3 mins
How green is the reuse of spaces and buildings?
In many cities, population growth puts pressure on scarce urban land and affects relationships between core cities, and suburban and rural areas. Such pressure could result in uncontrolled urban development (sprawl) that is generally considered unsustainable. Urban sprawl could, for example, increase travel times and transport costs, cause pollution and environmental degradation, intensify segregation and undermine the vitality of existing urban areas.
An effective way to counteract urban sprawl and reduce environmental impacts is to reuse spaces and buildings, in accordance with the principles of a circular economy. This can be considered an attractive alternative to new construction.
In the spirit of a circular economy, industrial sites could be reused and abandoned industrial installations could be dismantled and either sold for reuse or recycled. Vacant buildings could also be adapted to new circular industrial or non-industrial uses, or be transformed into public spaces, thereby contributing to regenerative spatial and urban planning.
In the process of achieving sustainable urbanisation, green infrastructure, that is, incorporating green (and blue) spaces and other physical features into terrestrial and marine areas, can be a useful tool. It contributes to the environmental vitality of urban areas and can reduce energy use for heating and cooling buildings by shading in the summer and providing shelter in the winter.
who can steer?
Countries have distinct territorial development strategies and spatial planning systems in place, leading to considerable differences in the extent and spatial distribution of urban development. These developments can vary from relatively compact cites with efficient uses of land and mobility systems to areas of diffuse suburbanisation with more affordable housing.
The Leipzig Charter on sustainable cities, followed by the thematic strategy on the urban environment, enlarged the role of cities in establishing territorial development strategies and spatial planning systems.
Reusing buildings and spaces
No local government has the tools to address all the challenges and opportunities related to the reuse of buildings and spaces and their implementation. Therefore, a mix of policy tools is needed.
How to do it
have a strategy: raise political awareness and gain the commitment of different groups of decision makers via the strategic visioning of metropolitan development;
coordinate: establish bodies to coordinate metropolitan developments across political and administrative layers of government;
restructure: reorganise planning departments and formalise relationships, competences and responsibilities across sectoral governmental structures;
set up procedures: establish legal, mandatory mechanisms for metropolitan planning;
finance: use different sources including structural funds, research and innovation strategies for smart specialisation (RIS3), a combination of public and private funding, and fiscal incentives;
collaborate: establish specific roles for all collaborators to ensure the equal participation of all the affected stakeholders.
Voluntary agreement and target in urban renewal – the case of France
At the beginning of the 2000s, there was a need to rethink the French spatial planning system in view of new needs and economic circumstances. The French Law on Urban Solidarity and Renewal, introduced in 2000, was based on planning coherence, urban solidarity, sustainable development and the better integration of land use and transport.
The law decentralised planning, giving responsibility to local authorities. Each municipality was completely free to organise its urban development and enact its own building rules. Local state services supported the municipalities. Moreover, the law established that at least 20 % of all new dwellings should be dedicated to social housing. Finally, to reduce the use of private transport and combat urban sprawl, the law stimulated the coordination of infrastructure planning and public transport.
The bill was considered less successful in terms of public transport and decentralisation, but useful for the development of social housing.
Keep your eyes on the SUPER project: the ESPON SUPER (Sustainable Urbanization and Land-use Practices in European Regions) project gathered information on over 200 interventions that, in one way or another, affect land use and thus influence its sustainability. Each of the interventions collected was described according to a number of basic features, such as its aim and the instruments applied.
Read more: Policy Brief: Reuse of spaces and buildings