Sheltering is an immediate human need and determines well-being andhealth. However, we face many challenges in providing homes and offices for allon this rapidly changing planet. In the 21st... Show moreSheltering is an immediate human need and determines well-being andhealth. However, we face many challenges in providing homes and offices for allon this rapidly changing planet. In the 21st century, climate change, resourcecrises, and population expansion will combine to exacerbate existingchallenges. We need to better understand and tackle these issues. Therefore,the overarching research question of this thesis is: What are the mainchallenges and opportunities in delivering decent shelters for nearly 10billion people in a warming and resource-scarce world? To this end, this thesismakes the first steps in exploring several key intersecting challenges relatedto resources scarcity, global warming, and natural hazards. Show less
Human society has always depended on a substantial input of materials. At the moment our energy supply is almost completely based on fossil fuels with minor contributions of biomass and uranium... Show moreHuman society has always depended on a substantial input of materials. At the moment our energy supply is almost completely based on fossil fuels with minor contributions of biomass and uranium based nuclear. Climate science tells us that, in order to avoid catastrophic impacts, we need a transition to a low-carbon energy system in the next few decades. This means we will need to build a new energy system almost from scratch including wind turbines, solar cells, carbon capture and storage and a smart supergrid. In this work the material requirements of such a transition are analysed. It is concluded that a substantial upscaling of current mining activities is needed very quickly in order to be able to supply the metals needed for this energy transition Show less