Climate change and social inequality are two of the most pressing challenges of our time. These are global issues that are complex, systemic, and entangled.

Their negative consequences have been felt for decades, but they are becoming more acute and severe each day, particularly for marginalised communities in urban areas. The built environment – the places where we live, work, and interact with others – has a defining influence over our ability to live healthy, fulfilling lives. Cities are where 70% of global carbon is emitted and where people experience the most severe impacts of climate change, rising living costs, and socio-economic inequalities. It is also where these global challenges can be addressed, showing the important and inextricable link between local and global dynamics.

In all regions of the world, policymakers, planners, developers, real estate investors, engineers, architects, and construction companies are developing a range of policies and financial investments to reduce carbon emissions and address the climate crisis. However, the impacts of climate actions, like the impacts of climate change, are not felt equally by everyone. For example, policies like mandating the use of bio-based materials, introducing subsidies for building retrofits, or replacing leaky buildings with energy-efficient ones may all have positive environmental impacts. However, if they are not accompanied by purposeful strategies and mechanisms to equitably distribute the benefits they seek to generate, they may inadvertently exacerbate inequality between landlords and tenants, residents of different neighbourhoods, and different workers. Communities that feel left behind are likely to push back against these climate initiatives, which may result in further delays and roadblocks.

Despite such challenges, climate actions can and must be inclusive. Government- or business-supported climate initiatives that acknowledge existing inequalities within and between communities can address environmental issues while also fostering social inclusion and respect for human rights. Socially and environmentally sustainable models and paradigms are possible. They require concerted efforts and ongoing commitments to participatory processes, a shared responsibility for results, and accountability for adverse impacts on individuals and communities.

This way, the built environment sector can fulfil its critical role in helping address climate change and, concurrently, in reducing social inequalities.

This project, and IHRB’s wider Built Environment Programme, aims to make human rights part of everyday business by drawing attention to existing international standards and commitments, and detailing how these should inform the processes that shape the built environment around the world.

These include standards relating to the realisation of Economic, Social and Cultural Rights (ESCR) such as the right to housing and access to health services, as well as to a healthy environment, workers’ rights, and land-related rights. The work of the programme and this project also include a focus on civil and political rights, particularly non-discrimination, and procedural rights, including the right to meaningful participation in decision-making processes.

With this human rights grounding, the project researched how transition processes in eight cities are being planned or taking place with regards to four thematic areas:

The eight cities selected as case studies were: Lagos (Nigeria), Prague (Czechia), Lisbon (Portugal), Melbourne (Australia), Copenhagen (Denmark), Jakarta (Indonesia), Valparaíso (Chile), and Athens (Greece).

This report summarises the results of the two-year action research project Building for Today and the Future: Advancing a just transition in the built environment. The project's main goal was to open up pathways for ecological transitions in the built environment that are equitable, inclusive, and just. It did so through the following objectives.