Building Economic Resilience to the Health Impacts of Climate Change 2025

4.4 Interventions To mitigate these economic impacts, the built environment sector can invest in interventions across the value chain to protect employee and consumer health, and to capture new opportunities. Built environment interventions TABLE 6 1 Increase the use of local nature-based solutions Nature-based solutions (NBSs), e.g. restoring wetlands or planting trees, can provide storm protection and help reduce the severity of floods. While NBS projects have historically been publicly/ government-led, incorporating NBS can lead to significant economic benefits for private developers, including lower construction and maintenance costs, reduced flood insurance premiums and enhanced property values. Properly designed and regularly maintained wetlands reduce vector-borne disease risk when designed with flowing water and predator habitats. A sustainable drainage system scheme in Lamb Drove, Cambridgeshire in the UK uses techniques like permeable paving to manage rainwater without a conventional piped drainage system. It saves £314 in capital costs per home, cuts maintenance costs by 20-25%, increases biodiversity and improves the quality of water discharged from the site.50 2 Expand areas of real and usable green space Urban green spaces can improve air quality, reduce heat stress and enhance well-being. For private actors, green space investments can also offer a return. Proximity to parks or greenery can boost property values by 8-20%51 and attract premium tenants who value healthier, more sustainable environments. 3 Develop new Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED)-style voluntary climate resilience standards Voluntary certifications such as WELL (for occupant health), Resilience Action List (RELi) (for resilience) and the Insurance Institute for Business & Home Safety’s (IBHS) FORTIFIED (for disaster resilience) encourage resilient, health-focused building design, enabling developers and architects to attract premium tenants. Many insurers are also offering Built environment value chain Urban planning and zoningArchitecture and design Construction Real estate, operations and maintenance Interventions for consumers1 Increase the use of local nature-based solutions to improve the resilience of buildings and infrastructure to extreme weather (e.g. afforestation to reduce flood risk).5 Construct and maintain climate-resilient buildings and infrastructure based on local climate risk (e.g. elevated foundations, passive cooling). 2 Expand areas of real and usable green space (e.g. city parks, green rooftops and urban farming) in cities and new developments.3 Develop new Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED)-style voluntary standards for health- resilient buildings. 4 Install or retrofit cooling systems and ventilation across the built environment, including housing. Interventions for the workforce6 Protect construction workers and maintenance staff with PPE (e.g. respirators) and better health and safety training. 7 Modify working practices for outdoor workers to avoid heat stress, e.g. avoid peak heat hours, provide mandatory breaks. 8 Improve site design and maintenance to eliminate stagnant water to reduce mosquito- borne disease. Proximity to parks or greenery can boost property values by 8-20% and attract premium tenants who value healthier, more sustainable environments. Building Economic Resilience to the Health Impacts of Climate Change 25