and Benefits of Climate Resilient Shelter". iset. Retrieved 2024-03-19.
  3. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 Amorim-Maia, Ana T.; Anguelovski, Isabelle; Connolly, James; Chu, Eric (2023-10-01). "Seeking refuge? The potential of urban climate shelters to address intersecting vulnerabilities". Landscape and Urban Planning. 238: 104836. Bibcode:2023LUrbP.23804836A. doi:10.1016/j.landurbplan.2023.104836. ISSN   0169-2046.
  4. 1 2 "Nearly 200 climate shelters to beat the heat in the city | Info Barcelona | Barcelona City Council". www.barcelona.cat. Retrieved 2024-03-12.
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