Background

Extreme events – including heatwaves, flooding, droughts, wild-fires, tsunamis, tornadoes and earthquakes – are occurring more frequently and with greater intensity.  These events damage and destroy homes, lives and communities causing physical, mental and financial suffering.

Responding to such catastrophes includes providing support for victims and communities, action to provide temporary shelter and services, policies and plans to replace housing and to rebuild and support people and communities.  There is also a need to adapt and develop new designs and construction techniques, building resilient housing and neighbourhoods.

What will the conference cover?

This conference will look at the support victims and communities need post-event; how housing can be replaced; how existing housing can be adapted and new housing designed and constructed to build resilience into housing and neighbourhoods and protect mental, physical and social health.

Aims and conference content

This international conference provides a platform to share, review and discuss learning from extreme events, from preparedness for these events, to building back with greater resilience.

The conference offers a wide range of case studies such as flooding from ex-tropical Cyclone Ellie in Australia, the aftermath of an Indonesian earthquake, addressing the needs of displaced populations in Nigeria and wildfire response in Chile.  Research and Public Health tools arising from Extreme Events will be presented, such as the UKHSA adverse weather and health plan.  Particular emphasis will be placed on learning from community-led projects, securing a place-based perspective on community resilience.  Finally, the conference considers how we can build back more inclusively and presents research into the application of innovative technologies, materials and approaches to retrofitting.

Who should attend this unique conference?

This conference is aimed at people and organisations with an interest in the incidence and impact of extreme events and who are committed to learning from shared experience, and from international research and case studies focused on preparedness and building resilience.  The conference is intended to appeal to professionals and those working at ground level who are concerned with predicting and responding to all forms of extreme events, including those working in housing and health; public health; environmental, housing and planning professionals, sociologists, academics and students, those working in climate change, Local and National Government, the voluntary sector and those involved in emergency and disaster recovery.

Keynote Speakers

Keynote speakers to date include:

Dr Nathalie Röebbel
Lead on Urban Health, World Health Organization

Dr David Jacobs
Chief Scientist, US National Center for Healthy Housing

Professor Caradee Wright
Chief Specialist Scientist: Environment and Health Research Unit, South African Medical Research Council

Dr Angie Bone
Associate Professor of Practice, Planetary Health, Monash Sustainable Development Institute

Dr Michael Agenbag
Senior Lecturer/Community Service Co-ordinator (Environmental Health), Cape Peninsula University of Technology

Dr Marilyn Black
Vice President and Senior Technical Advisor, Chemical Insights Research Institute of UL Research Institutes

Professor Paloma Taltavull de la Paz
Department of Applied Economics, University of Alicante

How will the conference be organised?

This will be an international virtual event, consisting of a half day session setting out the conference ambitions; a full day of good practice case studies and a final half day dealing with future proofing and summarising what we have learnt and still need to learn.  The event will be recorded, leading to the production of a conference report.

Conference organisers

The conference is being organised by the Healthier Housing Partnership, an independent partnership of academics, housing, environmental health and regeneration practitioners and housing and health researchers formed in 2015. Our aims are to promote healthier housing and raise the standard of existing and new housing to achieve wider social benefits. Further information is available here: https://www.healthierhousing.co.uk/

Conference registration fees

The registration fees are as follows: