Low-carbon development is closely linked to the concept of sustainability, which focuses on both economic growth and the targeted reduction of greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, facilitating the transition to climate neutrality. This process involves the efficient use of resources and necessitates systemic transformations across various sectors of the economy. For Latvia to achieve its climate neutrality objectives, it is essential to adhere to the principles of the bioeconomy, with a particular emphasis on the use of timber in construction. This approach combines opportunities for economic development with environmental protection, as timber is a renewable resource that contributes to carbon sequestration. The utilisation of timber in construction enables carbon storage within buildings and substitutes traditional materials such as concrete and steel, the production of which is highly energy-intensive and generates substantial CO₂ emissions. Consequently, timber use also reduces indirect emissions associated with the construction sector. The objective of this study is to identify the main barriers hindering the broader application of timber construction materials in Latvia’s building sector and to propose solutions to overcome these obstacles. The research tasks include an analysis of climate neutrality and construction targets within the EU and Latvia; an examination of the current situation and influencing factors regarding Latvia’s forest resources, their harvesting, processing, use in construction, and trade balance; and the identification of critical problem areas and the delineation of possible solutions. For theoretical and situational analyses, the authors employ methods such as scientific literature review, policy content analysis, descriptive methodology, statistical data analysis, and interpretation of quantitative and qualitative data. The results are synthesised using PESTEL analysis, which serves as a continuation and elaboration of the initial SWOT analysis assessment and is visualised through graphical representation. The authors of this study participated in a national-level expert group whose members represented the Parliament of the Republic of Latvia, responsible ministries, forest managers, construction companies, wood product manufacturers, and representatives from higher education and research institutions. The following hypotheses are proposed and substantiated in this article: (1) Latvia possesses sufficient forest resources to increase the share of timber used in construction, (2) increasing the use of timber in construction would significantly contribute to both Latvia’s economic development and the achievement of climate neutrality targets, and (3) the expansion of timber use in the construction sector depends on a restructuring of national policy across multiple sectors. Suggested solutions include the improvement of regulatory frameworks for timber harvesting, processing, and utilisation in related sectors—agriculture and forestry, wood processing, and construction. The key challenges for policymakers include addressing the identified deficiencies in Latvia’s progress toward achieving its CO₂ targets, introducing qualitative changes in timber harvesting conditions, and amending regulations governing the forest management cycle accordingly. For timber processing companies, it is crucial to ensure stable conditions for their commercial activity. Promoting the use of timber in construction requires a broad set of changes in safety and financial regulations and procurement requirements. Timber construction is relevant not only in the building sector but also in civil engineering, and modifications and additions to educational programmes are necessary. The promotion of timber use among the wider public is of great importance. At all stages of timber processing—from harvesting to integration in buildings—access to financial resources should be facilitated. As numerous sectors of the national economy (agriculture, forestry, wood processing, construction, logistics, etc.) are involved in timber processing, interdisciplinary research is required to address complex challenges that demand expertise from multiple fields.

Demographic decline and population ageing present unprecedented challenges to housing systems in post-socialist Europe. With one of the European Union (EU)’s fastest shrinking populations, an underdeveloped social housing sector, and an ageing housing stock dominated by Soviet-era multi-family blocks, Latvia exemplifies these difficulties. Adaptive property reuse—repurposing underutilised buildings into age-friendly social housing—offers a potential solution, but its feasibility depends on complex economic, regulatory, social, and environmental determinants. This study investigated these determinants using a mixed-methods approach. Data were drawn from 312 survey responses, 15 policymaker interviews, 10 developer interviews, and focus group of 25 senior residents across Latvia. Exploratory Factor Analysis (EFA) was used to extract six determinant clusters: site selection, feasibility analysis, design and planning, implementation strategies, monitoring and evaluation, and scaling strategies. The findings demonstrate: (1) economic feasibility and regulatory clarity dominate stakeholder concerns, with financing gaps receiving the lowest ratings (M = 2.91); (2) implementation strategies emerged as the highest-priority determinant, emphasising governance capacity and structured execution; (3) significant trust deficits exist between developers and municipal authorities, undermining collaboration; (4) seniors prioritise design inclusivity and social integration, while developers emphasise cost efficiency and regulatory certainty; and (5) environmental sustainability consistently ranked lower (M ≈ 3.34) across all stakeholder groups due to pressing affordability concerns. Although municipal officers were intentionally oversampled (58%) due to their central role in Latvia’s housing governance, robustness checks confirmed the six-factor structure remained stable across stakeholder groups. This study contributes theoretically by contextualising adaptive reuse within shrinking cities and ageing societies and practically by providing a determinant-based framework for housing policy.

This systematic literature review examines the Adaptive Reuse Potential (ARP) Model and its application in developing age-friendly social housing. The study synthesizes research on the ARP Model's components, benefits, and variations, focusing on its relevance to repurposing existing buildings for social housing. Our findings reveal that the ARP Model offers a robust framework for assessing buildings' suitability for adaptive reuse, with significant potential for promoting sustainable urban development and creating age-friendly living environments. The model's consideration of multiple obsolescence factors allows for a comprehensive evaluation of a building's adaptive reuse potential. Variations of the model, including the Green Adaptive Reuse Model and the Adaptive Sustainable Reuse Model, further enhance its applicability to age-friendly social housing development by incorporating additional sustainability and decision-making criteria. By critically analyzing existing literature, we highlight the model's strengths in addressing complex urban regeneration challenges and meeting the evolving needs of aging populations. The ARP Model demonstrates particular efficacy in bridging architectural preservation with contemporary social housing requirements, offering a nuanced approach to repurposing underutilized urban spaces. This comprehensive evaluation underscores the importance of interdisciplinary considerations in adaptive reuse strategies, integrating architectural, social, and environmental perspectives. This review concludes that the ARP Model and its variations provide valuable tools for decision-making in adaptive reuse projects, particularly in addressing the growing demand for age-friendly social housing. However, there is scope for further development of the model to more explicitly incorporate age-friendly design principles.

The use of structural timber in buildings can serve as a significant source of long-term biogenic carbon storage and a tool for climate change mitigation. This study assesses the potential of structural timber and its associated Harvested Wood Products (HWP) within the Latvian building stock using a normative building typology and a material intensity modelling approach. The model links statistical data on the Latvian building stock, the official functional classification of buildings, and structural timber material intensity coefficients. It analyses changes in total building floor area and timber building floor area from 2010 to 2025 and develops deterministic HWP development scenarios up to 2050. Under the assumed typological configuration, the reference models indicate that structural timber intensity decreases with the number of storeys and approaches approximately 0.07 m³/m² in the extrapolated range. A significant disproportion was identified between the share of timber buildings by count and by floor area, with the largest latent HWP potential concentrated in multi-apartment, industrial, agricultural, and logistics building groups. Under the historical timber floor-area trend scenario, the reference embedded structural timber stock increases from 0.957 million m³ in 2025 to 1.194 million m³ in 2050. After applying the material intensity correction factors, the adjusted HWP stock estimate reaches 1.313–1.611 million m³, corresponding to 1.05–1.29 million t CO₂eq of biogenic carbon storage. Under the 50% reference floor-area scenario, where the timber floor-area share in selected functional groups increases linearly to 50% of the 2025 reference floor area by 2050, the reference embedded structural timber stock reaches 6.764 million m³. The adjusted HWP stock estimate reaches 7.441–9.132 million m³, corresponding to 5.95–7.31 million t CO₂eq of biogenic carbon storage. The required annual increase in reference embedded structural timber stock under this benchmark scenario is approximately 0.232 million m³/year, or about 6.6% of Latvia’s annual sawn timber production flow. The results suggest that targeted promotion of structural timber in priority building groups could substantially increase long-term carbon storage in the built environment, while providing an order-of-magnitude link between construction sector development and national HWP carbon accounting.

This review examines strategies for implementing property reuse systems in agefriendly social housing development. We analyse research on building selection, property evaluation, design principles, and implementation approaches. The findings emphasise the role of location, community integration, structural suitability, and regulatory compliance. Key success factors include stakeholder engagement, participatory planning, innovative financing and universal design principles, providing information for creating sustainable housing environments for older adults.

Rapid urbanization and the aging of large-scale building stocks have created a critical disconnection between strategic urban planning and physical structural realities. This study introduces a multi-dimensional resilience framework to evaluate the structural integrity and socio-economic exposure of Riga’s urban fabric at the parcel level. By integrating high-resolution wear-out data with a normalized Economic Priority Index (EPI), the study analyzes the distribution of 2405 buildings identified in the terminal wear-out phase of the Bathtub Curve reliability model. The results reveal that 92.7% of critically vulnerable buildings fall outside the scope of the city’s RTIAN 2030 strategic intervention framework, including the majority of high-risk structures supporting 13,416 business units and 646,033 residents. Spatial intersection analysis further demonstrates that contemporary modernization initiatives, including digital pilot zones, effectively bypass 98% of these critical structural hotspots. Predictive scenario analysis confirms that without a strategic reorientation toward a proactive, reliability-based monitoring framework, these excluded corridors face an exponential escalation of structural risk. Specifically, this study examines the urban spatial resilience of Riga’s building stock through the integrated PLE-Bathtub Curve framework, evaluates the spatial alignment of RTIAN 2030 with identified vulnerability zones, and assesses how effectively Smart City pilot initiatives target structurally vulnerable clusters defined by the Economic Priority Index (EPI). This research provides a replicable diagnostic framework, calibrated for post-socialist urban contexts, to support municipal authorities in realigning investment priorities with empirical physical vulnerabilities, ensuring long-term metropolitan continuity.