Achieving systemic urban retrofit: a framework for action

The critical challenge for contemporary urbanism is how cities will develop the knowledge and capability in order to systematically ‘re-engineer’ their built environment and urban infrastructure in response to climate change and resource constraints. The purpose of this chapter is to detail a framework for action and an orientation for how systemic retrofitting of urban infrastructure and the built environment can be undertaken. This provides the context within which we set out the contemporary pressures facing cities and the need for effective systemic urban retrofit. Drawing upon extensive fieldwork that was undertaken with stakeholders and through a placement with the global engineering firm Arup, the SURF–Arup framework then sets out a five stage process for achieving purposeful and effective retrofitting of urban infrastructures and the built environment.