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Construction materials are considerable forces of global environmental impacts, but their dynamics vis‐à‐vis urban development are poorly documented, in part because their long lifespans require elusive and sometimes nonexistent decade‐long high‐resolution data. This study analyzes the construction material flow and stock trends that shaped and were shaped by the development, decline, and renewal of the Tiexi district of Shenyang, a microcosm of China's urban transformations since the early 20th century. Chronicling building‐by‐building the material flows and stock accumulations involved in the buildup of this area, we shed light on the physical resource context of its socioeconomic history. We find that 42 million tonnes of construction materials were needed to develop the Tiexi district from 1910 to 2018, and 18 million tonnes of material outflows were generated by end‐of‐life building demolition. However, over 55% of inflows and 93% of outflows occurred since 2002 during a complete redevelopment of the district. Only small portions of end‐of‐life materials could have been reused or recycled because of temporal and typological mismatches of supply and demand and technical limitations. Our analysis reveals a dramatic decrease in median building lifetimes to as low as 6 years in the early 21st century. These findings contribute to the discussion of long‐term environmental efficiency and sustainability of societal development through construction and reflect on the challenges of urban renewal processes not only in China but also in other developing and developed countries that lost (or may lose) their traditional economic base and restructure their urban forms. This article met the requirements for a Silver/Silver JIE data openness badge described at http://jie.click/badges.
Jing Guo; Tomer Fishman; Yao Wang; Alessio Miatto; Wendy Wuyts; Licheng Zheng; Heming Wang; Hiroki Tanikawa. Urban development and sustainability challenges chronicled by a century of construction material flows and stocks in Tiexi, China. Journal of Industrial Ecology 2020, 25, 162 -175.
AMA StyleJing Guo, Tomer Fishman, Yao Wang, Alessio Miatto, Wendy Wuyts, Licheng Zheng, Heming Wang, Hiroki Tanikawa. Urban development and sustainability challenges chronicled by a century of construction material flows and stocks in Tiexi, China. Journal of Industrial Ecology. 2020; 25 (1):162-175.
Chicago/Turabian StyleJing Guo; Tomer Fishman; Yao Wang; Alessio Miatto; Wendy Wuyts; Licheng Zheng; Heming Wang; Hiroki Tanikawa. 2020. "Urban development and sustainability challenges chronicled by a century of construction material flows and stocks in Tiexi, China." Journal of Industrial Ecology 25, no. 1: 162-175.
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.
Wendy Wuyts; Raphael Sedlitzky; Masato Morita; Hiroki Tanikawa. Understanding and Managing Vacant Houses in Support of a Material Stock-Type Society—The Case of Kitakyushu, Japan. Sustainability 2020, 12, 5363 .
AMA StyleWendy Wuyts, Raphael Sedlitzky, Masato Morita, Hiroki Tanikawa. Understanding and Managing Vacant Houses in Support of a Material Stock-Type Society—The Case of Kitakyushu, Japan. Sustainability. 2020; 12 (13):5363.
Chicago/Turabian StyleWendy Wuyts; Raphael Sedlitzky; Masato Morita; Hiroki Tanikawa. 2020. "Understanding and Managing Vacant Houses in Support of a Material Stock-Type Society—The Case of Kitakyushu, Japan." Sustainability 12, no. 13: 5363.
Wendy Wuyts; Julie Marin; Jan Brusselaers; Karl Vrancken. Circular economy as a COVID-19 cure? Resources, Conservation and Recycling 2020, 162, 105016 .
AMA StyleWendy Wuyts, Julie Marin, Jan Brusselaers, Karl Vrancken. Circular economy as a COVID-19 cure? Resources, Conservation and Recycling. 2020; 162 ():105016.
Chicago/Turabian StyleWendy Wuyts; Julie Marin; Jan Brusselaers; Karl Vrancken. 2020. "Circular economy as a COVID-19 cure?" Resources, Conservation and Recycling 162, no. : 105016.
Wendy Wuyts. Market Distortions Encouraging Wasteful Consumption. Encyclopedia of the UN Sustainable Development Goals 2020, 443 -453.
AMA StyleWendy Wuyts. Market Distortions Encouraging Wasteful Consumption. Encyclopedia of the UN Sustainable Development Goals. 2020; ():443-453.
Chicago/Turabian StyleWendy Wuyts. 2020. "Market Distortions Encouraging Wasteful Consumption." Encyclopedia of the UN Sustainable Development Goals , no. : 443-453.
Wendy Wuyts. Market Distortions Encouraging Wasteful Consumption. Encyclopedia of the UN Sustainable Development Goals 2019, 1 -11.
AMA StyleWendy Wuyts. Market Distortions Encouraging Wasteful Consumption. Encyclopedia of the UN Sustainable Development Goals. 2019; ():1-11.
Chicago/Turabian StyleWendy Wuyts. 2019. "Market Distortions Encouraging Wasteful Consumption." Encyclopedia of the UN Sustainable Development Goals , no. : 1-11.
The construction of residential buildings requires the extraction and production of large amounts of materials, with obvious consequences on the natural environment. Buildings are capital-intensive, requiring considerable physical, economic, and societal investments. In order to amortize their environmental impact, buildings should be used for a period of time that maximises their utility. However, the average lifespan of a residential building in Japan is of only 25 years, a time that has been shortening since the World War II. Numerous Japanese houses are used for less than a generation before being demolished or abandoned, posing a risk for public health, decorum, and safety. This study presents a holistic view of the pressing societal and environmental concerns related to short-lived buildings, which can be used to identify sustainable strategies for the realization of a circular built environment in Japan. This study used a qualitative approach (i.e., media content analysis, field visits to local communities and citizens, expert interviews, and statistical validation) to identify the factors and path dependencies that have led to a low average building lifespan during the second half of the 20th century; moreover, the study investigated the stakeholders in favour of these short lifespans, their own motivations, and the rationale behind recent countermeasures initiated at the local to governmental levels. Numerous stakeholders were motivated by the economic costs or alternative post-materialist values, attitudes and aspirations, emotional attachment, or by a combination of these factors. Their decisions resulted from reflections and personal experiences of societal issues related to short-lived constructions in Japan. The article concludes that all residential buildings should be serving society and presents a framework for the identification of delayed, justified, or premature obsolescence. This framework can be used to decide whether the life of a residential building should be extended or ended.
Wendy Wuyts; Alessio Miatto; Raphael Sedlitzky; Hiroki Tanikawa. Extending or ending the life of residential buildings in Japan: A social circular economy approach to the problem of short-lived constructions. Journal of Cleaner Production 2019, 231, 660 -670.
AMA StyleWendy Wuyts, Alessio Miatto, Raphael Sedlitzky, Hiroki Tanikawa. Extending or ending the life of residential buildings in Japan: A social circular economy approach to the problem of short-lived constructions. Journal of Cleaner Production. 2019; 231 ():660-670.
Chicago/Turabian StyleWendy Wuyts; Alessio Miatto; Raphael Sedlitzky; Hiroki Tanikawa. 2019. "Extending or ending the life of residential buildings in Japan: A social circular economy approach to the problem of short-lived constructions." Journal of Cleaner Production 231, no. : 660-670.
Wendy Wuyts; Wendy Wuyts. Over huisvrouwen en leegstaande woningen in Japan. AGORA Magazine 2018, 34, 32 -35.
AMA StyleWendy Wuyts, Wendy Wuyts. Over huisvrouwen en leegstaande woningen in Japan. AGORA Magazine. 2018; 34 (4):32-35.
Chicago/Turabian StyleWendy Wuyts; Wendy Wuyts. 2018. "Over huisvrouwen en leegstaande woningen in Japan." AGORA Magazine 34, no. 4: 32-35.