Framework document on a Transformational Plan for the Built Environment

Report, 2020

The UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), the Paris agreement on Climate change and actions on Biodiversity, Resource-efficiency and Circular economy call for deep transformations in each nation and globally which in turn requires complementary transformations and actions by governments (central, regional and local), businesses of all kinds, the professions, civil society and academia. The main problem is that stakeholders lack a shared understanding of how the 17 SDGs can be operationalized and localised as well as conflicting interests make this a Herculean task. Drawing on earlier work by others and our own work over the last 25 years we have considered what is needed in terms of a Transformational Plan for the global built environment if it is to deliver and progress the UN SDGs, the Paris agreement and actions on resource-management and biodiversity by 2030 under and beyond pandemic health requirements. This document proposes a framework for transformation operations and actions for the built environment based upon an analysis of the context, the principles and key concepts behind and underpinning the plan, the journey from 2020 to 2030. To illustrate the necessary level of operational transformations, we advance an action agenda for all stakeholders, key messages for government, cities, businesses, professionals, civil society, research and science. We propose a global approach based on regional nodes - of the knowledge owners on the ground – and an action timetable for regular monitoring of SDG Transformations and their implementation in the period 2020-2030.
The “hands-on application” of the developed framework for a Transformational Plan to one region, the region of North-West Europe, identified concrete measures to achieve many of the UNSDGs by 2030. The top 12 of the selected examples are:
1. Organize citizen assemblies to develop ideas, build a ‘social mandate’, monitor progress by 2025.
2. Go ‘beyond the fragments’ and create a virtuous movement of the willing involving professions, research communities, building industries, supply chain partners, government, finance sector, clients and the development sector.
3. Reorganisation of responsibilities on the political and governmental levels.
4. Gradually change of the tax system (reduced taxes on labour and increased taxes on land use and primary material usage).
5. Extended and new provision designed and implemented to expand high-quality public green and blue space by 20% in all towns and cities by 2030, where at least 50% of new measures are in vulnerable neighbourhoods.
6. Ban sales of petrol and diesel cars latest by 2030.
7. Cycling infrastructure to be expanded (50%) in all towns and cities and between cities by 2030.
8. Major programmes of renovation and energy efficiency in all existing housing stock across the region by 2021.
9. Energy targets to be introduced on the building stock level.
10. Large scale expansion of sustainable and affordable housing across the region throughout the 10 year period.
11. State run innovative financing schemes for affordable building renovations.
12. Accelerate the shift to low embodied carbon materials and circular economy in all work by 2025.