The central role of the construction sector for climate change adaptions in the built environment

Over the past years, research has clearly enunciated the necessity of adaptation to climate change in the built environment. Policy is being developed on national and municipal levels to have adaptations implemented. However, for the actual application of the measures, property owners are the actors that have to commission the construction industry to take action. But the construction sector is highly fragmented, causing several barriers for an easy uptake of measures other than the ‘business as usual’ ones. Based on rehabilitation intervention processes where technical measures are applied to dwellings of a housing association in the Netherlands, a governance approach for implementing adaptation measures is explored that focuses on collaboration in the construction process. In the proposed approach actors are working closely together, guided by elements of network governance. By not only integrating the complete supply chain, but also making it ‘intelligent and aware’, climate adaptation is no longer a surplus to the process, but reflected in any decision.OTB ResearchOTB Research Institute for the Built Environmen