Sustainable-resilient urban revitalization framework: Residential buildings renovation in a historic district

Abstract

Urban revitalization provides a chance to rethink ways to achieve sustainability and resilience in a district. In recent years, the need for a deliberate plan to renovate existing buildings has been contemplated more than ever. The renovation process can be considered a capacity to implement sustainable and resilient development factors leading to original architecture conservation. With that being said, having an understanding of the various sustainability and resilience dimensions is required before taking any actions.This article presents a sustainable-resilient urban revitalization framework called SRUR for the renovation of existing residential buildings in a historic district by applying the Delphi method. Through the use of SPSS, Expert choice software and analytic hierarchy process, the respondents’ awareness of sustainability and resilience, the importance of each factor, prioritization of dimensions and promotion strategies are evaluated through a survey of 165 construction experts and 76 dwellers in Zanjan, Iran. The results show that location, transportation, building added value and quality of life are the most important factors. Additionally, more than 80% of respondents believe that adhering to the sustainability and resilience considerations will increase the cost and time of the projects. Finally, in addition to stronger governmental support, the city also needs informed people and trained specialists in order to achieve its plan towards sustainable and resilient renovation. Moreover, managerial implications are defined for managers and experts in charge of decision-making in urban revitalization.