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Scientific Article details

Title Understanding and Managing Vacant Houses in Support of a Material Stock-Type Society-The Case of Kitakyushu, Japan
ID_Doc 24756
Authors Wuyts, W; Sedlitzky, R; Morita, M; Tanikawa, H
Title Understanding and Managing Vacant Houses in Support of a Material Stock-Type Society-The Case of Kitakyushu, Japan
Year 2020
Published Sustainability, 12, 13
DOI 10.3390/su12135363
Abstract From a sustainable material management perspective, vacant houses represent material stock and still have potential in the circular economy. This article addresses two aspects of understanding and managing vacant houses: the difficulty of understanding their spatial and temporal patterns and the management of the social costs behind the phenomenon of vacant houses. These aspects are approached by combining a 4D GIS analysis with expert interviews and additional qualitative tools to assess the spatial and temporal dimension of vacant houses. Furthermore, this manuscript presents a tool to estimate the obsolete dwelling material stock distribution within a city. The case of the city of Kitakyushu demonstrates the relationship that exists between the historical trajectories of housing norms and standards, such as comfort, cleanliness, safety, and convenience, and the dynamics of the built material stock and demography for three selected neighbourhoods. The results show that the more locked-in a district is in terms of "obsolete norms and codes", the more likely it is that the obsolete stock is dead, and consequently, urban mining should be considered. The article concludes that a revisiting of the norms and standards of convenience and other domains is one of the prerequisites of the transition toward a circular built environment and the prevention of obsolete stock accumulation.
Author Keywords circular city; material stock analysis; historical trajectories; housing norms; obsolescence; urban design
Index Keywords Index Keywords
Document Type Other
Open Access Open Access
Source Science Citation Index Expanded (SCI-EXPANDED); Social Science Citation Index (SSCI)
EID WOS:000550193500001
WoS Category Green & Sustainable Science & Technology; Environmental Sciences; Environmental Studies
Research Area Science & Technology - Other Topics; Environmental Sciences & Ecology
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