Urban Sustainability
AmirHossein Pourjohari
Abstract
Highlights- The great part of the construction sector in national investment affects the achievement of urban efficiency.- Destruction of durable buildings is in conflict with optimal use of capital.- Destruction and reconstruction of buildings without rights is an obstacle to achievement of life quality. IntroductionManagement ...
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Highlights- The great part of the construction sector in national investment affects the achievement of urban efficiency.- Destruction of durable buildings is in conflict with optimal use of capital.- Destruction and reconstruction of buildings without rights is an obstacle to achievement of life quality. IntroductionManagement of the demand for destruction and reconstruction has been known as a challenge to preserve durable buildings which are still available for use as places to live in or perform activity. It is also effective on urban productivity, a general concept that contains all the urban functions. Buildings make up the main factor in specification of the economic and spatial structure in a city. They have a determinative role in urban management and development, and their productivity is interpreted as the use of all the physical and structural capacities. Therefore, it can be claimed that buildings are important in urban productivity.Buildings are a priority in the investment made in cities, particularly in our country. However, managerial patterns and legal system are not established based on the roles and rights to manage the demands for destruction and reconstruction. This results from the readily-available benefits of destruction and reconstruction, which conceal the costs. Due to the importance of buildings as a national value and given the concept of sustainable development, it is necessary to analyze the statistical trends and study the different factors which impact the public tendency to destroy and reconstruct buildings.Theoretical frameworkAn essential approach to protection of durable buildings concerns infill development. This approach, which originates from sustainable development, includes one of the most serious activities performed to preserve durable buildings: adaptive reuse of buildings which exhibit the capacity to be preserved (based on their forms and functions). In other words, adaptive reuse of buildings is based on their capacities and characteristics. Therefore, the main approach to durable building preservation stems from sustainable development. Return to life cycle is the relevant pattern which can increase the efficiency period of a building. Urban efficiency is a way to improve urban management.It is worth mentioning that urban land, as a basis for creation of buildings, has a remarkable role in the attempt to achieve urban efficiency. The city and the functions which are created there are defined on that basis.MethodologyIn this research, statistical information on destruction and reconstruction permits granted in a twenty-year period has been analyzed. In addition, 4526 cases have been selected as durable buildings using random sampling. Moreover, an evaluation of the income codes of Tehran Municipality in the defined period has been considered. Therefore, this research has studied the public and managerial trends concerning the preservation of durable buildings and the relevant side effective factors.Result and discussionThe results of this investigation revealed that the value added due to destruction and reconstruction is the most important factor that encourages people to make such demands. However, an analysis of urban management income shows that destruction of durable buildings has no great impact thereon. It seems that a number of modifications in urban terms and restrictions need to be considered in durable building preservation. In this case, one must consider definition of new methods for creation of value added to satisfy the owners of durable buildings in order to preserve them.ConclusionThe factor that distinguishes this study from others is that it has focused on legal principles in management of the demand for destruction and reconstruction. Moreover, failure in supervision and administration and management inconsistency have been identified as the most important factors in the decision to destroy buildings which have the capacity to be preserved. In other words, urban management does not provide appropriate techniques to manage the demand for destruction and reconstruction.In conclusion, the tendency to destroy durable buildings could be explained in terms of the following.A. Economic and Social FactorsThe lack of balance in urban economics and uncertainty of investment in productive departments have been recognized as parameters that increase the tendency to destroy and reconstruct durable buildings.B. Legal Factors- There is no definition for durable buildings and the importance of their preservation as a national value.- Economic policies such as reduction of interest on bank deposits have facilitated investment in construction.C. Cultural FactorsThere is conflict between individual and public benefits which stem from culture. Therefore, people’s priorities are defined by their own benefit. In addition, the importance and priorities of individual benefits over public ones result from legal documents. Thus, the public tendency to give priority to individual benefits has been affected by laws and rights. Moreover, the poor sources of supplying sustainable income in urban management make up another factor that increases managerial tendency to construct.In other words, urban management benefits from the added value of destruction and reconstruction. However, there are no facilities or techniques to modify the tendency.
