**2. Energy renovation as a key element in urban regeneration**

materials and nutrients, accounting for 60–75% [1] of natural resource consumption, 50% of global waste production, and 60–80% of greenhouse gas emissions [2]. Managing the built environment is the key to securing a sustainable future. In the EU alone, buildings account for 40% of the final energy consumption, about 35% of greenhouse gas emissions, 50% of all

People living in cities typically spend up to 90% of their time indoors—thus creating more demand for energy for heating and cooling of buildings. For households, this can be expensive—with

A key step to the sustainable design of buildings is to reduce the amount of energy needed in buildings to keep a comfortable indoor temperature throughout the entire year. Typically, 80% of the energy used in the building sector results from heating, cooling, hot water and lighting, while the remaining 20% is generated by construction materials, transport and demolition. So, while a low-energy design is essential, it's also important to design in a more comprehensive way and to consider how the building and its materials can be recycled and reused at the end of their life. The right design can make a building a 'material bank' for the future. Requiring deconstruction, selective demolition, sorting, increasing demand for recycled products and developing (digital) platforms for this will bring the circular economy

Many large cities host challenging neighbourhoods that are often characterised by multiple social problems, inadequate living conditions and bad reputations. These problems often reinforce each other in a vicious circle, causing a negative trend for the area. The buildings forming these areas are often 40–50 years old and were built at a time characterised by different societal ideals. Time has changed and so has our demand from the built environment. Most of these buildings are in dire need of an upgrade—to lower their energy consumption and improve thermal comfort and the health conditions of the people living in them, as well as to improve aesthetics of the neighbourhood. Urban regeneration is important because we need to ensure that our cities, living spaces and our working spaces are fit for the future and enable the citizens to live a sustainable lifestyle. Urban regeneration may be one of the main tasks for our societies to tackle, but it also provides an opportunity to create high-quality, affordable and sustainable buildings if we manage to upscale and replicate the lessons learned from the many pilot cases around the world. Cities also face new risks due to climate change causing more extreme weather conditions. A higher frequency of disasters like flooding, hurricanes and fires poses new challenges to cities. Cities should be resilient to these risks too, preventing severe human, social and economic

This chapter describes the results of various studies and publications on the role of buildings

**Section 2** explains the results of a recent European study on the challenges and opportunities

**Section 3** goes into sustainable buildings and the challenges and opportunities for cities to get the built environment to become more circular, more resource-efficient and less wasteful. It

consequences. A resilient city will recover more easily after a disaster.

of energy renovation in a city context, linking it to urban regeneration.

provides an overview of available studies based on desk research.

in cities to meet the challenges described above.

extracted materials, 30% of water consumption and 35% of total generated waste [3].

energy expenditure accounting for up to 16% of an average household's total spending.

in the built environment to the next level.

42 Sustainable Cities - Authenticity, Ambition and Dream

In June 2018, ROCKWOOL and the Building Performance Institute Europe, BPIE, published a report with a selection of successful urban regeneration projects and an analysis of the key elements in achieving successful urban regeneration [4]. The results of the study and subsequent use of its results in a paper from Copenhagen Economics [5] are described later.

Many large cities host run-down or challenging neighbourhoods, often characterised by multiple social problems, inadequate living conditions and bad reputations. These problems often reinforce each other in a vicious circle, causing a negative trend for the area (**Figure 1**).

Poor houses ➔ energy poverty ➔ social problems ➔ vandalism ➔ bad reputation ➔ lack of investments ➔ poor houses. The challenge to revitalise these areas is amplified by the fact that these neighbourhoods are often physically and socially detached from the rest of the city.

The buildings forming these areas are often 40–50 years old and were built at a time characterised by different societal ideals. During the 1960s and 1970s, there was a huge need for dwellings—resulting in most constructions being built quickly and on the idea of equality. Time has changed and so has our demand from the built environment. Most of these buildings are now in dire need of an upgrade to lower their energy consumption and improve their thermal comfort and the health conditions of the people living in them, as well as to upgrade

**Figure 1.** The vicious circle of poor housing in challenging neighbourhoods [4].

the whole neighbourhood that they are part of through the improvement of their aesthetic quality and that of the urban spaces.

Urban regeneration deserves additional attention as cities need to be transformed into living spaces and working spaces in a sustainable manner. Often, challenged urban areas especially need attention in creating resilient buildings as the combination of high-rise buildings and dense urban areas poses a higher risk for the built environment in case of fire or natural disasters. An upgraded building stock will also enable and induce the citizens to live a more sustainable lifestyle.

Many case projects around the world have shown that a comprehensive strategy comprising both physical and social initiatives can transform whole areas into attractive and liveable spaces as well as turn around the negative trend experienced in these neighbourhoods. Upscaling energy renovation of run-down or challenged urban areas is a key element, which can, if combined with other initiatives, not only improve the quality of life and enable citizens to live a sustainable lifestyle but also provide an opportunity to reduce social and health problems in society. Upscaling energy renovation should at the same time focus on creating new business models out of the challenges—focusing on the need for managing resources in the urban environment in a better way.

ROCKWOOL and BPIE describe a selection of successful urban regeneration projects in their study [4]. The key elements in achieving successful urban regeneration summarised later are the result of a review of successful cases combined with an interactive dialogue with leading experts in the field facilitated by ROCKWOOL and BPIE in 2018.

The key learnings identified are especially (see **Figure 2**):


**2.1. Key elements in achieving successful urban regeneration**

**Figure 2.** Key elements in achieving successful urban regeneration [4].

and prefer to be given the opportunity to take individual choices. A deeper dive into the findings provides the following insights.

One of the key learnings from the many existing urban regeneration projects is that people in general like their homes, want to be informed and involved in large-scale renovation projects

Buildings in Urban Regeneration

45

http://dx.doi.org/10.5772/intechopen.81803

Urban regeneration is not the same as gentrification. It is, therefore, important to **make sure the residents are involved and empowered in the regeneration process.** While many of the rundown or challenged areas would benefit from hosting a more mixed population, the means to achieve this cannot be to squeeze out certain groups. Extensive energy renovation will actually improve residents' ability to pay rent through lower energy bills. A successful urban regenera-

A successful urban regeneration strategy cannot be fulfilled without really knowing the needs of the residents. A **bottom-up approach where residents are involved can uncover** 

tion process can therefore lift a whole neighbourhood including the people in it.

Key success factors which were identified for the building renovation projects were:


**Figure 2.** Key elements in achieving successful urban regeneration [4].

the whole neighbourhood that they are part of through the improvement of their aesthetic

Urban regeneration deserves additional attention as cities need to be transformed into living spaces and working spaces in a sustainable manner. Often, challenged urban areas especially need attention in creating resilient buildings as the combination of high-rise buildings and dense urban areas poses a higher risk for the built environment in case of fire or natural disasters. An upgraded building stock will also enable and induce the citizens to live a more

Many case projects around the world have shown that a comprehensive strategy comprising both physical and social initiatives can transform whole areas into attractive and liveable spaces as well as turn around the negative trend experienced in these neighbourhoods. Upscaling energy renovation of run-down or challenged urban areas is a key element, which can, if combined with other initiatives, not only improve the quality of life and enable citizens to live a sustainable lifestyle but also provide an opportunity to reduce social and health problems in society. Upscaling energy renovation should at the same time focus on creating new business models out of the challenges—focusing on the need for managing resources in

ROCKWOOL and BPIE describe a selection of successful urban regeneration projects in their study [4]. The key elements in achieving successful urban regeneration summarised later are the result of a review of successful cases combined with an interactive dialogue with leading

• A strong long-term commitment of and an early engagement from the public authorities

• A well-adjusted combination of social and physical measures needs to be considered—which also requires an early collaboration between multiple actors with different expertise.

• The involvement and empowerment of the people living in the area are crucial. Engaging residents in the renovation process, e.g. via 'social contracts', increases the support among

• A detailed assessment of renovation alternatives found that a deep renovation would be

• Improving the aesthetic quality of the areas combined with the use of long-lasting materials is cheaper in the long run and can attract new investments and new residents to the areas. Doing so can also be a tool to reduce crime and improve quality of life in the area as neighbourhoods that are in a poor state are perceived to be uncared for—resulting in the

• Building owners see an increased value of their properties while reducing operational and

Key success factors which were identified for the building renovation projects were:

quality and that of the urban spaces.

44 Sustainable Cities - Authenticity, Ambition and Dream

the urban environment in a better way.

experts in the field facilitated by ROCKWOOL and BPIE in 2018.

The key learnings identified are especially (see **Figure 2**):

residents and can help to give people a new start.

the cheapest option over a 30-year period.

likelihood of crime going unchallenged [5].

maintenance costs [5].

sustainable lifestyle.

is necessary.

#### **2.1. Key elements in achieving successful urban regeneration**

One of the key learnings from the many existing urban regeneration projects is that people in general like their homes, want to be informed and involved in large-scale renovation projects and prefer to be given the opportunity to take individual choices.

A deeper dive into the findings provides the following insights.

Urban regeneration is not the same as gentrification. It is, therefore, important to **make sure the residents are involved and empowered in the regeneration process.** While many of the rundown or challenged areas would benefit from hosting a more mixed population, the means to achieve this cannot be to squeeze out certain groups. Extensive energy renovation will actually improve residents' ability to pay rent through lower energy bills. A successful urban regeneration process can therefore lift a whole neighbourhood including the people in it.

A successful urban regeneration strategy cannot be fulfilled without really knowing the needs of the residents. A **bottom-up approach where residents are involved can uncover**  **new innovative solutions** while giving the residents a sense of ownership of the process, thus increasing their willingness to participate. In other words, an urban regeneration strategy must build on the existing culture rather than building something new. Large-scale renovation projects can be tailored to the existing culture, e.g. by developing a catalogue of individual measures.

**2.2. Moving forward**

**urban regeneration**

toxic environment.

It is evident that extensive experience exists from individual case studies and within individual stakeholders. The existing experience must be scaled up—following the success factors from existing urban regeneration projects. Cities should be encouraged to develop their own urban regeneration path and to take responsibility for facilitating an early engagement with

Buildings in Urban Regeneration

47

http://dx.doi.org/10.5772/intechopen.81803

The benefits of energy renovation in urban regeneration are not limited to energy savings alone. It is broadly recognised to also benefit people and the environment. Good indoor climate, thermal comfort, acoustic performance and daylight, for example, improve the health and wellbeing of inhabitants and positively affect the productivity in schools, hospitals and of workers in general [5]. Taking a life-cycle approach when considering the materials used in buildings can reduce the environmental impact of the buildings in a city. Moreover, valuing the potential for today and the future creates better economic value. Not surprisingly, there is

Urban centres are particularly impacted by waste from construction and demolition activities (CDW). The Ellen MacArthur Foundation has identified the built environment to be one of the key sectors of structural waste [2]. For example, in Europe, the average office is used only 35–50% of the time, even during working hours. The UN-IRP study called 'The Weight of Cities' [1] shows that the global 'domestic material consumption' (DMC) of raw materials (including sand, gravel, iron ore, coal and wood) is likely to be in the range of 8–17 tonnes per capita per year at 2050, assuming material use per capita will stabilise in developing countries at lower levels than today's developed countries. However, a DMC range of 6–8 tonnes per capita per year has been proposed as an indicative target for sustainable resource consumption [7]. In 2050, urban mining should be the main source of building materials in cities, with implications for storage, logistics and costs, while citizens will increasingly require a non-

Cities are well placed to tackle the resource and waste issues in the construction sector, with their high concentration of resources, capital, data, and talent over a small geographic territory. Closing the loop in the construction sector and improving design would lead to major benefits in sustainability and in quality of life. This could further support urban policymakers in achieving their objectives when it comes to carbon emissions, mobility, indoor air quality [2] and working towards a non-toxic environment. This transition towards a sustainable, lowcarbon and resource-efficient economy—called a 'circular economy'—is considered vital to future-proofing cities and improving quality of life for citizens [8]. Our world economy is considered to be only 9.1% circular at the moment [37]. The Circle Economy states that 'Closing the circularity gap serves the higher objective of preventing further and accelerated environmental degradation and social inequality'—especially since housing and infrastructure needs

**3. Sustainable buildings as contributors to the circular economy in** 

clear trend towards a more sustainable design and renovation of buildings.

stakeholders covering all needed competences in a project.

Look beyond the near-term period. **A long-term plan for the neighbourhood will increase the chances of a successful regeneration process.** The plan should incorporate the multiple benefits that a physical and social transformation will entail such as a higher living standard and improved health, the alleviation of energy poverty through lower energy bills, an increase in housing prices, the reduction of maintenance cost and the mitigation of the area's climate impact.

Furthermore, **the multiple benefits of deep renovation should be valued and monetized.** Research from Eurofound [6] shows that inadequate housing is linked with numerous societal costs ranging from health care expenses, higher policing and emergency costs to poor academic performance. Public authorities ought to incorporate these costs and benefits in their cost–benefit analysis.

The **physical transformation of a home and a neighbourhood can have a positive impact on people's perception and behaviour**. A balanced urban regeneration process needs to combine both physical and social measures in a harmonised manner. Physical and social measures are not two separate entities but are highly interlinked, as a new home is commonly associated to new beginnings.

**The physical transformation of buildings should be long-lasting**. It is evident that deep renovations using high-quality materials, combining the energy upgrade with an architectural upgrade, are the cheapest solution in the long run. Deep renovation guarantees a very low energy demand for the next 30 to 50 years. In addition, maintenance and administration costs are reduced as well. Past experience has shown that renovation projects that were quickly done using cheap materials had a short lifespan—thus requiring renovation again. In contrast, high-quality and durable materials guarantee that renovated buildings continue to look nice for many decades.

In all the cases investigated, the cities/municipalities have played a key role. **The authorities have been successful in driving transformation through public-private partnerships**, in which they safeguard the social aspects. Another key success factor is the breaking down of silos within the public governance, for example, by setting up a task group with various departments (energy, climate, social, budget, etc.) and involving solution providers early in the process. Scaling up deep renovation requires more collaboration between various stakeholders, assembling different skills and expertise.

Good planning can use the 'economies of scale' effect when renovating multiple identical buildings. The buildings **built during the 1960s and 1970s are especially suited to a more industrialised renovation approach**, which could reduce the time spent on site and cost. New business models (one-stop shops) and technologies should be supported and further explored.

#### **2.2. Moving forward**

**new innovative solutions** while giving the residents a sense of ownership of the process, thus increasing their willingness to participate. In other words, an urban regeneration strategy must build on the existing culture rather than building something new. Large-scale renovation projects can be tailored to the existing culture, e.g. by developing a catalogue of indi-

Look beyond the near-term period. **A long-term plan for the neighbourhood will increase the chances of a successful regeneration process.** The plan should incorporate the multiple benefits that a physical and social transformation will entail such as a higher living standard and improved health, the alleviation of energy poverty through lower energy bills, an increase in housing prices, the reduction of maintenance cost and the mitigation of the area's

Furthermore, **the multiple benefits of deep renovation should be valued and monetized.** Research from Eurofound [6] shows that inadequate housing is linked with numerous societal costs ranging from health care expenses, higher policing and emergency costs to poor academic performance. Public authorities ought to incorporate these costs and benefits in

The **physical transformation of a home and a neighbourhood can have a positive impact on people's perception and behaviour**. A balanced urban regeneration process needs to combine both physical and social measures in a harmonised manner. Physical and social measures are not two separate entities but are highly interlinked, as a new home is commonly associated

**The physical transformation of buildings should be long-lasting**. It is evident that deep renovations using high-quality materials, combining the energy upgrade with an architectural upgrade, are the cheapest solution in the long run. Deep renovation guarantees a very low energy demand for the next 30 to 50 years. In addition, maintenance and administration costs are reduced as well. Past experience has shown that renovation projects that were quickly done using cheap materials had a short lifespan—thus requiring renovation again. In contrast, high-quality and durable materials guarantee that renovated buildings continue to

In all the cases investigated, the cities/municipalities have played a key role. **The authorities have been successful in driving transformation through public-private partnerships**, in which they safeguard the social aspects. Another key success factor is the breaking down of silos within the public governance, for example, by setting up a task group with various departments (energy, climate, social, budget, etc.) and involving solution providers early in the process. Scaling up deep renovation requires more collaboration between various stake-

Good planning can use the 'economies of scale' effect when renovating multiple identical buildings. The buildings **built during the 1960s and 1970s are especially suited to a more industrialised renovation approach**, which could reduce the time spent on site and cost. New business models (one-stop shops) and technologies should be supported and further

vidual measures.

46 Sustainable Cities - Authenticity, Ambition and Dream

climate impact.

their cost–benefit analysis.

look nice for many decades.

explored.

holders, assembling different skills and expertise.

to new beginnings.

It is evident that extensive experience exists from individual case studies and within individual stakeholders. The existing experience must be scaled up—following the success factors from existing urban regeneration projects. Cities should be encouraged to develop their own urban regeneration path and to take responsibility for facilitating an early engagement with stakeholders covering all needed competences in a project.
