SNACC: Suburban Neighbourhood Adaptation for a Changing Climate - identifying effective, practical and acceptable means of suburban re-design
Lead Research Organisation:
Oxford Brookes University
Department Name: Faculty of Tech, Design and Environment
Abstract
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Organisations
- Oxford Brookes University (Lead Research Organisation)
- Joseph Rowntree Foundation (JRF) (Collaboration)
- Constructing Excellence (Project Partner)
- Stockport Metropolitan Borough Council (Project Partner)
- Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government (Project Partner)
- Bristol City Council (Project Partner)
- Royal Town Planning Institute (Project Partner)
- Innovate UK (Project Partner)
- White Design (United Kingdom) (Project Partner)
- Design Council (Project Partner)
- Oxford City Council (Project Partner)
- Improvement & Dev Agency for Local Gov (Project Partner)
- Forum for the Future (Project Partner)
People |
ORCID iD |
| Rajat Gupta (Principal Investigator) |
Publications
Gupta R
(2011)
Adapting UK suburban neighbourhoods and dwellings for a changing climate
in Advances in Building Energy Research
Gupta R
(2013)
Evaluative application of UKCP09-based downscaled future weather years to simulate overheating risk in typical English homes
in Structural Survey
Gupta R
(2013)
Cooling the UK housing stock post-2050
Gupta R
(2013)
Preventing the overheating of English suburban homes in a warming climate
in Building Research & Information
Gupta R
(2012)
International Encyclopedia of Housing and Home
Gupta R
(2012)
Using UK climate change projections to adapt existing English homes for a warming climate
in Building and Environment
Gupta R
(2015)
Cooling the UK housing stock post-2050s
in Building Services Engineering Research and Technology
Gupta R
(2012)
Adapting UK suburban homes for a warming climate
Smith I
(2013)
Integrated suburban neighbourhood adaptation due to climate change Local stakeholders' views on potential pathways for change
in Structural Survey
Williams K
(2013)
Retrofitting England's suburbs to adapt to climate change
in Building Research & Information
Williams K
(2010)
Adapting to Climate Change in the Compact City: The Suburban Challenge
in Built Environment
Williams K
(2012)
The conditions for, and challenges of, adapting England's suburbs for climate change
in Building and Environment
| Description | England's suburbs need protection from future climate change. They will experience hotter and drier summers, with more heat-waves, and winters that are milder, and wetter, with more storms, and the potential for more flooding. Hence, the SNACC project answers the questions: How can existing suburban neighbourhoods in England be 'best' adapted to reduce further impacts of climate change and withstand ongoing changes? and; What are the processes that bring about climate-change motivated adaptation in suburban areas? We sought to find out which adaptations to the physical environment of homes, gardens and suburban public spaces work best and how they can be delivered. In testing adaptations we determined if they were effective, feasible and acceptable. The project used a combination of modelling (using DECoRuM - Domestic Energy, Carbon Counting and Carbon Reduction Model), visualisations and workshops with residents and stakeholders to determine what effective adaptation would be. We undertook the research in 6 suburbs in 3 cities: Oxford, Stockport and Bristol. We found that at the home and garden scales some mitigation and adaptation actions are taking place, but not because people are driven by 'climate change'. Residents are motivated by, for example, saving money, the image of their home, and DIY. At the neighbourhood scale, very little adaptive action is taking place, and there is no clear process, or delivery mechanism, for adaptation and/or mitigation. In terms of identifying the 'best' adaptations, there is no 'one size fits all' adaptation package. However, to be effective in the future, we need to combine 'adaptive retrofitting' with 'low carbon retrofitting'. Although the UK is projected to remain a heating dominated climate, adaptive measures to reduce the risk of future overheating on a house level are urgently needed. For residents, the 'best' adaptations tend to be cheap, convenient, practical, and attractive. In terms of mitigating climate change, home energy saving adaptations (e.g. roof and wall insulation, double/triple glazing, photovoltaics) were effective in almost all suburbs. Increased greening of homes and gardens has multiple benefits. To reduce flood risks, adaptations need to address pluvial as well as fluvial flooding. A number of individual house-scale adaptations can work, but they need to leave the neighbourhood or home more resilient after a flood than before (and this is not the norm). To address overheating, a number of adaptations are effective, but their performance depends on the characteristics of the home: external shading is more effective than internal; increasing the reflectivity of the exterior surfaces of homes, or adding thermal mass, reduces overheating; external insulation is effective in either reducing overheating risk or minimising the increase in overheating risk that would happen as a result of installing insulation; and reducing internal gains is effective and cheap. At the neighbourhood scale, blue and green infrastructure is likely to bring cooling benefits. To protect suburbs from storm damage a number of individual adaptations are effective, but residents are unlikely to implement them in advance of extreme events. To adapt to droughts and water stress, rainwater harvesting systems, and measures such as water butts are effective. At the neighbourhood scale, climate-resilient planting is effective, as are SUDS, but they are likely to be both expensive and disruptive to retrofit. Our research into what might motivate change revealed that people believe they will act if and when they experience different weather patterns. Institutional stakeholders see the need to consider adaptation in their long-term planning and day-to-day activities. All groups reported a lack of resources to adapt, and a lack of clarity about who was responsible for leading action. Residents needed information about adaptation to be clear, delivered at critical times, and from trusted agencies. |
| Exploitation Route | Policy makers dealing with climate change at all levels Local authorities developing climate adaptation strategies Householders, community groups and NGOs seeking advice on how best to adapt their homes, gardens and neighbourhoods |
| Sectors | Communities and Social Services/Policy,Construction,Environment,Government, Democracy and Justice |
| URL | https://snacc.wordpress.com/ |
| Description | SNACC project assessed the risk of climate change driven overheating for existing suburban homes. The effectiveness ranking of interventions for tackling overheating in homes6 have been explicitly applied in Department for Communities and Local Governments seminal report, published in 2012, 'Investigation into overheating in homes. The report, citing Professor Gupta's research directly, identifies policy instruments to tackle future overheating in new build (Building Regulations) and refurbishments (National Green Deal advice). Furthermore, overheating findings from SNACC research project have been taken up and disseminated through a National Overheating Guidance note prepared by United Kingdom Climate Impact Programme (on behalf of Department for Communities and Local Governments) with endorsement from the Green Deal Oversight and Registration Body in addition to Department for Energy and Climate Change. This guidance note was distributed to all Green Deal advisors and assessors. In addition to these, UK's Adaptation and Resilience to a Changing Climate Coordination Network (ARCC-CAN) has taken up SNACC's research findings on overheating to produce a detailed guidance note to underpin the National Overheating Guidance Note. Impacts from DECoRuM-adapt model are continuing to be realised through Professor Gupta's continued engagement with industry and communities of interest. Since 2010, the risk-based methodological approach developed in the SNACC project has been successfully applied in five Technology Strategy Board (Now Innovate UK)-funded 'Design for future climate' projects with nationally leading architectural practices and consultancies e.g. Farrells, BDP Partnership, Medical architecture, Penoyre and Prasad LLP, and Ridge and Partners. The projects have systematically evaluated, through downscaling of UK climate change projections and simulation, the potential for incorporating adaptation strategies for tackling overheating into live designs of future low/zero carbon homes, schools and hospitals in the UK. In particular, findings from one of the Design for future climate project on future-proofing NW Bicester eco-town, has led to the introduction of a new local planning requirement for developers by Cherwell District Council, related to testing of new housing for overheating in 2050s. |
| First Year Of Impact | 2012 |
| Sector | Construction,Environment,Government, Democracy and Justice |
| Impact Types | Societal |
| Description | DCLG, 2012: Overheating in Homes - Literature Review and Overheating in Homes |
| Geographic Reach | National |
| Policy Influence Type | Citation in other policy documents |
| URL | https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/7604/2185850.pdf |
| Description | Climate Resilience of Care Settings |
| Amount | £251,957 (GBP) |
| Funding ID | NE/S016767/1 |
| Organisation | Natural Environment Research Council |
| Sector | Public |
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Start | 02/2019 |
| End | 01/2020 |
| Description | Care provision fit for a future climate |
| Organisation | Joseph Rowntree Foundation (JRF) |
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Sector | Charity/Non Profit |
| PI Contribution | Hotter, drier summers with heatwaves of greater frequency and intensity have serious implications for the UK's ageing population. Oxford Brookes University led a JRF funded study with Universities of Lancaster and Manchester to review existing evidence and present primary research in four case study care settings (two residential and two extra care) in England to assess the risks of summertime overheating, and investigate the preparedness of the care settings, both now and in the future. The study showed that: - Summertime overheating is both a current and future risk in care schemes, yet there is currently little awareness or preparedness at all levels, from designers to frontline staff, to implement suitable and long-term adaptation strategies; - There is a perception that older people 'feel the cold', but less recognition that heat can also present a significant health risk; design for overheating is not commonplace; there is low prioritisation of overheating and future climate change (in briefing and design); - There is a mismatch between the overheating risks predicted by climate modelling and those measured by empirical monitoring, which underplays present-day risks from high temperatures; - There is a lack of effective heat management across the case studies due to a number of design and management issues, including lack of investment in appropriate strategies (such as external shading), conflicts between passive cooling strategies and occupant requirements; and collaboration among government departments and professional institutions is necessary to harmonise and standardise health-related and building thermal comfort-related overheating thresholds, with particular consideration for care settings |
| Collaborator Contribution | JRF has funded this study and helped us to disseminate the findings to the care sector and policy-makers including Public Health England. |
| Impact | (1) Gupta, R. and Gregg, M. (2017) Care provision fit for a warming climate, Architectural Science Review, 60:4, 275-285, DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/00038628.2017.1336984 (2) Gupta, R., Barnfield, M. and Gregg, M. (2017) Overheating in care settings: magnitude, causes, preparedness and remedies, Building Research and Information, 45:1-2, 83-101, DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/09613218.2016.1227923 |
| Start Year | 2015 |
| Title | DECoRuM-Adapt |
| Description | DECoRuM© (Domestic Energy, Carbon counting and carbon Reduction Model) is a GIS-based toolkit for carbon emissions reduction planning with the capability to estimate current energy-related CO2 emissions and effectiveness of mitigation strategies in existing UK dwellings, aggregating the results to a street, district and city level. For the SNACC project DECoRuM was further developed as DECoRuM-Adapt© to rapidly assess the probabilistic impact of climate change on energy use, overheating potential and the effectiveness of adaptation strategies for modelled dwellings and neighbourhoods. |
| Type Of Technology | Software |
| Year Produced | 2011 |
| Impact | Impact unknown |
| Description | 2011 UK/Ireland Planning Research Conference: Planning Resilient Communities in Challenging Times |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | Yes |
| Geographic Reach | National |
| Primary Audience | Other academic audiences (collaborators, peers etc.) |
| Results and Impact | Results unknown Impact unknown |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2011 |
| Description | SNACC: Suburban neighbourhood adaptation for a changing climate. KEYNOTE. Adapting Buildings for Resilient Cities, 25 February 2016, LONDON, UK |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | National |
| Primary Audience | Professional Practitioners |
| Results and Impact | KEYNOTE. Adapting Buildings for Resilient Cities |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2016 |
| Description | 1st International Conference on Urban Sustainability and Resilience at UCL London |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an activity, workshop or similar |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | Yes |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Other academic audiences (collaborators, peers etc.) |
| Results and Impact | Results unknown Impact unknown |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2012 |
| Description | 2010 Joint stakeholder/researcher forum |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A formal working group, expert panel or dialogue |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | Yes |
| Geographic Reach | National |
| Primary Audience | Professional Practitioners |
| Results and Impact | Talk sparked questions and discussion afterwards. Impact unknown |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2010 |
| URL | http://www.arcc-network.org.uk/project-summaries/snacc/ |
| Description | 2011 ARCC conference |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | Yes |
| Geographic Reach | National |
| Primary Audience | Professional Practitioners |
| Results and Impact | The talk and poster sparked questions and discussion afterwards. Impact unknown |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2011 |
| URL | http://www.arcc-network.org.uk/project-summaries/snacc/ |
| Description | 2012 ARCC conference |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A formal working group, expert panel or dialogue |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | Yes |
| Geographic Reach | National |
| Primary Audience | Other academic audiences (collaborators, peers etc.) |
| Results and Impact | Results unkowkn Impact unkown |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2012 |
| Description | ARCC adapting to reduce overheating synthesis report |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A magazine, newsletter or online publication |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | National |
| Primary Audience | Professional Practitioners |
| Results and Impact | Results unkown Impact unknown |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2012 |
| URL | http://www.arcc-network.org.uk/wordpress/wp-content/pdfs/ACN-overheating-synthesis.pdf |
| Description | ARCC overheating in homes practical guidance |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A magazine, newsletter or online publication |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | National |
| Primary Audience | Professional Practitioners |
| Results and Impact | Results unkown Impact unknown |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2013 |
| URL | http://www.arcc-network.org.uk/wordpress/wp-content/pdfs/ACN-overheating-guidance.pdf |
| Description | Bristol City Councils: stakeholder view on SNACC |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A magazine, newsletter or online publication |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Policymakers/politicians |
| Results and Impact | Results unknown Impacts unknown |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2013 |
| URL | http://www.arcc-network.org.uk/wordpress/wp-content/pdfs/SNACC-Evaluation-Jan2013.pdf |
| Description | Building Simulation and Optimisation conference |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | Yes |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Other academic audiences (collaborators, peers etc.) |
| Results and Impact | Results unkown Impact unknown |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2014 |
| URL | http://www.bso14.org/ |
| Description | Community resilience, meeting with Cabinet Office and Defra |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A formal working group, expert panel or dialogue |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | National |
| Primary Audience | Policymakers/politicians |
| Results and Impact | The talk sparked questions and discussion afterwards. Findings of the SNACC project informed policy literature on domestic overheating. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2012 |
| URL | http://www.arcc-network.org.uk/cabinet-office-resilience/ |
| Description | DECoRuM model: Community energy planning and climate change adaptation |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | National |
| Primary Audience | Professional Practitioners |
| Results and Impact | Presentation was delivered at the Royal Meteorological Society Annual Conference 2017 in Exeter . The topic of the conference was - 'Weather and Climate Impacts: From research and services to application and policy' |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2017 |
| URL | https://www.rmets.org/sites/default/files/RMetS%202017%20Conference%20Programme%20-%20WEB.pdf |
| Description | Futurebuild conference presenatation |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | Yes |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Other academic audiences (collaborators, peers etc.) |
| Results and Impact | The talk sparked questions and discussion afterwards. Requested to develop paper and presentation into Journal paper for submission to BSER&T Impact unkown |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2013 |
| URL | http://www.future-build.net/index.html |
| Description | Media interest: SAFEGUARDING SUBURBIA FROM A CHANGING CLIMATE |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A magazine, newsletter or online publication |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | National |
| Primary Audience | Public/other audiences |
| Results and Impact | Results unkown Impact unkown |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2011 |
| URL | http://www.lwec.org.uk/stories/safeguarding-suburbia-changing-climate |
| Description | Neighbourhood adaptation presentation to the Local Government Group Roundtable |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A formal working group, expert panel or dialogue |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | National |
| Primary Audience | Policymakers/politicians |
| Results and Impact | Results unknown Impact unknown |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2011 |
| Description | PLEA 2011 presentation |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | Yes |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Professional Practitioners |
| Results and Impact | Results unknown Impact unknown |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2011 |
| Description | Presentation to Climate Change Leaders Event |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | Yes |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Other academic audiences (collaborators, peers etc.) |
| Results and Impact | Results unknown Impact unknown |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2011 |
| Description | SNACC Newsletter 1 |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A magazine, newsletter or online publication |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | National |
| Primary Audience | Policymakers/politicians |
| Results and Impact | Results unknown Impact unknown |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2010 |
| URL | http://www.arcc-network.org.uk/wordpress/wp-content/pdfs/snacc_news1.pdf |
| Description | SNACC Newsletter 2 |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A magazine, newsletter or online publication |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | National |
| Primary Audience | Policymakers/politicians |
| Results and Impact | Results unkown Impact unkown |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2011 |
| URL | http://www.arcc-network.org.uk/wordpress/wp-content/pdfs/SNACC-Newsletter-August-2011.pdf |
| Description | SNACC final dissemination event |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an activity, workshop or similar |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Type Of Presentation | paper presentation |
| Geographic Reach | National |
| Primary Audience | Professional Practitioners |
| Results and Impact | Open dissemination event presenting the findings of the SNACC project. SNACC research findings have been integrated into policy decisions as a result, e.g. DCLG's Investigation into Overheating in Homes. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2012 |
| URL | http://www.arcc-network.org.uk/snacc-final-dissemination/ |
| Description | SNACC findings to D4FC workshop |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | Yes |
| Geographic Reach | National |
| Primary Audience | Professional Practitioners |
| Results and Impact | The talk sparked questions and discussion afterwards. Impact unknown |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2013 |
| Description | SNACC meeting Low Carbon Oxford North |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A formal working group, expert panel or dialogue |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | Local |
| Primary Audience | Public/other audiences |
| Results and Impact | The meeting and discussion with the Local low carbon group: LCON resulted in further community engagement and more detailed information being gained to improve the DECoRuM model of local carbon emissions. Impact unknown |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2011,2012 |
| Description | SNACC meeting with the Scottish Government |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | Regional |
| Primary Audience | Policymakers/politicians |
| Results and Impact | Results unknown Impacts unknown |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2011 |
| URL | http://www.arcc-network.org.uk/project-summaries/snacc/ |
| Description | SNACC summary leaflet |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A magazine, newsletter or online publication |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Public/other audiences |
| Results and Impact | Results unkown Impact unkown |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2011 |
| URL | http://www.arcc-network.org.uk/wordpress/wp-content/Summaries/SNACC.pdf |
| Description | SNACC summary on ARCC |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A magazine, newsletter or online publication |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Professional Practitioners |
| Results and Impact | Results unknown Impacts unknown |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2013,2014 |
| URL | http://www.arcc-network.org.uk/project-summaries/snacc/ |
| Description | SNACC-research |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A magazine, newsletter or online publication |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Public/other audiences |
| Results and Impact | A website describing the SNACC project, events and outcomes. Unaware of impacts |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2010,2011,2012,2013,2014 |
| URL | http://snacc.wordpress.com/ |
| Description | SNACC: Suburban neighbourhood adaptation for a changing climate |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | National |
| Primary Audience | Industry/Business |
| Results and Impact | This was an invited presentation as par of the industry day on 'Adapting Buildings for Resilient Cities' organised by the Institute of Energy Futures, Brunel University and CIBSE. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2016 |
| URL | http://www.cibse.org/networks/groups/resilient-cities/past-events-and-presentations |
| Description | Second International Conference on Building Energy and Environment (COBEE 2012) |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | Yes |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Other academic audiences (collaborators, peers etc.) |
| Results and Impact | The talk sparked questions and discussion afterwards Impact unknown |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2012 |
| URL | http://www.colorado.edu/cobee2012/ |
| Description | Windsor conference |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | Yes |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Other academic audiences (collaborators, peers etc.) |
| Results and Impact | Request to develop paper for Journal publication Impact unknown |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2012 |
| URL | http://www.nceub.org.uk/ |