Urban retrofitting: because starting from scratch is not always a good idea
This article is also available here in Spanish.

Urban retrofitting: because starting from scratch is not always a good idea

My list

Author | Jaime Ramos

Imagine a drawing on a piece of paper by a five year old. Unhappy with the drawing, the child rips up the paper and starts from scratch. It was not what the child was looking for. Maybe it was the best solution, or maybe not.

Were there no lines, objects, colors on that drawing that showed the essence of what the child was looking for? This issue, which was trivial for that imaginary child, is not so trivial in terms of urban planning. When should an installation or a neighborhood be “ripped up” to adapt it to the necessary sustainability criteria of today?

What is urban retrofitting?

Urban retrofitting is designed to solve this. This is an alternative solution to demolishing or destroying, opting instead to transform urban areas that have grown as a result of excessive or dysfunctional urban planning or when the original purposes of such areas are now obsolete.

The term retrofitting is relatively new. It dates back to the 1950s in the USA. It is the merger of the terms “retroactivity” and “fitting”. It was first applied to architectural solutions of the time that had to be adapted to new urban requirements.

urban-retrofitting-76

The essence of the term is perfectly defined by Ellen Dunham-Jones and June Williamson in “Retrofitting Suburbia”, which reviews the retrofitting trends across the USA.

The rest of the world has caught on to this strategy too. According to the IEA, 70% of the buildings in Europe will be readapted in order to comply with the sustainability goals.

Main urban retrofitting strategies

Re-populating

This not only refers to a return of the population, but to adapting urbanized plots to current uses.

Re-developing

This entails economically and socially boosting an area, increasing its demographic density and improving internal mobility, services and quality of life.

Re-ecologizing

Reducing emissions, favoring clean mobility, “reforesting” the city, increasing energy efficiency are just some of the essential elements of retrofitting strategies.

When is retrofitting necessary?

Retrofitting is ideal when it provides added value to the restoration of urban areas. It is also applicable when tackling larger, more modern urban settlements, but which are at risk of marginalization, poverty or inefficiency (https://tomorrow.city/a/barrio-31-and-delft-two-different-ways-of-dealing-with-informal-settlements).

Benefits of urban retrofitting

urban-retrofitting-77

Given its nature, retrofitting can bring heterogeneous advantages:

  • Reactivation of the local economy. This occurs, not just by implementing the use of the land, but also by attracting external investment and creating jobs. For example, the benefits of the project in the city of Seoul, readapting its institutional buildings, includes the creation of around 4,500 jobs.
  • Improved public health. Architectural retrofitting brings with it savings for healthcare systems, while also reducing pollution. It can even have a direct impact on health. In Milan, the retrofitting program for five buildings in a particular neighborhood has culminated with a drop in asthma attacks.
  • Reduced emissions. The 1200 Buildings project in Melbourne will prevent the emission of 383,000 tons of carbon dioxide each year.
  • Revitalized mobility. Retrofitting targets the pedestrianization of spaces and fosters alternative transport, such as cycling or PMVs.
  • Rehabilitation of historical buildings or areas. This is one of the pillars of the project being carried out in Mirvish, Toronto. The architectural revitalization will restore and provide a new use for 23 historical buildings.
  • New sense of community. Retrofitting opens up the possibility of redesigning urban spaces, catering to social needs and strengthening the sense of community.

The benefits of retrofitting are so diverse depending on each city. It seems clear that, before “ripping up an urban drawing”, we should look at the possibilities of redesigning it on paper.

Images | iStock/imagixian, iStock/Dima Berlin, iStock/StephenBridger

Related content

Recommended profiles for you

MP
Mahesh Patil
VIT
Looking after Sales Management and Business Development
SM
Saurabh Mhatre
Academy of Architecture
Architect / Urban Designer / Researcher
UC
Umit Canturk
TEKSU
CC
Chris Chase
Port of Los Angeles
Business Development
OA
Oluwaseun Adeyemi
Debt Management Office (DMO) Nigeria
Operations Officer
AB
Aibek Boranbayev
Virtuous Cities
ED
Eryn Doran
Google Fiber
DB
Danny Bwalya
UPV/EHU
Masters Degree Student
LP
Laxmi Sai Praveen Panchakarla
Foundry Medical Technologies Pvt Ltd
Research and development of medical devices.
FB
Filippo Borreani
University of Turin - University of Milan
Phd Candidate
DM
David Mensah
Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology
VG
VAGEESH GANIGA
Hara Design and Solutions
Creative director
AH
Ashok Hansraj
Global Green
Administrative
PP
Pauline Parisse
HEC Paris
I am a student at HEC Paris passionate about the cities of tomorrow
PA
Puneeta Anand
Ylem Energy
Associate director
RG
Rajeev Garg
YH
Yujin Han
Dong Eui University
Majoring in International Tourism Management
SS
Shravani Sonar
Amity university
student
CS
Caroline Sujana
Binus
Supervisor
RB
Rainer Bode
Torus Projects
Software Engeneer