RMIT Europe in collaboration with Urban Land Institute (ULI) Spain has brought together experts for a roundtable discussion exploring the growing tension between extreme heat and housing.
A roundtable in Barcelona has brought together representatives from ULI, Barcelona City Council Energy Agency, the Department of Architectural Technology at the Polytechnic University of Catalonia, Urban Input, EFFIC, Alliance Against Energy Poverty and RMIT Europe.
Climate change is exposing deep inequalities in housing, energy access and infrastructure, with vulnerable communities at greatest risk of experiencing the consequences of extreme heat.
As global temperatures rise, the consequences are not equally distributed.
People living in poorly insulated homes, low-income households and renters are often more exposed to heat and less able to adapt.
This is also the case in Barcelona, where many homes across the city lack adequate thermal insulation.
A large proportion of the city’s housing, particularly in older districts, predates building regulations introduced in the late 1970s.
Poor insulation and low energy efficiency therefore remain significant challenges.
During the roundtable, Professor Libby Porter, Director of RMIT’s Centre for Urban Research, highlighted how the underlying systems and structures produce these kinds of problems.
“Perhaps these are more important than the technical solutions,” she said.
This also raises an important question: who is responsible for insulating homes?
In Australia, climate adaptation is complicated by fragmented governance and limited coordination between local, state and federal governments.
Responsibility for funding infrastructure and adaptation measures is not always clearly defined, making it difficult to determine who should make decisions or pay for essential improvements.
Governments also have a responsibility in providing public spaces where people can seek relief from heat.
Barcelona’s climate refuges offer one example.
These spaces are mapped so residents can identify the available refuges during periods of high temperatures.
However, access to these cooling spaces is not equal.
Transport, mobility, work and caring responsibilities can all affect a person’s ability to make use of these spaces.
