The value of land is constantly increasing, influencing the ability to create more housing, along with affordable housing. Yet, more and more built structures are abandoned. What needs to happen to turn those into valuable resources? This Fast Company story explores the opportunity.
Detroit has been demolishing about 200 vacant houses per week since December 2014, with a goal to take down 6,000 houses in one year. Much of the demolition work is concentrated in about 20 neighborhoods where the blight removal is projected to have immediate positive effects of improving remaining property values and clearing land for future development.
While Detroit may be an extreme example, economic decline, disinvestment, racial segregation, and natural and human-made disasters have left other U.S. communities with unprecedented amounts of structural debris, abandonment, and blight, too.
As scholars who focus on understanding the complex circumstances that have led to blight, we also have some ideas about potential solutions that could prevent this cycle the next time around.
We’ve coined the term domicology to describe our study of the life cycles of the built environment. It examines the continuum from the planning, design, and construction stages through to the end of use, abandonment, and deconstruction or reuse of structures.
Domicology recognizes the cyclical nature of the built environment. Ultimately we’re imagining a world where no building has to be demolished. Structures will be designed with the idea that once they reach the end of their usefulness, they can be deconstructed with the valuable components repurposed or recycled.
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