BRE Buzz

5th April 2019

News Update from BRE’s Housing and Health Team – April 2019

Care and Repair England BRE’s Helen Garrett was invited to attend a CRE Older People’s Housing Champions Network meeting where she: shared knowledge on the nature and scale of the types of unsuitable housing, with a focus on older home owners and disrepair in their homes explored the prevalence of non-decent homes and the reasons … Continue reading “News Update from BRE’s Housing and Health Team – April 2019”

25th February 2019

How much traceability is enough?

‘Momentum building for cattle traceability’ according to Beef Magazine. The New York Times is asking ‘Will blockchain fix the mineral traceability woes?’ The Aluminium Stewardship Initiative has created a standard with a traceability mechanism to ensure that certified aluminium has been manufactured by certified producers at every stage. Meanwhile BIM Today reports that ‘verification processes … Continue reading “How much traceability is enough?”

11th February 2019

Reconstruction following Typhoon Haiyan (Yolanda)  –  A Review of a QSAND Application in the Philippines

Super Typhoon Haiyan, known locally as Yolanda, struck the Philippines in November 2013. It is considered one of the strongest typhoons ever recorded with Category 5-equivalent winds and five to six-meter storm surges at landfall. It left neighbourhoods and infrastructure in ruins with over 1.1 million houses destroyed or damaged and over 12 million people … Continue reading “Reconstruction following Typhoon Haiyan (Yolanda)  –  A Review of a QSAND Application in the Philippines”

1st February 2019

Research and Development in Disaster Response – A focus of the Working Together for Disaster Relief Conference

Effective collaboration between the private and humanitarian sectors is important in post-disaster response and recovery. It can help to ensure that immediate action is taken efficiently and support the building of local capacity to respond to future disasters. The Working Together for Disaster Relief Conference, taking place on the 8th February at BRE, will explore … Continue reading “Research and Development in Disaster Response – A focus of the Working Together for Disaster Relief Conference”

25th January 2019

Arup and Better Shelter at the Working Together for Disaster Relief Conference

The Working Together for Disaster Relief conference, taking place on the 8th February at BRE, is focused on exploring the best ways for the private and humanitarian sectors to collaborate in support of localisation and local capacity building in disaster response activities. One of the breakout sessions will focus on the construction and infrastructure sectors … Continue reading “Arup and Better Shelter at the Working Together for Disaster Relief Conference”

16th January 2019

Disaster Response in Gorkha District – Catholic Relief Service’s QSAND Application in Nepal

In April and May 2015, Nepal was struck by a devastating earthquake and series of aftershocks that destroyed or damaged in excess of 800,000 homes and affected over 6 million people (source: Shelter Projects Nepal Earthquake Overview). The severity of the earthquakes, the scale of the damage, and the approaching winter presented serious challenges to relief … Continue reading “Disaster Response in Gorkha District – Catholic Relief Service’s QSAND Application in Nepal”

14th January 2019

HSCD – Targeting Improvements in Housing Conditions and Public Health

Now used by 26 different local authorities throughout the UK, BRE’s HSCD targets improvements in housing conditions and helps to improve the standard of public health. Anabel Ramirez Aragon of BRE’s Housing & Health team writes. The Housing Stock Condition Database (HSCD) is the third online tool from the BRE Housing and Health team.  The … Continue reading “HSCD – Targeting Improvements in Housing Conditions and Public Health”

8th January 2019

News Update from BRE’s Housing and Health Team – January 2019

North Somerset – Customer Story To address issues in the private rented sector, North Somerset Council recently adopted a ‘Rent with Confidence’ scheme. A review of housing conditions was carried out in 2017 to identify problematic areas and potential solutions. This combined the findings from BRE housing stock modelling work (for example on the proportion … Continue reading “News Update from BRE’s Housing and Health Team – January 2019”