An ancient technology brings a host of benefits to help cities become more climate resilient.
Once upon a time, innovative builders used overlooked roof space for gardening and irrigation. This was long before tractor-trailers and paving machines could’ve done such a job. Some of that roof space still stands high above a canyon in the Peruvian Andes.
I’m talking about Machu Picchu, built before Columbus reached the Americas and colonization overtook the world. The Incas used a technology that should be used on every street corner around the world:
Green roofs.
Green Roofs Have Not Progressed Much Since The Incas
The Incas may have mastered green roofs long ago, but until recently, green roofs were far from global. Scandinavians have used thick sod roofs…
Money doesn’t grow on trees, but will fall from the sky by 2040.
‘What type of water do you run?’ won’t sound as strange a question in about twenty years time. Water is heading in the same direction as energy and that didn’t always come in all the flavors we have today: wind, green, grey, sun, coal. Water is the next raw material to become big business. Just last December, the iconic Wall Street gong sounded as water became a future, an opportunity to invest money in. Globally our water supply is running low and where there is limited availability…
We participated in the first ever Climate Adaptation Summit, here’s what we learned
On January 25th & 26th, the Climate Adaptation Summit was hosted by the Netherlands: the world’s first International conference not focused on how to prevent climate change, but on how to adapt to it. 2020 was the hottest year on record, climate change is no longer a problem of the future. Which is why this summit is of such importance. Current measures don’t equal the pace at which climate change is affecting our world and so the main goal of the Summit is to accelerate action by…
That’s hot! District heating is the sustainable energy trend that allows us to become carbon neutral
Isn’t it ironic that heat, being the single largest energy use in the world, is a major co-culprit when it comes to global warming? Emissions from heating water, homes and industrial processes account for over half of all energy demand globally. And it’s our cities that consume the largest part of that energy. Considering that within 30 years, 70% of the world population is expected to live in urban areas it’s clear that we are faced with a serious challenge. Switching to renewable energy sources will solve about half of the problem, but energy efficiency is just as important.
Our cities face many challenges due to climate change, in the future as well as right now. Let’s dive into why we should cherish our cities, and what we can do to broaden our understanding of what is happening to our cities.
Cities are ever-changing living entities who constantly tell us what is happening to them. That may sound a bit strange but in today’s urban environments, the impact of climate change-related challenges like heat stress, floods, and droughts is visibly evident on infrastructure and on citizens. That’s why we created this video to explain and to show you exactly…
As climate change sparks water shortages, World Umbrella Day reminds us to bring an upside down umbrella perspective to water management.
The umbrella dates back thousands of years. It was first used by civilizations like Egypt and Persia to guard against sunlight.
It wasn’t until much later that umbrellas became popular to shield against another natural assailant: rain. In the 17th century, upper-class women across Europe carried silk umbrellas that proved minimal protection against rain. It wasn’t until around 1750 when an Englishman named Jonas Hanway carried a fashionable rain umbrella on the streets of London that the umbrella transcended genders. …
Will cities be prepared to address overlooked sources of infectious disease when the next pandemic hits?
In the spring of 2003, 329 people contracted an infectious disease in a high rise building in Hong Kong. 42 of those 329 people lost their lives.
The building — Amoy Gardens — was the epicenter of the 2003 outbreak of SARS. Almost one-fifth of all recorded SARS cases and deaths in Hong Kong emanated from Amoy Gardens.
And as we reckon with a strain of coronavirus (SARS-CoV-2) very similar to the one that killed 42 Amoy Gardens residents in 2003, we can look to history to guide the future of pandemic responses in dense urban areas like Hong Kong.
Where Poor Plumbing Can Go Wrong
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Wavin’s latest product makes drinking water supplies safer and installers’ lives easier. Our Tigris K5 replaces traditional ways of tracing leaks with a brand new method that stimulates the senses. In this blog we’ll let you in on the smart new feature that made Wavin a whistleblower.
Ready to be blown away? We’ve just launched a breakthrough product for safer drinking water supply. Wavin contributes to sustainable, healthy environments and we try to make life easier for the installer along the way. For a long time, the only way to detect water leaks was by running water through pressurized pipes…
Future Proof Cities
Stories about cities and buildings in the light of climate change and urbanisation. By Wavin.
