ABSTRACT
This chapter explores ideas around the word ‘resilience’ in relation to the built environment. It raises the questions how do we measure resilience, and how do we break out of a ‘business-as-usual’ mind-set to design buildings and settlements that are more resilient in the near, medium and long term futures? Borrowing a technical definition of resilience for material scientists, the chapter then goes on to explore ‘adaptive capacity’, namely the ability of buildings and settlements to adapt. It asks what are determinants and indicators for adaptability, and takes the case of the Scottish Government’s 2009 Climate Change legislation and its Scottish Climate Change Adaptation Programme to show the pioneering development of locally appropriate adaptation indicators. It then moves on to look at resilience in individual building design, looking at the advantages of the British Ecohouse over Passive House approach as one that is better suited for climate-readiness.
