Abstract
As urbanization continues and more people move into cities and urban areas, pressure on available land for new constructions will continue to increase. This situation constitutes an incentive to review the need for interior space and uses of existing buildings. A great deal can be gained from using existing buildings more efficiently instead of constructing new ones: Reduced resource usage during construction (investments, natural resources, and energy), operation, and maintenance; more activity per square meter of buildings creates a greater basis for public transport and other services; more intensive use of buildings creates a more vibrant city without building on virgin land. The aim of this paper is to initiate a discussion regarding how digitalization can affect the demand and supply of interior space in existing buildings and elaborate on how policy can support more resource-efficient uses of space. New activity-based resource measurements intended for use in buildings are proposed, and several principles that have the potential to decrease environmental impact through more efficient usage of space are outlined. Based on these ideas for encouraging the flexible use of building spaces that are facilitated by digitalization and the new measurement approaches, a four-step principle for construction is proposed: The first step is to reduce the demand for space, the second is to intensify usage of existing space, the third is to reconstruct and adapt existing buildings to current needs, and the fourth is to construct new buildings. Urging political, municipal, construction, and real-estate decision makers to contemplate this principle, particularly in view of the new conditions that digitalization entails, will lead to more sustainable construction and, in the long term, a sustainable built environment.
Highlights
In 2007, more than half of the population of the world lived in cities
Buildings are responsible for 40% of energy consumption and 36% of CO2 emissions in the EU, and it is predicted that 50% of the building stock that will exist in 2050 will have been built before 1975 [4]
Four steps for the sustainable use of interior space were tentatively suggested at a conference in 2017 [22], based on the four-step principle for transport infrastructure [13,14]
Summary
In 2007, more than half of the population of the world lived in cities. In 2014, this figure was 54.4% and is predicted to reach 66% in 2050 [1]. One effect of urbanization and more people moving into cities and urban areas is an increased need for land for new buildings. One method of achieving this is to expand the urban areas (urban sprawl), another is to make the city denser (densification). A third is to use the existing building stock more efficiently. Buildings are responsible for 40% of energy consumption and 36% of CO2 emissions in the EU, and it is predicted that 50% of the building stock that will exist in 2050 will have been built before 1975 [4]. More renovation of existing buildings has the potential to lead to significant energy savings, potentially reducing the EU’s total energy consumption by 5–6% and lowering CO2 emissions by approximately 5% [4]
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