Lagos has all the appropriate laws but it needs to adopt the right procedures and see them through.
About 100 homes in Angus, Ont. were damaged by a tornado in June 2014. Ten lost their roofs and had to be demolished.
Gregory Alan Kopp, Western University
Weather-related catastrophic events have cost Canadians more than $17 billion in the past decade. That only stands to grow, unless building codes change to make homes more resilient.
Architects see buildings as a possible solution to the climate crisis.
NNECAPA Photo Library/flickr
Buildings are responsible for 40 per cent of energy-related carbon dioxide emissions worldwide. Efforts to reduce emissions should no longer be voluntary.
The 392 apartments in Opal Tower (centre) were evacuated on Christmas Eve when residents heard loud cracks and defects were found.
Paul Braven/AAP
While Opal Tower residents are more badly affected than most, up to 80% of multi-unit buildings have serious defects. Here’s what government can do right now to fix the industry.
Centralised policies are not meeting the needs of remote Indigenous settlements. Increasing their decision-making input and the role of local industry can overcome the challenges of building remotely.
Pam Hanley, University of Huddersfield et Kevin Orr, University of Huddersfield
The government’s ambitious plans for T-levels might struggle to get off the ground given that further education colleges are already short of 20,000 staff.
In recent years, Detroit has demolished thousands of abandoned homes annually.
AP Photo/Carlos Osorio
By the time a building is abandoned and falls into disrepair, its community is already suffering. Michigan scholars suggest it’s time to plan for structures’ end of life before they even go up.
The only material we use more than concrete is water.
Shutterstock
‘Bendable concrete’ is not an oxymoron. Mimicking designs found in nature, engineers are making concrete that gives under stress without shattering – an advance that could improve US infrastructure.
A streamlined NEPA review of replacing New York’s Tappan Zee Bridge over the Hudson River, which would normally take 3-5 years, was completed in 1.5 years.
Jim Henderson
Do environmental reviews delay large-scale projects? The Trump administration says yes, but studies show that these reviews lead to better results and can even save time and money.