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Housing, Health & Extreme Events: Developing Good Practice & Sound Policy,
8th-10th April 2025
CONFERENCE SUMMARY AND REPORT
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Introduction
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Heatwaves, droughts, wildfires, tropical cyclones, tornadoes and flooding are occurring with more frequency and greater intensity, due to climate change. Frequently their effects stimulate local, regional and national conflict, causing internal displacement.
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The three-day online event was organised by the UK-based Healthier Housing Partnership, supported by the Birmingham Institute for Sustainability and Climate Action.
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The conference focused on preparedness, response and recovery, adapting existing housing stock to make it more resilient and optimising housing for displaced people.
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It featured more than 30 international speakers, including leading academics, heads of national organisations and community representatives.
The event was sponsored by Routledge, the UK Health Security Agency, the University of Birmingham, Biovitae and UL Research Institute/Chemical Insights.
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Top level findings
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1 Professional responses to extreme events are siloed and fragmented in the fields of academia, government and policy making.
2 Evidence that upstream investment in healthy housing saves downstream health costs is rarely factored in by policy makers.
3 Lessons learned from previous emergency events are often not implemented.
4 The global south is often viewed by high income countries primarily as a recipient of top-down assistance, not respected for its indigenous knowledge.
5 Groups low in power hierarchies in all countries are under-represented in decision making for emergency event preparedness and resilience.
6 Colonisation and mass urbanisation created a legacy of housing poorly adapted to climate change.
7 ‘Temporary’ housing is often, effectively, permanent. Too often it is unhealthy and culturally insensitive.
Top level recommendations
1 Horizontal and vertical communication should be fostered between professional disciplines and national and local government services. 9
2 Health should be better integrated as a cross-cutting theme of planning.
3 Lessons should be learned from previous emergency events and shared.
4 International ‘equal status’ communication and knowledge sharing should be facilitated.
5 Marginalised and under-represented groups should participate in decision making.
6 Traditional, indigenous design (or modern design adopting its materials and principles) is the most in tune with nature and biodiversity and favourable to climate change.
7 Technological solutions on affordable and healthy post-emergency event housing and solutions for potable water, sanitation and safe food storage, often developed in universities, should be shared.
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Main conference outcomes
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The conference itself was a notable exercise in knowledge sharing and building an evidence base. It has created a valuable international community of academics and practitioners with many participants crossing both fields, which can be built upon.
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A book capturing conference papers and findings is under consideration and a report is being collated with the ambition of submission to COP30 proceedings and importantly for sharing more widely. A number of further events have also been identified where the findings can be shared. ​
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Conference papers - competition results
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We had 13 full papers submitted for the conference, the publishers Routledge generously sponsored a prize of £200 worth of books for the winner.
Prize winner: Dr Mike Agenbag 'Bridging policy and practice gaps: extreme events create opportunities to traverse psychological biases towards preventative actions'
This paper takes a systematic approach to understanding the simple question of why a more preventive approach is not taken to the occurrence of extreme events. It was novel, well structured and challenges current institutional biases and capacities. We felt this had an international reach and was exceptional quality.
Highly Commended:
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Dr Ang Li and Rebecca Bentley - Health trajectories following climate extreme events among people with mental illness and effect heterogeneity by housing.
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This is an excellent piece of research which investigates a knowledge gap in terms of mental distress and the increased vulnerability to climate related housing instability
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Cyril Effiong - Resilience in the Face of Flooding: Livelihood Strategies for Farmers in Nigeria's Lower Niger Region
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This excellent paper highlights systemic issues like corruption, elite capture, and inequitable resource allocation result in projects that fail to serve the most vulnerable communities.
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Dr Jamila Zanna - Displacement, Housing, and Health: Addressing the Needs of Vulnerable IDPs (Internally Displaced Persons) in Nigeria
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This paper, again excellent and distinctive, highlights how displacement disrupts health determinants and exacerbates vulnerabilities and highlights the failure to adopt inclusive frameworks.
Speakers and Topics
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​Prof. David Hannah, UNESCO Chair of Water Science, Director of Birmingham Institute for Sustainability and Climate Action
Policy overview
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Dr David Jacobs, Chief Scientist, US National Center for Healthy Housing
Policy overview
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Dr Nathalie Roebbel, Lead on Urban Health, World Health Organization
Policy overview
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Prof Paloma Taltavull de la Paz, Department of Applied Economics, University of Alicante.
The Valencia flooding of 2024
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Dr Michael Agenbag, Senior Lecturer/Community Service Co-ordinator (Environmental Health), Cape Peninsula University of Technology
Psychological bias and fragmentation in extreme event management
Catherine Feeney, Project Lead – Western Australia Local Government Arrangement) (WALGA) and Wayne Neate, Director of Infrastructure, West Kimberley, Australia
Effects of Ex-cyclone Ellie in Kimberley, Western Australia, 2023
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Dr Surindar Dhesi and Muhammad Nasir, University of Birmingham and University of Georgia
Central Sulawesi earthquake and tsunami, Indonesia, 2018
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Regina Opondo DARAJA, Resurgence, Kenya and Tanzania
Local, affordable and well-adapted design in informal settlements
Guido Martinez Emergency and Climate Change Coordinator, Ministry of Health, Chile and Cárcamo, A Gútierrez, Ministerial Secretary of Health Biobio Region
The Chile wildfires of 2024, role of the health emergency operations centre
Jamila Wakawa Zanna, University of Birmingham
Unmet needs of the internally displaced population in Nigeria
Dr Ang Li and Rebecca Bentley, NHMRC Centre of Research and Excellence in Healthy Housing, University of Melbourne
Housing trajectories following extreme events and people with mental illness
Paul Coleman, UKHSA Extreme Events and Health Protection Unit
UKHSA adverse weather and health plan
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Dr Lee Towers School of Social Science Teesside University and others
Lessons from community-led adaption to extreme weather events to protect health
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Dr Deborah Robertson-Andersson W Ovens and Dr JM Stone University of Kwazulu-Natal S.A
Adapting small scale spatial context in neighbourhood design, East Cape
Dr Sarah Bell and Andy Shipley Exeter University
Disability, extreme weather and climate resilient housing, UK
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Dr Charles Goode, University of Birmingham
Green urban regeneration, West Bromwich, UK
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Nusrat Nasab, Aga Khan Agency for Habitat, Pakistan
Village planning and safe housing in Pakistan
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Cyril Effiong, University of Birmingham
Flood resilience in Nigeria’s lower Niger region
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Hendrina Shuunyumi, The Namibia Housing Action Group and the Shack Dwellers Federation of Namibia
Community-led planning for climate emergency resilient planning
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Dr Wataru Umishio, Institute of Science, Tokyo, Japan
Health planning and well-insulated housing
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Drs Kate Simpson and Angela Connelly, Centre for Sustainable Construction and Retrofit, Nottingham Trent University
Mitigation and adaption for resilient homes
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Professor Ahenk Yilmaz (and others?), Department of Architecture, Yasar University and University of Plymouth
Prefabricated tiny house construction, Izmir, Turkey
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Dr Helen Onyeaka and Taghi Miri, University of Birmingham in partnership with Biovitae
Light technology and health protection
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Richard Flemmings CEO, Map Impact
Mitigating risk from urban heat islands
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Prof Toshiharu Ikagam Keio University, Japan
National housing insulation retrofit survey, Japan
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Dr Angie Bone, Associate Professor, Monash University
Health and planetary interface
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Professor Caradee Wright Chief Specialist Scientist: Environment and Health Research Unit, South African Medical Council
Future proofing dwellings in Africa
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Dr Marilyn Black Vice President and Senior Technical Advisor, Chemical Insights Research Institute of UL Research Institutes
Building resilience for health