Objectives

Ouranos’ scientific program on the Built Environment was developed in collaboration with a program committee composed of a wide range of stakeholders involved in this field who are concerned about climate change adaptation, including representatives from Quebec government departments (MAMROT, MTQ, MDDEP), municipal representatives and professionals from the private sector.

Although the impacts of climate change are increasingly known, decision-makers and professionals involved with the built environment lack the information and tools they need to better integrate climate change considerations into their work. Thus, the main goal of the Built Environment Program is to:

Contribute to reducing the vulnerabilities of the built environment in Quebec by:

• Improving our understanding of climate change impacts, vulnerabilities and adaptations;
• Promoting an interdisciplinary approach that will help produce results that are relevant and suited to the realities of stakeholders in adaptation issues;
• Ensuring the efficient transfer of research results to stakeholders in adaptation issues.

The specific objectives that will lead to the main program goal are:

• Improve the understanding of the consequences of climate change for the built environment and for the interactions between various  infrastructures;
• Identify and assess the socioeconomic vulnerabilities that amplify the impacts;
• Establish methods that better reflect the impacts-adaptation coupling so as to begin identifying the limits beyond which adaptation measures are necessary or highly recommended;
• Identify and assess the barriers that impede the effective implementation of adaptation measures;
• Update and develop tools to help adaptation stakeholders to  identify, assess, monitor and measure the performance of different adaptation options;
• Develop mechanisms to ensure the effective transfer of adaptation knowledge and strategies between researchers and end users.

Even when limited to the South of Quebec, the theme of the Built Environment is extremely vast and potentially very complex due to the number and diversity of infrastructures, the geographic expanse of the region and the large number of stakeholders involved in the field.  Consequently, and recognizing that it would be difficult to address all aspects in depth, the Program seeks to  i) build on past achievements and focus on projects that involve adapting existing tools; ii) encourage interdisciplinary and multi-institutional projects ; iii) try to take into account the entire life cycle of the infrastructure (from design to the end of the service life).