Germany should prioritise urban revitalisation over new construction – researchers

Germany should make better use of existing buildings instead of focusing on new construction to solve the housing shortage, researchers from the Leibniz Institute of Ecological Urban and Regional Development (IÖR) said in a policy paper. Sustainable housing policy would see a shift away from new construction and focus instead on using existing living space better and on revitalising cities and regions, according to the paper.

While there is an acute housing shortage in Germany's major cities, many smaller cities in peripheral locations struggle with a declining population and vacant buildings, the researchers wrote. However, making better use of the existing building stock and limiting new construction would reduce land consumption, the need for building materials and greenhouse gas emissions.

"In particular, the revitalisation of existing buildings, established urban districts and ultimately entire cities and regions offers many starting points for meeting the current challenges in regional and municipal development and tapping into potential for sustainable development," author Robert Knippschild said. Full climate and environmental goals – including biodiversity protection, climate adaptation and the circular economy – should be considered in planning and strategy development and addressed in the debate on the creation of housing, the researchers said.

Construction has a large environmental footprint. In the EU, construction uses nearly 50 percent of extracted materials and generates almost 40 percent of the union's waste. Around 25 percent of the emissions from the EU's current building stock are embodied in materials, when looking at the entire life cycle. Environmental groups have long called for developed nations to make better use of existing resources.