Climate & Disaster Resilient Buildings for Urban Housing Canada is expected to face increasing climate-related risks, including warmer temperatures, intense droughts, earthquakes, frequent wildfires, and rising sea levels.
These hazards pose significant threats to infrastructure, the economy, and public health. The most effective way to manage the uncertainties of climate change is through proactive preparation, especially in critical sectors such as housing.
Achieving climate and disaster resiliency requires a multifaceted approach, including capacity building and readiness for climate emergencies. By prioritizing resilience to natural disasters and improving energy efficiency, we can tackle core challenges such as ensuring safety, improving quality of life, and protecting public health.
When addressing disaster housing, it's crucial to consider guidelines such as the CHBA (Canadian Home Builders' Association) codes, the National Building Code of Canada, and safety protocols like "Safeguard First Responders".
These regulations highlight a key issue: first responders are prohibited from entering a building if it poses significant safety risks.
This makes wood-framed houses particularly vulnerable, as their structure can rapidly deteriorate during fires, making it too dangerous for first responders to enter and extinguish the flames.
In contrast, metal-framed houses offer a much lower risk in such scenarios. Their structural integrity is more likely to withstand the initial impacts of fire, allowing first responders safer access to enter and control the situation more effectively.
This increased safety margin for first responders not only helps contain fires more quickly but also reduces the potential for severe damage or loss.
Therefore, incorporating metal-framed housing into disaster-resilient strategies significantly enhances safety and the overall effectiveness of emergency response efforts.
EBS Global is committed to exploring innovative ways to integrate climate resiliency into urban housing. This includes collaborating with service providers and communities to better prepare for natural disasters, such as earthquakes and the impacts of climate change.
Building resilient housing is one goal, while urgently reaching out after disasters, recovering lives, and rebuilding rapidly is another critical focus. EBS Global emphasizes both aspects—proactively creating resilient housing solutions and ensuring swift, effective recovery and rebuilding efforts after disasters.
Our goal is to enhance asset management and strengthen climate emergency preparedness to safeguard housing infrastructure and support sustainable urban development.
By focusing on these key strategies, EBS Global aims to contribute to the development of resilient, sustainable, and disaster-ready housing solutions across Canada.
Experts highlighted that insufficient funding and limited capacity are the main challenges in implementing effective climate resilience strategies. Many respondents indicated that they have not yet conducted risk assessments for their organizations or properties, and emergency preparedness remains underdeveloped within their operations.
Respondents also identified several critical success factors for implementing climate resilience, including the need to develop partnerships with local governments, access emergency planning training, and secure funding for emergency planning initiatives.
A recurring challenge noted by experts is the disconnect between policy and execution—particularly during the introduction of new legislation—due to the lack of standardized guidelines across various government agencies, making coordination difficult.
1. Understanding Risk: Experts agree that the first step in preparing for hazards is to thoroughly understand the risks by gathering data on infrastructure and vulnerabilities. This data is crucial for developing effective plans, applying for funding, and advocating for the needs of the community.
2. Developing Emergency Plans: The next step is to create comprehensive emergency plans that prepare organizations and communities for disasters, ultimately reducing recovery times and minimizing the impact of emergencies.
3. Community Building and Engagement: Ensuring collective awareness through community building and engagement is essential. This includes educating staff and tenants about their specific roles during an emergency, which enhances preparedness and cooperation.
4. Funding Reform: Experts emphasize the need for funding reform to make resources more accessible to organizations with limited capacity or expertise. This involves simplifying and revising funding requirements to ensure that more organizations can participate in resilience initiatives, regardless of their size or resources.
By addressing these challenges and following these recommendations, organizations can better prepare for climate-related hazards and enhance their ability to recover swiftly and effectively.
Emergency and Disaster Management Act At the federal level, the Canadian government developed a quality of life framework in 2020/2021, which included household emergency preparedness under the good governance section as an indicator. Ensuring resiliency to adapt to myriad hazards builds confidence in facing trials and tribulations during and recovering from disaster. This signals that more emergency preparedness policies will be developed to support climate resiliency efforts in the community. . This new and revised act was tabled to replace the previous act, the Emergency Program Act. This act addressed three significant hurdles: facing climate emergencies, implementing the Sendai Framework and ensuring the declaration and the new rules are aligned. EDMA sets out cyclical emergency management requirements for preparedness, recovery and mitigation (Stacey, 2024).
The new legislation assigns roles for managing emergency strategies to different actors accountable to a coordinated network. This makes it challenging to hold authority responsible during an emergency. There are many uncertainties regarding the new act, requiring time to determine how the new legislation will be effective.
Understanding the Risk Knowledge is power, and knowing about the risks plays a massive role in navigating the next step in ensuring your property and community are safe from any threat or hazards. Risk assessments empower housing providers to reduce their vulnerability. All experts agree that risk assessment is the first step to achieving climate resilience. A climate change specialist pointed out that it could help prepare for the worst, especially in climate emergencies, where data is the only thing that can be used to make calculated decisions. Another interviewee, the local government’s climate action and emergency program coordinator, recommended that residents or housing providers start assessing any possible risk to the property. According to her, early assessment by the fire coordinator could help support the funding.
Building climate-resilient infrastructure is a critical part of a comprehensive strategy to address the increasing challenges posed by climate change. As climate impacts intensify, investing in resilient building practices is essential to mitigate damage and adapt to evolving environmental conditions. Strengthening the physical infrastructure of buildings not only protects residents but also fosters sustainable and resilient communities. By prioritizing climate resilience, housing providers can safeguard against extreme weather events and other climate-related risks, contributing to the long-term stability and security of urban communities.
In addition, housing providers must have access to energy efficiency upgrades and other climate resiliency measures. To achieve this, funders must prioritize equitable financial support, ensuring that vulnerable populations and underserved communities can bridge the gap between available resources and their pressing needs. This approach ensures that resilience-building efforts benefit all, particularly those most at risk from climate-related threats.
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