Resilient Built Environments: A Disaster is the Hazard You Didn’t Prepare For

Given the increasing frequency and severity of natural hazards and the dire predictions of climate scientists that things will get worse, we need to accelerate climate change mitigation and simultaneously get serious about resilience to reduce potentially catastrophic risks. Fortunately, when we look at buildings and urban environments, there is overlap in mitigation and resilient adaptation strategies. Resilient built environments link infrastructure, buildings, and most importantly, people and institutions, and start with identifying and prioritizing current and emerging risks, assessing vulnerabilities, and developing resilience and risk reduction strategies. This session will explore this process and engage the audience in the world of resilience assessment and planning.

Alan Scott, FAIA, LEED Fellow, is a registered architect and sustainability practitioner with over 35 years of experience as a facilitator, consultant, and teacher in support of high-performance, sustainable, resilient built environment projects. He is the Director of Sustainability for Intertek Building Science Solutions. Alan currently serves as Vice-chair of the USGBC Resilience Working Group, and as a member of the AIA Resilience and Adaptation Advisory Group, and the USGBC LEED Environmental Quality Technical Advisory Group.