Replacement or renovation of dwellings: The relevance of a more sustainable approach

The choice between replacement and life cycle extension of existing buildings implies a vital but very difficult decision, involving a wide range of aspects and affecting contradictory and often conflicting interests. Originally, building quality and public health played a decisive role in improvement of the housing stock, mainly by slum clearance. More recently, functional and economic considerations tend to dominate the decision-making, resulting in increasing demolition and demolition waste. Although environmental aspects (e.g. energy consumption and building waste) are of growing importance, sustainability does not seem to be a major aspect in the choice between demolition and life cycle extension until now. To address the questions of what is more sustainable: replacement or life cycle extension, the decision-making processes surrounding housing demolition in the Netherlands are analysed and a conceptual framework is created. Sustainability has the potential to be a major criterion in housing stock management and, in particular, on the decision processes about dwelling replacement or life cycle extension. From that point of view, life cycle extension is often a better solution than demolition.