How demolition is a vital step in revitalizing our cities, reducing carbon emissions and solving the housing crisis
The recent Guardian article ‘Demolition is an act of violence’ took an interesting view of construction. It lectures us that demolishing an M&S London store is the ‘carbon-hungry’ option and we should celebrate using the ‘bare-minimum’ of resources.
The writer looks to Japan as a case study but arrives at all the wrong conclusions. Drawing lessons from the village of Kamikatsu (pop. ~1500), where recycling occurs according to 45 different categories, it praised the repurposing of buildings to avoid demolition, thus making full use of the ‘embodied carbon’ – the CO2 emissions already used in constructing existing edifices. This example is unsurprisingly not feasible on a larger scale.
A more instructive example can be found by looking just 400 miles away, in Tokyo (pop. ~37 million). Following the collapse of the 1980’s housing bubble, Japan took the step of loosening specific sections of construction regulation, with the aim of spurring investment in real estate. To this day, Japan still reaps the positive effects of this decision. Until recently, the city of Tokyo built more new homes than the whole of England. One of the ways the Tokyo housing market has reached a healthy equilibrium, after years of sky-high prices, is by embracing the philosophy that cities need to be seen as living, dynamic entities.
This is best embodied in Metabolism, a post-war school of architecture. Led by Japanese architect in Kisho Kurokawa, it views cities as changing beings, positing that buildings and the wider urban form, are meant to change organically over time, naturally responding to the changing needs of the populace.
Japan is unsentimental about its buildings, or at least, it is more willing to knock them down than we are. One of the holiest sites in Shinto, the Ise Grand Shrine, is rebuilt every 20 years. Demolition is a crucial step in urban renewal. Without it, it would have been impossible for Tokyo to build houses at an adequate rate, keeping rents affordable as a result.
The UK does not have the same attitude. Many instinctively oppose demolition because they believe that utilizing existing empty homes is key to solving the housing crisis. Bluntly: they are wrong. The UK long-term vacancy rate is ultra-low, about 1%, and now the lowest in Europe. Headline numbers about vacant homes are mostly comprised of properties in the process of being sold or rented. The ultra-low numbers of empty homes is actually just another symptom of the housing crisis – even poor quality homes are now being let out to tenants with no other options.
How do we solve the housing crisis then? It’s been proven in study after study after study (you get the idea) that increasing the number of market-rate homes available results in more affordable rents. If we demonize demolition, freeze our cities in their current form and further constrain housing supply, the housing crisis will only get worse.
Demolition is necessary to build enough homes. As our population grows and our economy changes, cities need to adapt to meet new demands. One of the vital tools is density. Allowing the purchase and demolition of a single property to construct multiple new ones in the same space, we can increase the number of homes available by a huge factor.
Increased urban density brings with it considerable benefits—for both residents and the climate. More people living in a set space lowers transport costs, benefiting both producers and consumers. The lower barrier to moving goods, people and ideas is what drove urbanization in the first place. The urban population massively benefits from immediate access to a wide variety of public goods and specialized services.
For example, increased density makes public transport far more efficient. If people can walk to a nearby bus stop or tube station, they’re more likely to do it. If many people do it, public transport agencies become self-sustaining and can funnel fare revenue into capital investments, further improving the transit experience. When density is low, public transit invariably operates at a loss – service cut-backs result, forcing people to drive.
For all the environmentally-friendly claims of the anti-demolition lobby, they’ve somehow always neglected to mention that city-dwellers have a far lower carbon footprint than those who live in rural areas.
It’s not just transport. Apartment buildings are more efficient to build and easier to heat and cool than single family homes. In all of the United States, a country with a reputation for environmental apathy, the place that has the lowest carbon emissions per capita is Manhattan.
The ‘concrete jungle’ may feel less environmentally friendly than a picturesque country village, but that feeling isn’t backed up by any evidence — in fact the opposite is true. If we truly care about the climate, we must understand the difference between policies that feel environmentally friendly, and those that actually make a difference.
Construction undeniably produces CO2 – as does the production of solar panels, wind turbines and electric cars. Sometimes you must ‘spend money to make money’, as the saying goes.
New housing is the same; freezing our cities in amber is not a solution. CO2 emissions are currently too high, but that doesn’t mean we should never build anything again. What it means we have to innovate, prioritize and adapt. With the UK drastically undersupplied with housing, few things would be a better investment of CO2 than building more homes.
Even if demolition doesn’t lead to increased density, new homes are made with safer materials, better insulated and will last longer. Yes, we can renovate – people renovate all the time – but it’s important that in the instances where renovation isn’t desirable, people have the option to build on their property. We should also note that renovation is also stifled by strict, arbitrary planning requirements.
If we’re serious about improving the lives of people in the UK we need to follow the evidence, not just what feels right. On the climate crisis and the housing crisis, the younger generation has been failed. By allowing more homes to be built, we work towards solving both issues.
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PricedOut is England’s campaign for affordable house prices. We are the only group campaigning exclusively for policies to bring down the cost of housing for everyone: buyers and renters. We fight for everyone who is priced out of the home they want, where they want to live. We can only do this work with your help. We rely on volunteers so can you spare just just £5 per month to help end the housing crisis?
