www.buildingsandcities.org/journal-content/special-issues/understanding-demolition2.html
This special issue examines why demolition occurs, its consequences and how a more sustainable approach can be created.
In the sustainability discourse, the long-lasting nature of buildings and building stocks is rarely investigated. This special issue explores when, why and how demolition occurs with the aim to understand its environmental, socio-economic and cultural drivers, and consequences for policy and practice. The potential for avoiding building replacement (demolition and subsequent new build) and favouring retention is probed. Older buildings tend to be seen either as a problem and a threat, e.g. a contributor to climate change due to their allegedly excessive use of energy or, if they are heritage buildings, as being themselves threatened by the changing climate. New knowledge has emerged that challenges this perception, suggesting that older can potentially outperform new build. Profound questions arise about the nature of 'development' in the Global North. In particular, about public policies and whether the role and business models of the construction industry need to be reconfigured to a larger emphasis on stewardship of the existing building stock.
Guest editor: Satu Huuhka
This special issue frames demolition as a phenomenon. It is usually taken for granted or at most seen as a necessary evil; an inconvenient but inevitable part of the never-ending development of modern cities and societies. As a result, demolition has so far mainly been approached as a technical undertaking, a practical problem that mechanical engineering can help to solve effectively. There has been fairly little problematisation in- or outside of academia whether and how demolition helps to build environmentally, economically and socially sustainable cities, and when it is in fact helpful toward these goals.
The papers in the issue contribute insights from different scales, from the level of a building to that of a city. Eight case studies from various contexts, mainly Europe, but also the US and Australia, contribute novel methods, findings and policy insights.
The papers are categorised as: (1)
drivers and policies on demolition versus retention; (2) environmental and
social impact assessment on building level; and (3) practical demolition
decision-making. The contributions suggest, among other findings, positive
environmental impacts from building retention as opposed to demolition, and
discuss how policy designs from the city to the building level can either
encourage or discourage retention. Due to its implications, demolition and its alternatives should gain importance on
research, design, planning, construction and real estate agendas in the years
to come.
Understanding demolition [Editorial]
S. Huuhka
Policy tensions in demolition: Dutch social housing and circularity
P. Jonker-Hoffrén
Demolition or retention of existing buildings: drivers at the masterplan scale
H. Baker, A.
Moncaster, S. Wilkinson & H. Remøy
Demolition or adaptation?: post-industrial buildings in Ukraine
I. Serhiiuk
& I. Kalakoski
Renovate
or replace?: Consequential replacement LCA framework for buildings
S. Huuhka,
M. Moisio, E. Salmio, A. Köliö & J. Lahdensivu
GHG
emissions from building renovation versus new-build: incentives from assessment
methods
R.K. Zimmermann,
Z. Barjot, F.N. Rasmussen, T. Malmqvist, M. Kuittinen & H. Birgisdorttir
Social
life cycle assessment of adaptive reuse
R. Lundgren
Decision-making
analysis for Pittsburgh's deconstruction pilot using AHP and GIS
Z. Zhang
& J.D. Lee
Decision-support
for selecting demolition waste management strategies
M. van den
Berg, L. Hulsbeek & H. Voordijk
When is Demolition Justified?
Colin Rose
Time to Question Demolition!
André Thomsen
Beyond the building: governance challenges in social housing retrofit
H Charles
Heat stress in social housing districts: tree cover–built form interaction
C Lopez-Ordoñez, E Garcia-Nevado, H Coch & M Morganti
An observational analysis of shade-related pedestrian activity
M Levenson, D Pearlmutter & O Aleksandrowicz
Learning to sail a building: a people-first approach to retrofit
B Bordass, R Pender, K Steele & A Graham
Market transformations: gas conversion as a blueprint for net zero retrofit
A Gillich
Resistance against zero-emission neighbourhood infrastructuring: key lessons from Norway
T Berker & R Woods
Megatrends and weak signals shaping future real estate
S Toivonen
A strategic niche management framework to scale deep energy retrofits
T H King & M Jemtrud
Generative AI: reconfiguring supervision and doctoral research
P Boyd & D Harding
Exploring interactions between shading and view using visual difference prediction
S Wasilewski & M Andersen
How urban green infrastructure contributes to carbon neutrality [briefing note]
R Hautamäki, L Kulmala, M Ariluoma & L Järvi
Implementing and operating net zero buildings in South Africa
R Terblanche, C May & J Steward
Quantifying inter-dwelling air exchanges during fan pressurisation tests
D Glew, F Thomas, D Miles-Shenton & J Parker
Western Asian and Northern African residential building stocks: archetype analysis
S Akin, A Eghbali, C Nwagwu & E Hertwich
Lanes, clusters, sightlines: modelling patient flow in medical clinics
K Sailer, M Utley, R Pachilova, A T Z Fouad, X Li, H Jayaram & P J Foster
Analysing cold-climate urban heat islands using personal weather station data
J Taylor, C H Simpson, J Vanhatalo, H Sohail, O Brousse, & C Heaviside
Are simple models for natural ventilation suitable for shelter design?
A Conzatti, D Fosas de Pando, B Chater & D Coley
Impact of roofing materials on school temperatures in tropical Africa
E F Amankwaa, B M Roberts, P Mensah & K V Gough
Acceptability of sufficiency consumption policies by Finnish households
E Nuorivaara & S Ahvenharju
Key factors for revitalising heritage buildings through adaptive reuse
É Savoie, J P Sapinski & A-M Laroche
Cooler streets for a cycleable city: assessing policy alignment
C Tang & J Bush
Understanding the embodied carbon credentials of modern methods of construction
R O'Hegarty, A McCarthy, J O'Hagan, T Thanapornpakornsin, S Raffoul & O Kinnane
The changing typology of urban apartment buildings in Aurinkolahti
S Meriläinen & A Tervo
Embodied climate impacts in urban development: a neighbourhood case study
S Sjökvist, N Francart, M Balouktsi & H Birgisdottir
Environmental effects of urban wind energy harvesting: a review
I Tsionas, M laguno-Munitxa & A Stephan
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