Saving Natural Resources Through Conversion and Constructional Densification in Urban Areas: Ecological Potentials and Limits

Abstract

Considering the increasing urbanization in already dense agglomerated regions, constructional conversion and densification could be promising options to achieve exceptional savings on natural resources – more particularly of construction materials and land. However, challenges that relate to compact city structures have to be considered in an integrated view to avoid conflicts between the saving of scarce resources and further targets like enabling a high quality of urban life. This article will focus on resource saving potentials through the measures of constructional densification and conversion in urban areas in Germany under consideration of challenges and conflicting goals to other relevant issues of urban development. The main finding show that considerable savings of construction materials, energy or land could be reached through dense building structures and the conversion of building stocks into alternative uses.