The author presents a detailed analysis of how the urban built environment can cope with climate-related stresses, drawing mainly on British examples of adapting housing and energy systems. He argues that prompt action provides a win–win opportunity, and preparing buildings for the worst is more cost-effective than retrofitting after climate-related damage (page 20). Radical changes in planning and building methods are needed to withstand hotter summers, cold or stormy winters, flash floods and other extreme events. Smith is sceptical of some recent UK initiatives, such as eco-towns or zero-carbon buildings, but he still suggests promising strategies to foster urban resilience.

Chapters 1 through 3 offer background on climate change, and Smith urges major transformations in design so that buildings can outlast the worst-case climate scenarios. He then assesses possible strategies, which should be of interest to planners, architects and engineers as well as urban policy makers. In Chapters 4 and 5, he considers how to adapt housing and advocates the use of heavyweight construction for walls, floors, etc. Housing is a key area due to its effects upon quality of life and its intergenerational potential; climate-proofing household appliances may also deserve special consideration (page 48). Energy is the focus in the next chapters, with Chapter 6 looking at building-integrated solar energy provision and Chapter 7 examining several other technologies, including wind, photovoltaic cells and hybrid systems.

Chapter 8 criticizes the UK’s programme of building 10 eco-towns, as they are unlikely to withstand extreme weather or reshape other urban developments. Smith also proposes local-level actions that can cope with rising temperatures and the “urban heat island” effect, ranging from porous pavements to reflective building finishes (pages 77–79). Chapter 9 considers adaptation strategies for the existing housing stock, providing useful recommendations of how to operationalize the UK government’s target of an 80 per cent reduction in household carbon emissions by 2050. Non-domestic buildings are profiled in Chapter 10, which features energy-efficient offices in Leeds and Swindon alongside university and commercial buildings in Shanghai and Beijing. Chapter 11 shifts to community buildings, such as hospitals and schools, and suggests a set of indicators for sustainable design (pages 116–117).

The remaining discussion looks at energy options, with Chapter 12 considering conventional energy (including nuclear and distributed electricity generation using mini-grids), Chapter 13 criticizing “clean coal” initiatives and Chapter 14 assessing utility-scale renewable sources (such as wind, tidal energy or solar thermal in Spain, the US and North Africa). Smith injects a note of caution about the potential of renewable energy, and he argues that demand must fall drastically and a zero-carbon levy may also be needed. Chapter 15 envisions “an age beyond oil”, briefly surveying hydrogen fuel cells, changes in transport, battery power and other technologies. In Chapter 16, he offers a sobering but still hopeful conclusion.