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
Evaluating mitigation strategies for building stocks against absolute climate targets
L Hvid Horup, P K Ohms, M Hauschild, S R B Gummidi, A Q Secher, C Thuesen, M Ryberg
Equity and justice in urban coastal adaptation planning: new evaluation framework
T Okamoto & A Doyon
Normative future visioning: a critical pedagogy for transformative adaptation
T Comelli, M Pelling, M Hope, J Ensor, M E Filippi, E Y Menteşe & J McCloskey
Suburban climate adaptation governance: assumptions and imaginaries affecting peripheral municipalities
L Cerrada Morato
Urban shrinkage as a catalyst for transformative adaptation
L Mabon, M Sato & N Mabon
Maintaining a city against nature: climate adaptation in Beira
J Schubert
Ventilation regulations and occupant practices: undetectable pollution and invisible extraction
J Few, M Shipworth & C Elwell
Nature for resilience reconfigured: global- to-local translation of frames in Africa
K Rochell, H Bulkeley & H Runhaar
How hegemonic discourses of sustainability influence urban climate action
V Castán Broto, L Westman & P Huang
Fabric first: is it still the right approach?
N Eyre, T Fawcett, M Topouzi, G Killip, T Oreszczyn, K Jenkinson & J Rosenow
Gender and the heat pump transition
J Crawley, F Wade & M de Wilde
Social value of the built environment [editorial]
F Samuel & K Watson
Understanding demolition [editorial]
S Huuhka
Data politics in the built environment [editorial]
A Karvonen & T Hargreaves
European building passports: developments, challenges and future roles
M Buchholz & T Lützkendorf
Decision-support for selecting demolition waste management strategies
M van den Berg, L Hulsbeek & H Voordijk
Assessing social value in housing design: contributions of the capability approach
J-C Dissart & L Ricaurte
Electricity consumption in commercial buildings during Covid-19
G P Duggan, P Bauleo, M Authier, P A Aloise-Young, J Care & D Zimmerle
Disruptive data: historicising the platformisation of Dublin’s taxi industry
J White & S Larsson
Impact of 2050 tree shading strategies on building cooling demands
A Czekajlo, J Alva, J Szeto, C Girling & R Kellett
Social values and social infrastructures: a multi-perspective approach to place
A Legeby & C Pech
Resilience of racialized segregation is an ecological factor: Baltimore case study
S T A Pickett, J M Grove, C G Boone & G L Buckley
Latest Commentaries
Time to Question Demolition!
André Thomsen (Delft University of Technology) comments on the recent Buildings & Cities special issue ‘Understanding Demolition’ and explains why this phenomenon is only beginning to be understood more fully as a social and behavioural set of issues. Do we need an epidemiology of different demolition rates?
Where are Women of Colour in Urban Planning?
Safaa Charafi asks: is it possible to decolonialise the planning profession to create more inclusive and egalitarian urban settings? It is widely accepted that cities are built by men for other men. This male domination in urban planning results in cities that often do not adequately address challenges encountered by women or ethnic and social minorities. Although efforts are being taken to include women in urban planning, women of colour are still under-represented in many countries, resulting in cities that often overlook their needs.