VIRTUAL Manchester Livable Cities
Abstract
The increasing frequency of extreme weather events is making communities more vulnerable to climate change, especially low-income groups living in social housing. Green Infrastructure and Nature-based Solutions (NbS) – interventions such as green roofs, green walls and rain gardens – have proven effective in improving flood risk reduction, urban cooling, well-being, enhancing biodiversity, and other multifunctional co-benefits. This study explores the factors influencing the adoption of urban NbS retrofits by drawing insights from diverse experts involved with the development of the Biome, a 13-storey deep retrofit mixed-use social housing project in Swansea. The project is a radical project conducted by Hacer Developments for social housing clients, Codi Group. Our goal is to analyse the value of NbS delivered through the different stages of development and outline a pathway for positive change. Additionally, we seek to identify primary drivers and barriers to delivering NbS retrofit in social housing investments. Through semi-structured interviews, we investigate how various stakeholders—including clients, developers, funders, planners, designers, engineers, and constructors—perceive the social value and other drivers during the planning, construction, and post-maintenance phases, as well as challenges to delivering NbS and identifying opportunities to overcome these challenges. We emphasise the importance of considering social value as a priority for NbS for climate adaptation. This research is part of the 4-year AHRC-funded REPAIR project, titled “Retrofitting for the Future: Nature-based Solutions for Climate Adaptation,” led by Swansea University, the University of Wales Trinity St David, and UCL, in collaboration with societal partners.
Dr Martyna Joanna Surma is a Research Assistant at the Biophilic Centre of Excellence at Swansea University, contributing to the project funded by UK Research and Innovation: REPAIR: Retrofitting for the Future: Nature-Based Solutions for Climate Adaptation. As a multidisciplinary researcher, she has gained international experience in the United Kingdom, the European Union, and the United States. Her research focuses on the synergies between various fields, including real estate, urban planning, environmental sciences, economics, and business studies.
Associate Professor Blanche Cameron is a Lecturer (Teaching) at University College London. She studied Architecture at the Mackintosh School, Glasgow and the Ecole Spéciale in Paris. She is an ecological designer, builder and teacher, working at UCL and with community groups, local authorities, businesses and others on practical solutions to global health, biodiversity and climate challenges and associated social, environmental and economic injustices;
Yolanda Rendón-Guerrero is an Innovation Fellow with the University of Wales Trinity Saint David’s (UWTSD) Assistive Technologies Innovation Centre (ATiC) in Swansea. After studying architecture at the University of Seville (Escuela Técnica Superior de Arquitectura (ETSA) Sevilla), Yolanda, from Cádiz, Spain, moved to Swansea. She has worked for over four years as a researcher in user-centred research on assistive design and technologies, with a focus on how people experience the virtual and built environment.
3:00 pm - 4:30 pm
Wednesday 17th June, 2026