The Retrofit 2050 project has been accredited to the Living With Environmental Change (LWEC) programme, joining a group of environmentally minded research projects across the UK.
The Low Carbon Research Institute (LCRI) at the Welsh School of Architecture (WSA) invites applications for a fully funded 3-year PhD studentship in the area of Urban Retrofit and Low Carbon Innovation. We are particularly interested in proposals exploring the economics and financing of large scale retrofit activities in a UK context, or assessing the supply chain and local employment opportunities created through innovation and investment in the low carbon built environment.
nternational Urban Retrofit Workshop:
Theories and Concepts, Dynamics and Practices, Politics and Implications
13th – 14th September 2012
Manchester UK
Yesterday, RICS launched “Hotting Up? An Analysis of Low Carbon Plans and Strategies for UK Cities”, a comprehensive snapshot of carbon emissions strategies in UK cities. Drawn together by Professor Tim Dixon, leader of the Technology Foresight work package, the report examines how 60 UK cities have acted in response to climate change and how successful they have been in reducing their greenhouse gas emissions.
Prof. Malcolm Eames and Prof. Tim Dixon were invited to give a presentation on the EPSRC Retrofit 2050 in March at the Chief Scientific Advisors’ Quarterly meeting. Every government department has a Chief Scientific Adviser (CSA), and departmental CSAs, working collectively with other analytical disciplines and with departmental boards and Ministers, work to ensure that science and engineering are at the core of decisions within departments and across government.
he Retrofit 2050 project is currently looking for a Research Assistant to join the Cambridge team. Working as part of an interdisciplinary team, the successful candidate will contribute to the integration of a set of novel socio-technical scenarios and technology roadmaps in order to explore prospective urban transitions to sustainability at a city-regional scale. Their work will be particularly focussed on communication and dissemination of research findings and will involve effective engagement with key stakeholders.
On Thursday 16th February, the Guardian online will be hosting an interactive online discussion to consider key questions about the sustainable city of the future with Tim Dixon, leader of the Technology Foresight package of the project, as part of a panel of experts. Key issues for debate include:
The second workshop of the Retrofit 2050 visioning process was held in London on 26th January. Bringing together the project’s Urban Foresight Panel, the workshop aimed to imagine, describe and appraise visions of the sustainable city in 2050, developing existing visions to explore what it would be like to live, work and govern in them. This visioning exercise was the first step in a backcasting process intended to identify the key issues for retrofitting UK city-regions between 2020 and 2050.
