• Housing and neighbourhood densities and design features such as building heights should facilitate safe, independent mobility of and access for children, older adults, women and other vulnerable groups. • A shift to alternative fuels and renewable energy sources can assist in reducing pollution from transportation and building operations use as well as overall GHG emissions associated with residential development. • Low-carbon siting of housing including orientation, clustering and inclusion of green spaces can optimize ambient atmospheric conditions in residential neighbourhoods and reduce their “heat island impact.” Siting in many cities needs to be far more carefully controlled to avoid areas at severe risks of flooding, landslides, etc., or to take appropriate protective measures.
7.3.3 Address slum housing in the health and mitigation context Slums have a tremendous immediate health impact, but their potential long-term climate footprint should be appreciated as well. Large blocs of low-density, informal settlements typically make poor use of urban space, exacerbate the urban heat island effect and make infrastructure delivery (e.g. transport, utilities) more energy-intensive and costly. Low-carbon, low-cost and health co-benefit “packages” that yield immediate benefits to slum areas are therefore important. Such measures also can address a key Millennium Development Goal currently lagging (MDG 7: improve lives and health of urban slum dwellers), and help address geographic and income/health inequities in the context climate change mitigation.
7.3.4 Optimize the health equity benefits of low-energy systems and renewable energy systems for the poor There appears to be significant health equity benefit from many forms of renewable energy use in poor homes. These strategies and technologies and their potential benefits include the following, and should be studied and evaluated more systematically: Passive solar “combi” hot water heating systems cover rooftops in a village near Beijing, China. The systems are also used for space heating, replacing traditional wood stoves. This has improved thermal comfort in the winter, raising indoor room temperatures that previously dipped as low as 5–8 ºC at night. (Photo: He Jianqing)
116 Health co-benefits of climate change mitigation – Housing sector