Living Spaces

OUR VISION FOR LIVING SPACES BY 2050

Healthy and inclusive living spaces, thriving
in harmony with nature

LIVING SPACES PROMOTE HEALTH & WELLBEING

AFFORDABLE HOUSING AND COMMUNITIES THAT WORK FOR ALL

A NET-ZERO CARBON, RESILIENT, ADAPTABLE AND REGENERATIVE BUILT ENVIRONMENT

LIVING SPACES THAT HARNESS THE POTENTIAL OF RECYCLED AND RENEWABLE MATERIALS

DOWNLOAD PATHWAY

KEY TRANSITIONS

BUILDING AND INFRASTRUCTURE DESIGN SHIFTS TO FOCUS ON USERS’ HEALTH

Occupants’ health and wellbeing play an increasingly central role in building design and construction. Buildings are designed to be comfortable, safe and secure spaces that foster positive social interaction, healthy and active lifestyles, focused work, creative expression, relaxation, and rest.
Strict regulations reduce the use of hazardous materials in the built environment.
Exposure to ambient and household air pollution declines as policies and investments support clean transport, clean household energy, and other innovations.
Enhanced waste management, noise management, optimal temperature management, and access to daylight all help people live and work free of risks to their health.

INFRASTRUCTURE AND BUILDINGS INCREASINGLY INTEGRATE AND RESPECT BIODIVERSITY

The environmental footprints of buildings and infrastructure are minimized. Buildings generate their own energy onsite using renewable sources and capture and treat their own water.
Biodiversity becomes a key component of urban planning. Natural systems such as forests, mangroves and wetlands are increasingly valued for providing core infrastructure and ecosystem services. Green infrastructure helps solve an array of challenges, from managing stormwater to improving air quality.
Nature’s value to cities and communities is recognized. This leads to stronger political and commercial efforts to protect nature effectively.
Urban areas are designed to ensure universal accessibility to green spaces.

CITIES AND BUILDINGS PAVE THE WAY TOWARDS NET-ZERO CARBON

Cities, in partnership with national regulators, implement strong policies to reduce GHG emissions in existing building stock. By 2030, all new buildings operate at net zero carbon and there has been embodied carbon reduction of at least 40% from 2020 levels. This reaches 100% by 2050.
New and refurbished buildings are highly energy efficient and include renewable energy production capacity and/or energy storage capabilities.
Agreement and adoption of common metrics along the construction value chain help to establish clear decarbonization pathways, facilitating the transition to net zero.
Cities steer infrastructure investments toward more compact and efficient growth helping to discourage urban sprawl.

RESILIENT URBAN AND RURAL COMMUNITIES EMERGE

Long-term resilience is integrated into urban and rural infrastructure and planning.
Cities and local authorities lead in adapting to major climatological changes and embracing resilience.
Buildings’ capacity to manage storm-surge flooding and heatwaves is enhanced. Water is collected and diverted to new uses, green spaces are used to reduce drought, and technological advancements support heat regulation and healthy indoor climates.
Cities and communities foster resilience to other potential environmental and social shocks, including pandemics.
Universally accessible early warning systems and emergency planning are put in place globally.

A SHIFT TOWARDS CIRCULAR CITIES THAT MINIMIZE CONSUMPTION AND WASTE

Circular thinking is increasingly adopted across built environment business models, ownership structures, construction practices, and management.
Incentives and innovations support a drastic reduction in material use in buildings. New buildings are designed to increase their suitability for renovation and recycling. Older buildings are preserved to serve new functions.
Policies stimulate the widespread application of secondary and renewable bio-based construction materials that are modular and deconstructable.
Accurate sustainability performance information becomes available for all materials. The use of building passports is mainstreamed and scaled.
Service-based models grow. Companies expand their offerings to include construction and maintenance services, enhancing efficiency and enabling closed product loops.

CITIES ARE MADE TO WORK FOR ALL

Government and business partner to ensure high-quality, affordable, accessible, and adaptable housing is available for all.
Neighborhoods are designed and redesigned to be accessible, inclusive, safe and secure. They provide access to opportunities for employment, food, culture, healthcare, mobility, education, and healthy and active lifestyles.
Cities are developed in a way that safeguards cultural and natural heritage.
Consulting with local stakeholders, planners and architects design inclusive, green, and bio-diverse community spaces, and create multifunctional buildings that support a range of interactive recreational activities.
Infrastructure adapts to meet the needs of ageing populations.

RESPECT FOR HUMAN RIGHTS IS EMBEDDED ACROSS THE CONSTRUCTION AND MATERIALS SECTORS GLOBALLY

Urban and rural areas are developed in a manner that respects the rights and needs of local communities and displaces no one.
Construction projects ensure fair living wages for workers and strive to attain the highest possible standards of health and safety.
Governments, cities, and businesses come together to ensure that modern slavery, forced labor and child labor are eliminated from the construction sector and the value chains of the materials upon which it relies.
As construction practices evolve, workers are continually upskilled, reskilled and empowered to prosper.

LIVING SPACES

ACTION AREAS FOR BUSINESS

2021-2030

Implement short-, medium- and long-term science based targets to reduce the whole life carbon footprint of built structures toward net-zero emissions. Collaborate with clients, suppliers and all actors across the built environment to ensure targets are met and to drive net-zero construction and renovation measures.

Contribute to the development of national and sectoral decarbonization roadmaps, and engage with authorities at the regional, national, and local levels to advocate for the targets, building codes, and planning, permitting, and procurement processes needed for a sustainable built environment.

Unlock the potential of digitalization to facilitate data recording and transfer among stakeholders and across life-cycle stages to promote more holistic urban planning, greater transparency, and enhanced efficiency across the built environment sector.

Create ways for occupants to play a role in minimizing the environmental impacts of their living and working spaces.

Develop circular business models to maintain the value of materials and resources throughout the lifetime of built structures. Innovate to make circular options more cost-competitive, convenient, and dependable.

Future-proof buildings and infrastructure to withstand environmental, social, and health-related shocks through urban planning, performance standards, and construction practices.

Develop and adopt science-based targets for nature, which factor in impacts from material extraction to construction to building end-use. Integrate nature-based solutions into design and construction efforts.

Innovate and collaborate on new techniques and models to ensure the delivery of quality affordable housing that promotes health and wellbeing, in both existing and new developments.

Conduct and enhance due diligence in line with the UN Guiding Principle on Business and Human Rights with a view to respecting human rights and ensuring decent working conditions throughout the construction value chain, including in the informal economy.

Develop comprehensive strategies to support a just transition for workers that may be affected by emerging construction methods, materials and technologies.

Most Relevant SDGS