Lessons learnt from a regional workshop to develop a transformational plan for the built and urban environment to meet the UNSDGs in 2030

Paper in proceeding, 2024

Urgent transformational change and action within the built environment is needed as it accounts for a large proportion of CO2 emissions and is rapidly growing. A partnership with UN Habitat and Mistra, the Swedish foundation for strategic environmental research, was established to lead a high-level expert workshop for Northwest Europe to develop transformative roadmaps to lead us from current practice to a built and urban environment scenario where the 2030 UNSDGs are achieved. The workshop, aiming to act as a pilot for similar workshops to be held in other parts of the world, was organized around four worksheet sessions that guided the participants through a co-creative process to share and draw on their expertise generating and iteratively narrowing down ideas to actions. The workshop was held over 2 days with 30 participants from various countries and disciplines engaged in the built environment. A wide range of topics was identified to be focused on for action, however, 6 key themes were agreed upon as priorities: Renovation and adaptive reuse, Process and methods, Social sustainability, Nature and biodiversity, Infrastructure, and Sustainable livelihoods. The work towards realizing sustainable cities and buildings is ongoing and the pilot workshop is one step towards building collaborative capacity and facilitating regional, context-based action towards a sustainable transformation of the built environment