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Buildings and Cities special issue co-guest edited by IEDE academic Anna Mavrogianni
16 July 2020
Institute for Environmental Design and Engineering Associate Professor Dr Anna Mavrogianni has guest edited the latest Special Issue of Buildings and Cities entitled Climate Justice: The Role of the Built Environment alongside Dr Sonja Klinsky from Arizona State University.
IEDE academic Dr Anna Mavrogianni and Dr Sonja Klinsky from Arizona State University have guest edited the latest Buildings and Cities special issue on Climate Justice: The Role of the Built Environment. This special issue explores the concept and relevance of climate justice in relation to the built environment. How do responsibilities and decisions intersect with human wellbeing in a changing climate?
Dr Mavrogianni said:
Disadvantaged groups will be disproportionately affected by climate change due to their limited ability to adapt, cope and recover. The built environment is long-lasting and slow to change, so it is critical to address this as a key issue now. We hope that this Special Issue will function as a primer on what climate justice means, why it matters and how it can be integrated within built environment research and practice. A set of processes is proposed for different built environment actors and stakeholders to avoid or reduce social injustices related to climate change.”
This special issue also examines several perspectives for integrating concerns about climate justice into research and decision-making about the built environment. For example, what is climate justice and why is it a significant issue? What processes can be used to reduce inequalities and injustices in the built environment?
Chief Executive of UK Green Building Council, Julie Hirigoyen said:
“As we gather pace on our journey to net zero carbon, the built environment industry mustn’t lose sight of the human dimension of the climate crisis. There are profound inequalities in how people will experience the impacts of climate change and potentially further injustices in the decisions we make to mitigate against it. The built environment provides opportunities to address such injustices as well as reinforcing them if not tackled head on. UKGBC is delighted that Buildings & Cities is raising this important topic.”
This Special Issue is increasingly pertinent as ongoing and future anthropogenic climate change will exacerbate inequalities worldwide shining a light on questions of justice and how they are embedded in every aspect of climate change.