The UKRI-funded URBAN RETROFIT project officially launched at the beginning of October 2024 and kicked off with a project partners’ workshop that explored what our partners understand ‘urban retrofit’ and ‘net zero’ to mean.

URBAN RETROFIT’s partners are working across the UK, and further afield, on the urban climate change agenda and bring together a range of views from various planning, property and community perspectives.

Our aim was to begin a conversation that we hope will continue throughout the life of URBAN RETROFIT and provide a strong place-focused underpinning to our planned programme of research. In this blog, we have summarised some of the many thoughtful contributions that emerged from this conversation.

Definitions

There was broad agreement that the journey to ‘net zero’ involves severely reducing greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions and slowing the rise in global temperatures. Participants agreed that sustainable practices which prioritise the environment are fundamental to the net zero agenda and that ‘urban retrofitting’ was a crucial first step. This is because retrofitting – which seeks to improve what already exists rather than start again – has the potential to kick-start wider interventions that improve sustainability, increase resilience, and achieve efficiencies.

As we got deeper into discussion, partners highlighted various urban retrofit interventions that, if successfully implemented, might help cities make a substantive contribution to net zero. These included:

Enhancing transport systems by integrating bike lanes and improving public transport to reduce car use and bring down emissions from private vehicles.

Supporting urban greening initiatives such as tree planting, green roofs, and converting vacant land into parks to improve air quality, mitigating heat islands and sequestering carbon.

Introducing energy systems upgrades that support district heating or encourage passive building design to lower our reliance on fossil fuels.

Prioritising mixed-use developments that reduce commuting distances by situating housing, workplaces, and amenities within walkable distances – illustrated well by the’15-minute city’ concept.

Participants agreed that interventions like these have the potential to support both environmental and social goals, but that their successful implementation requires overcoming many not inconsiderable systemic barriers at the local level.

Dilemmas

Identifying these barriers is where our conversation turned to next.

Participants discussed several overarching dilemmas – the most difficult being that decarbonisation on the scale required to meet the UK’s net zero targets by 2030 is financially and technically challenging. It was noted that local planning authorities and community organisations are being squeezed from multiple directions: they face a lack of funding, struggle to access skilled personnel, and find it difficult to chart a clear policy roadmap.

Fragmented governance structures in the UK, where responsibilities are devolved across local, regional, and national levels, further impedes coordination. This lack of alignment, some participants argued, complicates efforts to address short-term community problems, like access to a GP, let alone tackling climate change.

Participants also felt that resources are often distributed to communities inequitably thus placing further obstacles in the way of urban retrofitting. Affluent communities often have the capacity to navigate complex funding opportunities and can work successfully with local authorities on implementation. In contrast, more deprived communities are much more focussed on simply getting by and need greater help and support to access the same resources.

It was clear that participants felt that tailored strategies were needed to amplify underrepresented voices and ensure equitable access to urban retrofit and its benefits.

Deliberations

When asked about how they envisioned the future of place adaptation, participants emphasised the importance of inclusive and collaborative approaches. These focused on the following themes:

Scale: Participants highlighted the need to think and act across multiple scales. This is because urban retrofitting encompasses projects of varying size – from large infrastructure projects, such as an integrated bus network, to localised efforts, like urban agriculture and guerrilla gardening. Numerous participants felt strongly that any future vision of place adaptation required collaboration at the local, regional, and national scales alongside sufficient resourcing and capacity. Others pointed to the way digital tools might be used to engage stakeholders in more equitable ways at these scales.

Nature: Many participants were motivated by the role that nature-based solutions can play in addressing both environmental and social challenges. Projects that integrate biodiversity enhancements, such as urban forests and community parks, were identified as crucial parts of the urban retrofitting puzzle. This is because they not only sequester carbon but also address inequalities in access to green spaces. An example of this approach is the Local Places for Nature programme in Wales which demonstrates how urban greening can transform vacant sites into accessible parks, benefiting local communities and the environment.

Transport: Mobility and transportation were seen by many participants as central to achieving net zero. Cities and towns up and down the country suffer from fragmented transport networks that discourage walking, cycling, and public transport use. Retrofitting transport infrastructure to improve connectivity between neighbourhoods and promote low-emission travel options was understood by participants to be an essential part of efforts to reduce GHG emissions and ensure equitable access to services.

Housing: Within the wider urban retrofitting landscape, building retrofit remains a critical area for intervention for participants. It was noted that upgrading existing housing stock to meet sustainability targets is resource-intensive, especially for housing associations operating within constrained budgets. Participants felt strongly that innovative funding mechanisms and supportive policies were essential if decarbonisation in the housing sector is to be accelerated.

Directions

It was agreed that collaborating across the planning, development and community sectors will be key to overcoming the barriers hindering urban retrofit. Encouragingly, however, participants were able to point to various examples of place adaptation projects already happening up and down the UK.

These included the Forth Meadow Community Greenway in Northern Ireland and multi-stakeholder urban regeneration projects, like The Temple Quarter in Bristol, which highlights the value of integrating perspectives from planners, developers, and local communities into a project brief.

Cardiff’s zero-carbon planning guidance and Glasgow’s canal regeneration initiatives also offer valuable insights for policymakers and practitioners on the importance of aligning local actions with broader climate objectives, while also addressing the specific needs of communities.

Overall, participants made the case for holistic practices that effectively integrate housing, transportation, biodiversity, and social considerations into urban retrofit strategies.

It was strongly felt that by addressing resource limitations, promoting equity, aligning governance structures, and enabling collaboration, urban retrofitting efforts can and must create sustainable and resilient communities.

Watch this space to learn more about how we are collaborating with our partners on the URBAN RETROFIT project to ‘scale up’ place adaptation practices through planning and development systems.