Integrating climate change adaptation and mitigation in built environments

Background

Cities are significant contributors to climate change, and therefore offer significant potential to achieve rapid reductions in greenhouse gas emissions in line with international agreements such as the Paris Agreement. This agreement seeks to limit warming to 1.5^oC by 2100. Significant economic, environmental, social, and cultural benefit can be gained for Australian cities if action to address climate change impacts occurs sooner rather than later.

Research method

The project has used a range of research methods including: policy evaluation; key stakeholder interviews; focus groups and workshops. An expert reference group has will provided important perspectives across the project’s duration.

Expected outcomes

This project has generated new knowledge to ensure Australian cities are planned, designed, constructed and managed to minimise greenhouse gas emissions, and to ensure they are well adapted to the changes in climate that cannot be avoided.

A forthcoming outcome of this project is a framework for integrating climate change adaptation and mitigation across the built environment to provide guidance for practitioners and policy makers. This can provide significant benefit to Australia by advancing the further development and integration of climate change adaptation and mitigation actions across Australia’s built environment sectors (design, urban planning, construction and property). It will contribute to emissions reductions and facilitate a built environment that is well adapted to climate change risk. The project’s findings can inform investment decisions, and reduce the harm and cost predicted as a result of climate change.

Research outputs from this project

Journal articles

• Hurlimann, A., Moosavi, S., March, A., Prideaux, F., Warren-Myers, G. (2026) Six principles to guide climate change action in built environments, Cities. 168 (January)
• Hurlimann, A., Moosavi, S., March, A., Bush, J., & Warren-Myers, G. (2025). Australian Urban Planners’ Preparedness to Act on Climate Change, Landscape & Urban Planning.  264 (December)
• Hurlimann, A., Moosavi, S., Warren-Myers, G., March, A., Bush, J., & Cutroni, L. (2025) Facilitating climate change action across built environment life stages – perspectives from built environment professionals. Cities, 165 (October),
• Moosavi, S., Hürlimann, A., Neilsen, J., March, A., Bush, J., & Warren-Myers, G. (2025) Towards transformative climate actions in landscape architecture. Landscape Ecology 40 (6)120
• Hurlimann, A., Browne, G., March, A., & Moosavi, S. (2025) Integrating climate change adaptation and mitigation action within built environment policy portfolios: a comparison of three Australian local governments npj Climate Action, 4 (51)
• Hurlimann, A., Browne, G., March, A., Moosavi, S., & Bush, J. (2025). Translating global emission reduction goals into built environment policy: An ambitious yet inadequate policy mix for Victoria, Australia. Climate Policy.
• Hurlimann, A., March, A., Moosavi, S., Bush, J., Warren-Myers, G., & Nielsen, J. (2025). Facilitating climate change action across planning systems. Journal of Planning Education and Research
• Bush, J, Hurlimann, A, March A, Moosavi, S and Warren-Myers, G, (2025), Sustainability professionals’ roles in advancing action for climate change and sustainable cities, npj Urban Sustainability 5(60)
• Browne, G., Hurlimann, A., March, A., Bush, J., Warren-Myers, G., and Moosavi, S. (2024). Better policy to support climate change action in the built environment: A framework to analyse and design a policy portfolio. Land Use Policy.
• March, A., Hürlimann, C., Moosavi, S., Bush, J., Warren-Myers, G., Browne, G. (2024). Australian Urban Designers’ Experience of Barriers and Enablers to Climate Change Action. Journal of Urban Design
• Warren-Myers, G., Moosavi, S., Hurlimann, A., Raisbeck, P., Bush, J., March, A., and Browne, G. (2024). Barriers to and facilitators of climate change action in architecture practice. Journal of Cleaner Production
• Hurlimann, A., March, A., Bush, J., Moosavi, S., Browne, G. R., and Warren-Myers, G. (2024). Climate change transformation in built environments – A policy instrument framework. Urban Climate, 53, 101771:
• Moosavi, S., Hurlimann, A., Nielsen, J., Bush, J., Warren-Myers, G., and March, A. (2023). Transforming the agency and influence of landscape architects in climate change actions: An empirical analysis of barriers and facilitators. Landscape and Urban Planning, 234
• Hürlimann, A. C., Nielsen, J., Moosavi, S., Bush, J., Warren-Myers, G., and March, A. (2022a). Climate change preparedness across sectors of the built environment – A review of literature. Environmental Science & Policy, 128, 277-289.
• Hürlimann, A. C., Warren-Myers, G., Nielsen, J., Moosavi, S., Bush, J., and March, A. (2022b). Towards the transformation of cities: A built environment process map to identify the role of key sectors and actors in producing the built environment across life stages. Cities, 121(February), 103454.

Guide/report

• Hurlimann, Anna; Moosavi, Sareh; Bush, Judy; March, Alan; Prideaux, Fabian; Warren-Myers, Georgia (2025). Integrating Climate Change Action Across the Built Environment: A Guide for Transformative Action. Faculty of Architecture Building and Planning, The University of Melbourne

Industry association pieces

• Hurlimann, A., Moosavi, S., March, A. (2025) Facilitating climate action across planning systems. Planning News 51(2), 21-23.
• Moosavi, S., Hurlimann, A., and Bush, J. (2022). Decarbonizing landscape practice. Landscape Architecture Australia, 174(May), 52-55. (invited)

Conference papers and presentations

• Hurlimann, A., Moosavi, S., March, A., Bush, J., and Warren-Myers, G. (2025) “Identifying priority actions for climate change adaptation and mitigation across built environment life stages: practitioner perspectives.” Presented at the Adaptation Futures Conference (World Adaptation Science Program of the UN), Christchurch New Zealand, 13-16th October.
• Hurlimann, A., Moosavi, S., March, A., Bush, J., and Warren-Myers, G. "Australian urban planners’ preparedness to act on climate change." Presented at ACSP 2024 Annual Conference, Seattle
• Moosavi, S., Hurlimann, A., Warren-Myers, G., Bush, J., March, A. “Designing climate-responsive built and living environments: perceptions of barriers and facilitators among design practitioners”. 26-29 Nov, ASA 2024, Gold Coast.
• March, A., Hürlimann, C., Moosavi, S., Bush, J. (2024) The Built Environment Policy and Practice Context to Facilitate Climate Change Action - the Role for Planning and Design. 36th AESOP Annual Congress, 8^th – 12^th July, Paris France.
• Hurlimann, A., March, A., Bush, J., Warren-Myers, G., Moosavi, A. (2023) Australian Urban planners’ climate change information seeking behaviour - what and from whom? ISOCARP World Planning Congress, 10-12 October, Toronto.
• Hurlimann, A.,Bush, J.,Moosavi, A., March, A.,Warren-Myers, G. (2022) Urban Planners: key agents of climate change action across the built environment. The 5^th World Planning Schools Congress and 16^th Asian Planning Schools Association Congress “Planning a Global Village: Inclusion, Innovation, and Disruption” 29^th August – 2^nd September, Bali Indonesia.

Industry presentations

• Hurlimann, A. (2024) International Finance Corporation Workshop on Building Resilience in Ho Chi Minh City ‘Integration climate change mitigation and adaptation actions across built environments’ 27 March
• Hurlimann, Anna., (2022) Integrating climate change adaptation and mitigation across Australia’s Built Environment. State Government of Victoria’s ‘The Future of the CDB Discussion Series, 16^th December – online.

News articles

• Interview on ABC Radio National Program Future Tense, Australian Broadcasting Corporation Sunday 3rd August at 12:30pm.
• Hurlimann, A., & Moosavi, S. (2025). Cities are heating up the planet – how they can do more to fight climate change. The Conversation. The Conversation Media Group Ltd Carlton
• Hurlimann, A., Browne, G. R., Warren-Myers, G., Bush, J., and Moosavi, S. (2022). Australia’s cities policies are seriously inadequate for tackling the climate crisis.The Conversation. The Conversation Media Group Ltd Carlton
• Hurlimann, A., Warren-Myers, G., and Bush, J. (2021). COP26: cities create over 70% of energy-related emissions. Here’s what must change.The Conversation City: The Conversation Media Group Ltd: Melbourne,

Data online

• Hurlimann, A, Brown, G, Moosavi, S, & March, A (2025) Supplementary data file for: Integrating adaptation and mitigation actions within built environment policy portfolios: An Australian local government comparison. The University of Melbourne.
• Hurlimann, A., Browne, G., March, A., Moosavi, S., & Bush, J. (2025). Data file: Translating global emission reduction goals into built environment policy instruments: An ambitious yet inadequate policy portfolio for Victoria, Australia [Dataset].
• Hurlimann, A., Browne, G., Bush, J., March, A., Warren-Myers, G., and Moosavi, S. (2022). Mapping built environment policy for Victoria, Australia: Data Table. The University of Melbourne. Dataset.

Figures

• Hurlimann, A., Moosavi, S., Bush, J., March, A., Prideaux, F., & Warren-Myers, G. (2024). Principles for Climate Action in Built Environments. In: Figshare, The University of Melbourne
• Hurlimann, A., Moosavi, S., Bush, J., March, A., Prideaux, F., & Warren-Myers, G. (2024). Priorities for climate action across the built environment. In. Figshare, The University of Melbourne
• Moosavi, S., Hurlimann, A., Warren-Myers, G., Neilsen, J., Bush, J., & March, A. (2024). Built Environment Process Map. (1 ed.): In Figshare, The University of Melbourne

Symposium

• Climate Action in Cities Symposium, Melbourne School of Design, Faculty of Architecture Building and Planning at the University of Melbourne: 12-13 November 2024.

Previous relevant research

Climate change and the property sector

• Warren-Myers, G., Hurlimann, A., & Bush, J. (2021). Climate change frontrunners in the Australian property sector. Climate Risk Management, 33, 100340.
• Warren-Myers, G., Hurlimann, A., Bush, J. (2020). "Advancing capacity to adapt to climate change in the Australian property industry – addressing climate change information needs." Journal of European Real Estate Research: https://doi.org/10.1108/JERER-03-2020-0017 Minerva access: http://hdl.handle.net/11343/248494
• Warren-Myers, G., Hurlimann, A., Bush, J. (2020). "Barriers to climate change adaption in the Australian Property industry." Journal of Property Investment & Finance: https://doi.org/10.1108/JPIF-12-2019-0161

Climate change and the construction sector

• Hurlimann, A., C., Warren-Myers, G., Browne., G.R (2019) Is the Australian construction industry prepared for climate change? Building and Environment 153, 128-137.
• Hurlimann, A. C., Browne, G. R., Warren-Myers, G., Francis, V. (2018). Barriers to climate change adaptation in the Australian construction industry - Impetus for regulatory reform. Building and Environment, 137, 235-245.

Integrating policy for climate change across the built environment

• Hurlimann, A., Moosavi, S., Browne, G. (2020) Urban planning policy must do more to integrate climate change adaptation and mitigation actions. Land Use Policy. DOI:  10.1016/j.landusepol.2020.105188
• Hurlimann, A. C., Moosavi, S., & Browne, G. R. (2021). Climate change transformation: A definition and typology to guide decision making in urban environments. Sustainable Cities and Society, 70, 102890. https://minerva-access.unimelb.edu.au/bitstream/handle/11343/290164/Hurlimann et al SCS Author Accepted 2021.pdf.