Built on Assumptions: Two Tales of One Building
Articles/Websites
Grades9, 10, 11, 12, APEarth and Space Sciences, Economics
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Provided by Probable Futures
What it is
- This article examines how a single building exists in two forms, as a physical structure with hidden support systems and as a set of financial numbers on a spreadsheet, and how both rest on the assumption that the local climate will stay stable.
- Using side-by-side text and illustrations, the article explains how buildings are designed around past climate patterns and how ownership and investment models for real estate hide risk and responsibility.
Teaching tips
Classroom Implementation:
- This article works well as an anchor text for connecting climate risk to real estate, finance, and the built environment.
- Because the piece moves between engineering detail and financial abstraction, consider pairing it with a vocabulary preview of terms like HVAC, equity, debt, and return on investment for students new to finance.
- Ask students to map the invisible systems a building depends on, then predict how a shifting local climate could disrupt each one, building an argument supported by evidence from the text or outside research.
- Use the closing question of who is responsible for a building with many temporary owners to prompt a structured discussion or debate.
Extensions:
- Use this article to launch a project in which students evaluate a set of buildings and specifications provided by the teacher by carrying out a risk assessment and decide which one would be a better investment.
Related Resources:
- Use this article about green infrastructure in Chicago to illustrate how updating building codes to consider climate impacts can reduce future risks.
- Extend your discussion to other parts of the built environment, like roads, ports, and power lines, using this 2-minute video.
From the scientist review
This article explores how climate change impacts the economics of real estate, focusing on historic assumptions that are no longer reasonable. Text and graphics clearly present stresses to buildings due to climate change and how these are unaccounted for in financial statements. This resource actively challenges simplified thinking about our built environment and is recommended for teaching.
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