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About | Introducing Heritage-Informed Decarbonizationi u THE COMPLETE TOOLKIT JUNE 2026 Decarbonizing the Built Environment Through Heritage !
About | Decarbonizing the Built Environment Through Heritage: The Complete Toolkitii About the Toolkit for Decarbonizing the Built Environment Through Heritage ! Project Background This Toolkit supports policymakers, practitioners, advocates, and community leaders who are interested in understanding the principles of heritage-informed decarbonization, a set of strategies at the nexus of built environment planning, building decarbonization, and heritage practices. The Toolkit is the primary outcome of Decarbonizing the Built Environment Through Heritage (DBTH), which aims to integrate transformative cultural heritage-based solutions into climate policy at local and global levels. DBTH is one of five initiatives supported through Imagining Futures, a program of the Climate Heritage Network (CHN). DBTH is funded by the Mellon Foundation and 1772 Foundation and led by Built Buildings Lab with Architecture 2030, the National Trust for Historic Preservation, and the University of Lagos Architecture and Urbanism Hub. In fall 2024, the DBTH Project Team began engaging communities, heritage practitioners, researchers, agencies, and educators to gather replicable solutions of heritage-informed decarbonization. Since then, the team has worked with a network of collaborators to assess global policies, gather insight into implementation barriers and catalysts, and provide communication resources to empower regional and global advocates to advance heritage-informed decarbonization strategies across the building and construction sector. In fall 2025, DBTH was invited to participate in the COP30 Action Agenda through the Activation Group 19: Culture, Cultural Heritage Protection and Climate About CHN The Climate Heritage Network (CHN) is a mutual support network of government agencies, NGOs, universities, businesses, and other organizations committed to tackling climate change and achieving the ambitions of the Paris Agreement. CHN works to re-orient climate policy, planning, and action at all levels to account for dimensions of culture—from arts to heritage. DBTH represents the collective wisdom and deep engagement of CHN’s Built Environment Forum, whose members are dedicated to activating cultural heritage climate solutions across built places.
About | Decarbonizing the Built Environment Through Heritage: The Complete Toolkitiii Project Team Lori Ferriss Anna Gasha Elizabeth Rowe Billie Faircloth Lisa Richmond Mokọ́ládé Johnson Alex Ianchenko Tyler Pitt Citation Built Buildings Lab (2026). Decarbonizing the Built Environment Through Heritage: The Complete Toolkit. Built Buildings Lab. Project Reviewers Mark Thompson Brandt Filippo Calcerano Sehila Mota Casper Jenny Hay Jim Lindberg Michael Netter MaryNell Nolan-Wheatley Robyn Pender Stephanie Phillips Kimberly Reeves Nelda Ruiz Nikhil Scott Action. At COP30 in Belé m, Brazil, the DBTH Project Team launched the Heritage Now! Campaign, expanding supporters of heritage-informed decarbonization recommendations to over 20 global organizations. DBTH will continue through 2030 as the lead initiative of the Plan to Accelerate Heritage-Informed Decarbonization under the UNFCCC Global Climate Action Agenda. About Built Buildings Lab Built Buildings Lab is a nonprofit dedicated to transforming existing buildings into humanity’s greatest resource by elevating the knowledge, stories, and resources that people need to act on the embodied value of built buildings. About Architecture 2030 Architecture 2030 is a nonprofit, nonpartisan, independent organization established in 2002 in response to the ongoing climate emergency. Their mission is to rapidly transform the built environment from the major emitter of greenhouse gases to a central solution to the climate crisis. About The National Trust for Historic Preservation The National Trust for Historic Preservation is a private nonprofit organization leading the movement to save places where our history happened. About The University of Lagos Architecture and Urbanism Research Hub AU Research Hub is a collaborative platform within the University of Lagos, dedicated to advancing architectural thought, design innovation, and scholarly discourse. Its aim is to connect researchers, academics, and institutions through impactful publications, symposia, and shared knowledge. Acknowledgments The participants in the DBTH North American Community Advisory Group generously contributed their time and knowledge to represent the perspective of community organizations doing the daily work of heritage-informed decarbonization. Thank you to MaryNell Nolan- Wheatley of the Preservation Resource Center of New Orleans, Sehila Mota Casper of Latinos in Heritage Conservation, Nelda Ruiz of the Southwest Folklife Alliance, and Kimberly Reeves of Agnes Scott College. Thank you to Lisa Richmond, Senior Fellow, Architecture 2030, for facilitating engagement of both the Community Advisory Group and the CHN Built Environment Forum. And, thank you to Lake Flato Architects, members of CHN, who contributed to the graphic design of this toolkit. Cover image: The Courtyard, Kerala, India, courtesy of Masons Ink. Copyright Decarbonizing the Built Environment Toolkit is distributed under the Creative Commons 4.0 BY-ND-NC license Project Contact Lori Ferriss Executive Director Built Buildings Lab Representative, CHN Built Environment Forum lori@builtbuildings.org
About | Decarbonizing the Built Environment Through Heritage: The Complete Toolkitiv 1. Introducing Heritage-Informed Decarbonization 01 The Built Environment Needs Heritage-Informed Decarbonization 02 Defining Heritage-Informed Decarbonization 04 What’s In The Toolkit? 06 Words To Engage The Practice Of Heritage-Informed Decarbonization 08 Policy Approaches To Heritage-Informed Decarbonization 12 Participants In Heritage-Informed Decarbonization Policy 16 The Co-Benefits Of Heritage-Informed Decarbonization 20 2. The Five Principles of Heritage-Informed Decarbonization 23 Lessons from heritage-based solutions 24 Principle 01: Learn from the Past 26 Principle 02: Reuse First 32 Principle 03: Engage Place 38 Principle 04: Revalue Building Waste 44 Principle 05: Make Policy Inclusive 50 3. Cases of Heritage-Informed Decarbonization 59 About case selection and organization 60 14 Cases of heritage-informed decarbonization by five principles 64 Table of Contents Decarbonizing the Built Environment Through Heritage: The Complete Toolkit
About | Decarbonizing the Built Environment Through Heritage: The Complete Toolkitv Table of Contents (Continued) Case List Case 01: Hikma Community Complex: Building with Heritage 66 Case 02: Net-Zero Renewal of Singapore’s Equatorial School of Architecture 72 Case 03: Indigenous Knowledge in Stilt Structures 78 Case 04: Designing the 21st Century Ger 82 Case 05: Masons Ink: Heritage Knowledge, Women’s Empowerment, 86 and Low-Carbon Building Case 06: Agnes Scott College: Scaling Up Climate Action through 92 Campus Stewardship Case 07: BEACON: Modeling and Simulation Tools to Guide 98 Historic Building Retrofits Case 08: The Relevancy Guidebook: How We Can Transform the 102 Future of Preservation Case 09: Saving Embodied Carbon Through Strengthening Existing Housing 106 Case 10: FuturHist: Scalable Retrofit Innovation for Historic Buildings 112 Case 11: Fideicomiso de la Tierra del Caño Martín Peña: Adapting the Community 118 Land Trust Model Case 12: Historic England’s Cross-Governmental Model to Integrate 122 Heritage into Climate Policy Case 13: San Antonio Deconstruction & Circular Economy Program 126 Case 14: Scaling Adaptive Reuse in Los Angeles for Heritage and Housing 132 Bibliography 137 Vernacular home in New Orleans, LA, USA. Image by the Preservation Resource Center
About | Decarbonizing the Built Environment Through Heritage: The Complete Toolkitvi u Heritage-informed decarbonization includes emissions reductions through building reuse that also preserves cultural practices and memory within communities. Image credit: Agnes Scott College
Introduction | Introducing Heritage-Informed Decarbonization1 Introducing Heritage-Informed Decarbonization Section 1
Introduction | Decarbonizing the Built Environment Through Heritage: The Complete Toolkit2 A Cultural Response to the Climate Crisis The built environment is a major contributor to climate change and remains far off track from its decarbonization commitments. Buildings and construction account for 34% of global greenhouse gas emissions, and despite growing attention to climate action in the sector, global emissions from buildings and building construction increased by 6.5% over roughly the past decade.1 While the climate crisis is both a technological and a cultural challenge, the building and construction sector’s responses to date have largely focused on technology— building materials, assemblies, systems, and processes—related to new construction. However, heritage and heritage-based technologies and knowledge are a critical asset to accelerate holistic climate action. In addition to offering decarbonization potential, they hold lessons about how people have built and lived in ways that respond to local ecology and climate, offering knowledge, practices, and values that can help guide a more just, resilient, and low-carbon future. Cultural heritage worldwide, designated and undesignated, tangible and intangible, showcases low-carbon solutions for building design, construction, maintenance, inhabitation, and stewardship. Heritage- informed decarbonization includes strategies rooted in community and responsive to local cultural and environmental contexts that advance greenhouse gas reductions while preserving heritage. These time-tested solutions incorporate traditional, repairable, low-carbon materials; materials salvage and reuse; building repair and conservation; building adaptation and reuse; heating, cooling, and ventilation strategies; passive design features; occupant behaviors; urban planning practices; cultural practices and relationships; and the reclaiming and restoration of knowledge. These strategies demonstrate how people have lived and The Built Environment Needs Heritage- Informed Decarbonization Heritage- informed decarbonization applies the wisdom, practices, and places of the past to minimize greenhouse gas emissions from the built environment in the present and future.
Introduction | Introducing Heritage-Informed Decarbonization3 Heritage- informed decarbonization is a climate change mitigation approach for designated and undesignated heritage, existing buildings and new construction. Endnotes 1. Building Fast. Falling Short. As Climate Risks Rise and Cities Grow, We Must Rethink How We Build to Create Better Lives for All - Global Status Report for Buildings and Construction 2025/26. adapted to their environments for millennia, providing technological innovation found in feedback loops from the past. Heritage-informed decarbonization strategies are for new and existing buildings. They align with the practical and policy solutions that are reducing embodied and whole life carbon emissions, promoting energy efficiency and renewable energy infrastructure, and prioritizing circularity in the built environment. Heritage-informed decarbonization offers people the opportunity to invest in solutions that catalyze the cultural response needed to address to the climate crisis. Policy transformation is needed to enable the implementation and scaling of heritage solutions. In many jurisdictions, complex regulatory frameworks governing the built environment are already in place; in these cases, modifications to or reframing of existing policies can help align governance across heritage, built environment, and climate action. In other regions where policies are emerging, now is the time to establish building and climate policies that integrate local and heritage- informed approaches from the start. Accelerating Heritage-Informed Decarbonization The Decarbonizing the Built Environment Through Heritage Toolkit supports policymakers, practitioners, communities, and heritage advocates in accelerating the rapid uptake of heritage-informed decarbonization strategies through policy. To engage heritage-informed decarbonization, this toolkit provides: » An overview of the key terms, policies, stakeholders and approaches that contribute to aligning climate action and heritage management in the built environment; » key principles found in heritage to drive built environment decarbonization, with context about why they matter now and how to adapt them to a local community context; » global examples of implementing heritage-informed decarbonization, from buildings and practices to tools and policies; and » recommendations for key levers to integrate heritage principles into building sector climate policies and include climate change mitigation into heritage policies. Heritage-informed decarbonization solutions exist across a diversity of climates and communities around the world; however, it is essential to acknowledge that these place-based, culturally specific approaches require critical application of appropriate solutions for every context. This resource offers broad concepts learned from heritage-informed decarbonization to inspire localized action.
Introduction | Decarbonizing the Built Environment Through Heritage: The Complete Toolkit4 Defining Heritage-Informed Decarbonization Climate-responsive, people-centered, passive and low-energy design of heating, cooling, and ventilation systems that prioritize the human usability over prescribed space conditioning metrics; passive design features such as courtyards, overhangs, exterior operable shades, and mass walls; and urban planning that promotes health and thermal comfort beyond the building scale Building materials and systems rooted in local sourcing, craft, and circularity including the use of traditional low-carbon, materials in both new construction and repair or conservation of existing buildings (e.g., earth/ mud and timber); prioritization of long-lived, repairable materials and systems; materials salvage and reuse, sometimes referred to as part of materials circularity and circular economy Systemic cultural practices to support a low-carbon, just built environment integrating inclusive governance and decision- making structures and including heritage and Indigenous cultural voices, promoting self- determination of Indigenous communities to enact their ancestral wisdom and practices; as well as mechanisms for maintaining and recovering the knowledge, practices, and relationships that support the above strategies Ways of creating, maintaining, and using buildings that minimize fossil-fuel consumption through human behavior including occupant behaviors that minimize the need for active heating, cooling, and lighting; and cultural practices and relationships between built places and their inhabitants that foster practices of care and climate-responsive behaviors Building care and reuse that values and extends the life of buildings we have inherited by prioritizing building maintenance and preservation, responsible retrofit and adaptation and adaptive reuse, extending building life Heritage-informed decarbonization applies the wisdom, practices, and places of the past to minimize greenhouse gas emissions from the built environment in the present and future. It reduces greenhouse gases while safeguarding and generating cultural value—the shared practices and identities that connect people to each other and their past. It includes materials, buildings, and places (tangible heritage) and traditions, knowledge, and practices passed from generation to generation (intangible heritage). Approaches include:
Introduction | Introducing Heritage-Informed Decarbonization5 Heritage-Informed Decarbonization Promotes: » Building maintenance and preservation to extend the life of existing buildings » Responsible energy retrofit » Adaptive (re)use that extends building life » Occupant behaviors and ways of living that minimize the need for active heating, cooling, and lighting » Cultural practices and relationships between built places and their inhabitants that foster practices of care and climate-responsive behaviors » Use of traditional, low-carbon materials in new construction and existing buildings (e.g., earth/mud and timber) » Prioritization of long-lived, repairable materials and systems » Materials salvage and reuse, sometimes referred to as part of materials circularity and circular economy Cultural practices supporting low- carbon, just built environment » Inclusive governance and decision-making structures that include heritage and Indigenous cultural voices » Self-determination of Indigenous communities to enact their ancestral wisdom and practices » Mechanisms for maintaining and recovering the knowledge, practices, and relationships that support the above strategies Buildings that minimize fossil fuel consumption Materials approaches found in local sourcing, craft & circularity Care and reuse that extends the life of existing buildings Passive, low-energy, people-centered design » The design of heating, cooling, and ventilation systems that prioritize livability over prescribed space conditioning metrics » Passive design features such as courtyards, overhangs, exterior operable shades, and mass walls » Urban planning that promotes health and thermal comfort beyond the building scale
Introduction | Decarbonizing the Built Environment Through Heritage: The Complete Toolkit6 What’s in the Toolkit? The Decarbonizing the Built Environment Through Heritage Toolkit supports education, advocacy, and policymaking on heritage-informed decarbonization from the global to the local scale. Heritage-informed decarbonization is summarized through five principles applicable to global-, urban- and community-level climate change mitigation efforts. To bridge these levels, this toolkit offers users prompts to reflect on the place-based nature of heritage-informed decarbonization strategies. Introducing Heritage-Informed Decarbonization (Section 1) provides a common language to navigate heritage-informed decarbonization through a glossary of terms, an overview of the policies and participants who contribute to implementation, and a description of environmental, social, and economic co-benefits. The frameworks established in this section are used throughout the toolkit. The Five Principles of Heritage-Informed Decarbonization (Section 2) offer five lessons demonstrated by heritage solutions that advance environmental and cultural benefits hand-in-hand. Prioritized policy levers, illustrations of successful policy examples, and community engagement prompts are included for each principle to guide high-impact advocacy. Cases of Heritage-Informed Decarbonization (Section 3) illustrate examples of buildings, practices, programs, and policies from around the world. Each case explores the cultural and political contexts that led to success, the co-benefits that resulted, and how the learnings of each case apply more broadly. Context Prompts are provided throughout the toolkit to help users connect global examples to their lived or local experiences. These prompts can be used to guide individual reflection, plan a community workshop, prepare for targeted advocacy, or spark conversation across stakeholder groups. The Heritage-Informed Decarbonization Project Atlas (online only) provides an expansive collection of examples from around the world. This repository is a guide to tools, materials, built places, policies, and programs that illustrate proven implementation of heritage as a climate solution. This toolkit advances five principles of heritage- informed decarbonization. These are: learn from the past; reuse first; engage place; revalue building waste; and make policy inclusive.
Introduction | Introducing Heritage-Informed Decarbonization7 The Complete Toolkit for Heritage-Informed DecarbonizationIntroducing Heritage-Informed Decarbonization Section 1 The Five Principles of Heritage-Informed Decarbonization Section 2 Cases of Heritage-Informed Decarbonization Section 3 Context Prompts for Discussing Heritage-Informed Decarbonization Across Sections The Heritage-Informed Decarbonization Project Atlas Website » 14 global cases applying heritage-informed decarbonization principles » Terminology » Policy approaches » Policy participants » Co-benefits analysis » Principle definition » Principle levers » Principles applied to the practice of heritage-informed decarbonization » More than 150 global examples of heritage- informed decarbonization sortable across indicators » Questions throughout Sections 1 and 2 for reflecting on heritage- informed decarbonization
Glossary | Decarbonizing the Built Environment Through Heritage: The Complete Toolkit8 Heritage The cultural, historical, and social legacies passed down through generations creating a community’s shared values, identity, and resources. Built heritage in this toolkit references constructed places that embody heritage of any type—including historic monuments, community neighborhoods, and buildings with heritage techniques and materials. The concept of heritage differs across communities, cultures, languages, and geographies. Decarbonization Eliminating or reducing human-caused greenhouse gas emissions to minimize the impacts of climate change. Decarbonization of buildings involves the elimination of both operational and embodied emissions. Words to Engage the Practice of Heritage-Informed Decarbonization Greenhouse Gases Gases, such as carbon dioxide, methane, and nitrous oxide, that trap heat in the atmosphere. While naturally occurring, the concentration of these gases has increased exponentially over the last century, leading to climate change. Operational Emissions Greenhouse gas emissions from energy use associated with the day-to-day operations of buildings and infrastructure. Embodied Emissions Greenhouse gas emissions associated with the production and transportation, maintenance and repair, and end-of-life of materials, assemblies, buildings, or other objects. Whole Life Carbon Total GHG emissions associated with the whole lifecycle of a building, including both operational and embodied emissions. Mitigation A component of climate action, reducing greenhouse gas emissions to minimize the impacts of climate change. Heritage-informed decarbonization integrates principles from built- environment design and planning, building decarbonization, building management, heritage preservation and conservation, and heritage practices. Policymakers, community leaders, and practitioners can use this glossary to explore a shared vocabulary for bridging culture and climate strategies.
Glossary | Introducing Heritage-Informed Decarbonization9 Adaptation A component of climate action, responding to the impacts caused by climate change. Climate Resilience The capacity of individuals, communities, or places to recover and thrive in the face of climate change threats. Built Environment Human-made structures, infrastructure, and landscapes where people live, work, and learn. Green & Gray Infrastructure Green infrastructure uses nature-based systems to manage environmental challenges, as compared to gray infrastructure which uses concrete, steel, and other manufactured materials to manage these challenges. Heritage Buildings Buildings that have significant cultural, historical, or architectural value, regardless of age or formal designation. Vernacular Architecture Any building style that is particular to a culture or region and centers on traditional construction methods that reflect local materials, topography, weather and climate. Vernacular architecture, the result of generations of hands- on experience, can also incorporate building traditions that were developed elsewhere and brought to a place, making it both multi- generational and cross-boundary. Traditional Knowledge Cultural and ecological practices that are passed down through generations of communities. Climate-Responsive Behaviors and Practices Behaviors and practices adapted to local climate conditions, such as temperature, humidity, and precipitation, to minimize energy use and maximize comfort and usability. Place-Based Approaches Policies, programs, or techniques that respond to or are geared towards a specific geographic location and its community, culture, and climate. Adaptive Reuse Modification of an existing building to reestablish or increase its value and relevance under new urban, economic, social, and environmental conditions. Conservation The practice of protecting and managing natural and built resources. Deconstruction The practices of taking apart a building to preserve its materials. In contrast, demolition is the process of razing a building, which typically results in down-cycling and disposing of most materials in landfill. Materials Salvage Recovery of building materials, such as lumber, steel, bricks and windows, through building deconstruction. Circular Economy An economic model that aims to eliminate waste by keeping materials in use through repair, reuse, and if needed, recycling. This is in contrast to a linear economic model, which extracts raw materials, makes products, and then discards those products in a landfill at the end-of-life. Circularity Actions taken to achieve a circular economy, such as deconstruction and materials salvage. Electrification The process of replacing oil- and gas-powered equipment with electric alternatives.
Glossary | Decarbonizing the Built Environment Through Heritage: The Complete Toolkit10 Heritage-informed decarbonization engages a broad range of built environment fields. Occupant Comfort Creating a healthy and livable indoor environment that allows occupants to use the building as they need to. This incorporates a combination of factors including humidity, air movement, temperature, indoor air quality, and noise levels, amongst other factors. Indigenous Peoples or Culture The descendants or culture of the original inhabitants of a place, often displaced by other cultures who forcibly occupied or settled in those places. Indigenous communities may prefer other terms such as Tribes, First Peoples/ Nations, or Aboriginals. Frontline Climate Communities Communities that experience the impacts of climate change first—these communities are often economically distressed, dependent on natural resources for economic development, or both, making them particularly vulnerable to the impacts of climate change. Green & Gray Infrastructure Green infrastructure uses nature-based systems to manage environmental challenges, as compared to gray infrastructure which uses concrete, steel, and other manufactured materials to manage these challenges. Community Stewardship Management of shared community resources and spaces through collective action. Cultural Organizing Use of culture and heritage to drive social change. Collective Care Treating both community infrastructure and community relationships as a shared responsibility, and not the responsibility of a single individual or organization. Gentrification The investment of financial resources into chronically under-resourced communities that often displaces existing communities with wealthier residents. Heritage Practices Climate Change Mitigation Building Design and Planning Existing and New Buildings Heritage Preservation/Conservation Materials Circularity Building Use and Maintenance Heritage-Informed Decarbonization Energy Efficiency
Glossary | Introducing Heritage-Informed Decarbonization11 Policymakers, public officials, technical experts, and community members can advance policies to support heritage-informed decarbonization strategies. They can connect to create systems supporting local priorities. Use these questions to examine what heritage means to your community and how climate change is experienced as a first step to advancing conversations across stakeholder groups. Talking about words for heritage- informed decarbonization Context Prompts How does your community talk about “heritage”? Do you use words like tradition, religion, or history? Do any words in this glossary have negative or positive connotations? How does your community experience climate change in buildings? Are heating and cooling bills higher, or have you noticed a change in air quality limiting open-window season? How does your community relate to its history? Is your history tied to place, or do you have other physical or cultural connections to the past? What types of knowledge do you use daily that have connections to the past? Are there opportunities to regain lost knowledge and what value could recovered knowledge have today? Q1 Q4 Q2 Q3
Policy Approaches | Decarbonizing the Built Environment Through Heritage: The Complete Toolkit12 Integrating Climate, Building and Land Use, and Heritage Policy The practice of heritage-informed decarbonization requires alignment across climate, building and land- use, and heritage policy types, and coordination among policymakers. There is a broad range of policy mechanisms that can support or impede heritage-informed decarbonization, and these do not fit neatly into any single climate, building, or heritage policy framework. This collection of policy tools represents a hybridized framework, integrating established environmental, climate, land use, building and construction, and heritage policy mechanisms. It aims to capture the breadth of approaches required to implement heritage-informed decarbonization. This range of policy tools offers flexibility to respond to local conditions including available resources, the existing policy landscape, the capacity of local officials and industry, and other variables. Sample policy tools listed are provided within each category for reference but do not represent an exhaustive list. Policy Approaches for Implementing Heritage-Informed Decarbonization Regulations set legally binding standards which drive innovation and accelerate transitions to desired processes, technologies, or outcomes. Economic tools provide incentives or penalties for certain actions or behaviors in the private sector to encourage alignment with public goals and targets. Government & public investment are direct financial investments from governments in their own operations, infrastructure, and research and development. Information tools disseminate information to promote certain technologies or behaviors. Property rights tools protect cultural and environmental resources by ensuring those resources are maintained for a desired purpose.
Policy Approaches | Introducing Heritage-Informed Decarbonization13 Aligning Across Policy Tools to Implement Heritage-Informed Decarbonization Regulation Economic Tools Government & Public Investment Information Tools Property Rights Tools » Energy/emissions performance standards » Building codes and standards » Energy codes » Decarbonization financing or loans » Carbon taxes/credits » Historic tax credits » Grants » Deconstruction ordinances » Adaptive reuse ordinances » Zoning requirements and incentives » Fee reductions » Expedited permitting and review » Climate action plans » Clean energy infrastructure » Publicly funded reuse and decarbonization projects » Pilot deconstruction projects » Public demonstration of heritage retrofits » R&D for heritage retrofit technology » Design guidelines » Emissions databases » Public recognition programs » Technical guidance for retrofits » Heritage districts » Land trusts » Conservation easements
Policy Approaches | Decarbonizing the Built Environment Through Heritage: The Complete Toolkit14 Heritage-informed decarbonization sits at the nexus of climate, built environment, and heritage policies. The Portico Hackney © Historic England Archive
Policy Approaches | Introducing Heritage-Informed Decarbonization15 What is the level of policy development, enforcement, and complexity in your region? How are policy and governance decisions made? Use these questions to explore the policies you know and their relationship to heritage-informed decarbonization. Does your region have existing government policies that relate to buildings, cultural heritage, or climate? Are these policies consistently enforced? Given the types and levels of policies in your region, which are most effective in implementing heritage- informed decarbonization? Are there non-governmental policies (those held by communities or private entities) that govern these areas? Do existing policies related to cultural heritage and climate action support one another, or do they demonstrate competing goals? Talking about policy approaches to heritage-informed decarbonization Q1 Q4 Q2 Q3 Context Prompts
Participants | Decarbonizing the Built Environment Through Heritage: The Complete Toolkit16 Who participates in enabling and implementing heritage-informed decarbonization policy and what are their perspectives? Heritage-informed decarbonization policies are influenced and implemented across climate, heritage, and built environment stakeholders. Every place has its own unique policy context—in some jurisdictions, public policy governs decision-making and funding, while in other locations, private policy or community practices may hold more influence. The participants identified here play a critical role in the policy examples and case studies within this toolkit but do not represent an exhaustive list. Climate Local Government: Climate & Sustainability Offices Climate and sustainability offices within local government set local environmental and climate standards, and the policies and programs necessary to achieve those standards. There are opportunities for these staff to intentionally integrate heritage- informed decarbonization into their policymaking. Participants in Heritage-Informed Decarbonization Policy National/State/Regional Government: Environment Agencies/Ministries Environment agencies and ministries within local, regional, national, and international governments set broader environmental and climate standards, and the policies and programs necessary to achieve those standards. There are opportunities for these staff to intentionally integrate heritage-informed decarbonization into their policymaking. Environmental & Climate Advocacy Organizations Environmental and climate advocacy organizations advocate for a wide range of environmental and climate issues at all levels of advocacy, including at the community level. They also often provide subject matter expertise to local, federal, and international governments. There are robust opportunities for these advocates to incorporate heritage-informed decarbonization into their advocacy strategies and to assist their communities in identifying co-benefits.
Participants | Introducing Heritage-Informed Decarbonization17 Heritage Local Government: Historic Preservation/ Heritage Agencies Local historic preservation/heritage agencies manage designated historic places and ensure properties are in compliance with design guidelines and regulations. There are opportunities for these offices to develop guidance, resources, and policies to explicitly connect heritage resources within existing climate plans and standards. National/State/Regional Government: Culture Agencies/Ministries Culture agencies and ministries promote, fund, and preserve heritage assets, such as implementing heritage tax credits and designating cultural districts. Like at the local level, these agencies have the potential to develop guidance, incentives, and policies to explicitly connect heritage resources with existing climate action plans and my be obligated to report their own emissions impacts. Heritage Advocacy Organizations Heritage advocacy organizations advocate for the protection of cultural and heritage assets and provide technical guidance and other resources to ensure the maintenance of those resources. They may also provide subject matter expertise to local, national, and international governments. These organizations have the opportunity to incorporate climate guidance into their resources and provide heritage expertise to climate policymakers to ensure the incorporation of heritage into climate policy. Community Activists and Advocates Community activists and advocacy organizations work on a myriad of social, economic, and environmental issues within their local communities. These organizations are important resources in identifying the co-benefits of heritage-informed decarbonization for their community and are able to advocate for these policies that address these community needs. Built Environment Local/Regional Government: Building and Land Use Departments/Agencies Zoning or land use departments regulate property development and commercial and residential districts. Public works departments manage the physical infrastructure of a community. Building agencies may review projects for safety and compliance with codes and regulations. All three may contribute to management of government- owned buildings and regulate the built environment for the broader community. They are able to incorporate heritage-informed decarbonization into their regulations, such as through retrofit ordinances and decarbonization policies. Cross-Sectoral Design Practices & Construction Firms Design and preservation/conservation practices and construction companies guide the design, construction, and maintenance of the built environment, including heritage. These organizations can incorporate heritage-informed decarbonization practices into their day-to-day work and drive market demand and scalability for these solutions. Institutions/Building Owners Large institutions, such as universities and hospitals, manage portfolios of buildings, and often have robust climate and renewable energy commitments. These institutions have the ability to incorporate heritage- informed decarbonization into their operations, pedagogies, and practices, and demonstrate success to a wide range of stakeholders. Researchers Researchers work within academic institutions, government agencies, and non-profit organizations, and provide critical research into the efficacy of both climate and heritage solutions. This research can support the deployment and evaluation of successful heritage-informed decarbonization solutions and provides best practice resources for climate and heritage practitioners.
Participants | Decarbonizing the Built Environment Through Heritage: The Complete Toolkit18 Advancing heritage- informed decarbonization can require engaging a broad range of participants, including local communities and knowledge-holders. Image courtesy of Fideicomiso de la Tierra del Caño Martín Peña
Participants | Introducing Heritage-Informed Decarbonization19 Stakeholders are specific to each place and context. Some places do not have explicit climate, heritage, or building stakeholders. Use these questions to guide conversation on the people, decision- makers, organizations, institutions, or agencies who could or should have a say in implementing heritage-informed decarbonization. Talking about who participates in heritage-informed decarbonization Context Prompts Q1 Are there environmental, climate, or other interdisciplinary organizations or agencies in your location? What is their focus, and what is their authority? Q2 Does your location have designated stewards of heritage or community identity? Are they individuals, organizations, and/or government agencies? Q3 Who designs, constructs, and governs the built environment? Do policies driving buildings and construction follow standardized, official processes for development and implementation?
Co-benefits | Decarbonizing the Built Environment Through Heritage: The Complete Toolkit20 Exploring Heritage-Informed Decarbonization through a Co-benefits Mindset Heritage-informed decarbonization offers a broad range of co-benefits beyond cultural heritage and decarbonization: outcomes that simultaneously improve environmental performance, strengthen communities, and support economic, human, and social health. These co-benefits directly align heritage- informed decarbonization strategies with community priorities, makes the case for investment by linking funding to tangible outcomes, and reveals shared goals across policy areas such as housing, health, economic development, and resilience. These co-benefits are essential to evaluating and understanding the full value of cultural heritage-based climate action. The Co-benefits of Heritage-Informed Decarbonization Housing and Community Stability » Affordable Housing: Increased availability or preservation of housing that is accessible to lower- and moderate-income populations. » Avoiding Displacement and Depopulation: Stabilizing communities by preventing forced relocation, population loss, or loss of cultural continuity. » Community and Social Cohesion: Strengthening relationships, shared identity, and sense of collective care among community members. Economic and Workforce Impacts » Workforce Development: Creation of jobs, training, and skilled labor opportunities. » Local Economy Growth: Investment in local businesses, materials, and services that generate value within the community. » Reducing Energy Burden: Lowering household or operational energy costs, particularly for vulnerable populations.
Co-benefits | Introducing Heritage-Informed Decarbonization21 Resilience and Adaptation » Disaster Resilience and Preparedness: Improved ability of buildings and communities to withstand and recover from climate-related hazards. Equity and Inclusion » Social Justice: Advancing fair distribution of environmental, social, and economic benefits and addressing historic inequities. » Gender Equality: Expanding access to training, employment, and decision-making power across genders. » Educational Opportunities: Increasing access to knowledge, training, and capacity- building related to heritage and climate practices. Health and Wellbeing » Public Health and Wellness: Improved physical and mental health outcomes through better housing conditions, comfort, and environmental quality. » Water and Sanitation Access: Improved access to clean water and sanitation systems through infrastructure and environmental strategies. Environmental and Resource Conservation » Circular Economy: Reduction of waste through reuse, repair, and recycling of materials, keeping resources in use for longer. » Natural Resource / Landscape Protection: Conservation of land, ecosystems, and natural resources through reduced materials extraction and development pressure. Manyatta Homesteads Image credit: Ethan Walker, “Made with Matriarchs”
Lessons from Heritage-Based Solutions | Decarbonizing the Built Environment through Heritage: The Complete Toolkit22 Heritage-informed decarbonization leverages the physical value and embodied knowledge of what already exists to create a low-carbon future. Image credit: City of San Antonio Department of Historic Preservation
Lessons from Heritage-Based Solutions | Five Principles of Heritage-Informed Decarbonization23 The Five Principles of Heritage-Informed Decarbonization Section 2
Lessons from Heritage-Based Solutions | Decarbonizing the Built Environment through Heritage: The Complete Toolkit24 Lessons from Heritage-Based Solutions Translating Heritage-Informed Approaches to Policy Action Heritage buildings and practices offer tremendous potential to mitigate greenhouse gas emissions directly and to catalyze societal change toward a just, low-carbon future. However, policies can fail to integrate, and even actively create barriers to, decarbonization through cultural heritage in the built environment. The following five principles for decarbonizing the built environment through heritage represent a distillation of lessons taken from successful projects, programs, policies, and built environment approaches from around the world. Each principle reflects the duality of technical and cultural climate solutions present in heritage, creating a “both/and” theme central to the co-benefits of heritage-informed solutions. While articulated as independent principles, many examples of heritage- informed decarbonization demonstrate several of these principles working together. Heritage approaches to the built environment respond to many of the sector’s greatest decarbonization challenges. Integrating heritage into built environment climate policy can lead to more effective and inclusive implementation that allows people to thrive, not just survive, climate change. In many cases, existing policies can incorporate heritage through reframing or revision. In others, new policies may be adapted from other regions or contexts. In other instances, novel approaches to policy and policymaking may be needed to rapidly accelerate heritage-informed decarbonization. A range of policy mechanisms are needed to effectively enable action across the five principles. These principles illustrate concepts and policies to advance heritage-informed decarbonization in response to context-specific built environment, cultural heritage, and climate needs. Each principle is accompanied by context prompts, questions for readers to consider individually, with policymakers, and within communities to align each principle with relevant local issues and approaches.
Lessons from Heritage-Based Solutions | Five Principles of Heritage-Informed Decarbonization25 Learn from the Past Reuse First Engage Place Revalue Building Waste Make Policy Inclusive 1 2 3 4 5 New mosque of the Hikma Community Complex Niger, Africa Copyright © 2022 studio chahar Five Principles of Heritage- Informed Decarbonization Learn from the greatest living laboratory for climate adaptation—the existing built environment. Prioritize continued building (re)use and care. Implement place-based solutions to build, maintain, and live sustainably. Reframe building waste as a resource. Include heritage and Indigenous voices in climate policymaking. A global study of heritage-informed decarbonization revealed five key concepts to harness the past for a low-carbon future.
Learn from the Past | Decarbonizing the Built Environment through Heritage: The Complete Toolkit26 1 Learn from the greatest living laboratory for climate adaptation—the existing built environment. The places that make up built heritage illustrate how human habitation has responded to changing climate conditions over millennia and provide a unique test bed for integrating old and new climate technologies for future climate adaptation. PRINCIPLE 1 Why This Matters Learn from the Past Technological innovation in the building sector is currently based largely on the premise that the necessary solutions to the climate crisis lie in new technologies and innovations. From 2020—2021, climate tech investments soared to over $56 billion,1 while between 2020—2022, global investment in building and construction technology approached $50 billion. However, humans have constructed shelters and adapted construction and inhabitation techniques in response to changing climate conditions for millennia. Understanding the technology and practices of the past by learning from the successes and failures in design, construction, maintenance, and inhabitation practices can inform future innovation for a low-carbon, resilient, and just built environment.
Learn from the Past | Five Principles of Heritage-Informed Decarbonization27 Learning from existing and heritage places informs smart investment into new technological development and effective adaptation of buildings for the future. Technical guidelines and government investment in building and climate technology often focus on new materials and new approaches, to the exclusion of heritage knowledge. When heritage technologies, materials, and buildings are not understood, they can be perceived as irrelevant to today’s built environment. This leads to rapid advancement of new approaches developed without the benefit of what has been learned in the past. Conversely, heritage guidelines can limit use of new materials and technologies that may be necessary for climate adaptation as stewardship. Integrating heritage knowledge and values into technological innovation offers opportunities to accelerate effective solutions. Government support for research, development, and demonstration of approaches that learn from the past demonstrate proof of concept and drive market viability. Additionally, public agencies can publish technical guidance and offer training to support building owners and practitioners. From Principle to Policy Policy Principle 1 Learn from the Past Regulation Economic Government Investment Information Property Rights X X Learn From The Past | Policy Mechanisms Climate Planning Demonstrating decarbonized heritage buildings R&D for heritage-based technology Technical guidance for retrofits Design Guidelines Land Trusts Government Investment Information Property Rights X
28 Priority Policy Levers Establish public heritage structures as living labs to understand the “how and why” of past design approaches, test new materials, and demonstrate the integration of old and new to the public. Invest research and development funds into climate technology based in historic materials and practices. Develop guidelines for design, occupation, and maintenance that demonstrate how to activate the sustainable features of heritage buildings and places. Fund technical assistance programs for building owners to optimize decarbonization and improve resilience while retaining cultural value by responsibly restoring original features and carefully integrating new materials and systems. Create opportunities to test and integrate technological innovations into heritage building requirements. Policy Principle 1 Learn from the Past Endnotes 1. Zachary Smith, “Can Climate Tech Save Our Cities?” World Economic Forum, December 6, 2024, https://www.weforum.org/stories/2024/12/can-climate- tech-save-our-cities/. 2. Jose Luis Bianco et al, “From Start-up to Scale-up: Accelerating Growth in Construction Technology.” McKinsey & Company, May 3, 2023 https://www. mckinsey.com/industries/private-capital/our-insights/from-start-up-to-scale- up-accelerating-growth-in-construction-technology.
Learn from the Past | Five Principles of Heritage-Informed Decarbonization29 Learning from the Past in Practice The Heritage Council Victoria (Australia) developed a Climate Action Plan to protect the state’s cultural resources from the impacts of climate change and identify ways that cultural heritage protection can advance decarbonization. The Heritage Council is advancing a climate action framework through six principles that integrates the benefits of heritage-informed decarbonization and provides real- world examples accessible to the public of how heritage structures can advance the region’s climate targets. Heritage Council Victoria Climate Action Plan Policy Type Government Investment Stakeholder Type Local Heritage Agency This policy brief by the Cities Alliance highlights traditional knowledge and vernacular design approaches throughout the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region, which developed over centuries to preserve water resources, minimize urban heat islands, and enhance air circulation. For example, sophisticated water management systems harvested, stored, and distributed rainwater to manage floods and conserve water for times of drought. The examples highlighted in this resource demonstrate how forgotten heritage strategies can advance climate resilience and decarbonization in modern urban planning. The Historic Building Energy Retrofit Atlas (HiBERatlas), coordinated by EURAC Research, is a repository of European case studies demonstrating retrofit solutions that balance environmental performance and heritage value. The atlas also contains the HiBERtool, which guides users through best practice approaches for energy efficiency upgrades through various architecture and energy components, including walls, windows, ventilation, and solar. As a publicly funded resource, the atlas provides contextual examples for how to adapt historic places for a low-carbon future, and provides accessible technical guidance and precedents to aid in energy retrofits of older buildings. HiBERatlas Policy Type Information Stakeholder Type Researcher MENA Guide to Heritage-Centric Approaches to Climate Resilience Policy Type Information Stakeholder Type Advocacy Organization
Learn from the Past | Decarbonizing the Built Environment through Heritage: The Complete Toolkit30 Historic buildings can demonstrate low-energy approaches to design and live in spaces to stay comfortable in challenging climate conditions. Image credit: Preservation Resource Center
Learn from the Past | Five Principles of Heritage-Informed Decarbonization31 Q2. What buildings and spaces are the most resilient to climate change impacts? Do they have common features or materials? How could your community learn from these spaces to adapt to climate change? Q3Q1 Q2 What types of building materials and practices would you like to see more of within your community? Learn from the Past // CONTEXT PROMPTS What types of buildings or architectural styles exist in your community? What do you value about these buildings? Buildings constructed before the use modern or imported technologies or using vernacular and Indigenous Knowledge speak about the past of a place. Recognizing these places and practices in your community and examining how they have adapted over time creates a foundation for advancing heritage-informed decarbonization.
Reuse First | Decarbonizing the Built Environment through Heritage: The Complete Toolkit32 2 Prioritize continued building (re)use and care. There is no pathway to a livable climate without leveraging existing buildings. Heritage-informed approaches to (re)use avoid embodied emissions of new construction, reduce operational emissions of existing buildings, and preserve sense of place. PRINCIPLE 2 Reuse First Roughly 26% of global carbon dioxide emissions come from operating the 273 billion m2 of existing buildings. An additional 9% of emissions comes from new materials and processes associated with construction. Reusing and upgrading existing buildings reduces operational emissions through strategies like energy retrofits, electrification, and restoration of passive comfort strategies, while resulting in a 50—75% reduction in embodied emissions compared to new construction. Beyond these emissions reductions, retaining existing buildings protects cultural identity and community memory, and neighborhoods with diverse existing and historic building stock have been shown to improve local economic outcomes.2 Why This Matters
Reuse First | Five Principles of Heritage-Informed Decarbonization33 Reusing and decarbonizing existing buildings is a highly effective way to align climate targets with community investment, reduce greenhouse gas emissions while fostering local economic development, and preserve cultural value. While policies can incentivize reuse, in practice, many current policies can also act as a barrier by requiring existing buildings to meet new construction standards, overly restricting changes to existing buildings, and charging higher fees and taxes for renovation than for new construction. Beyond eliminating existing barriers, governments can harness a broad spectrum of policy instruments, including building codes, regulations, financial incentives, and demonstration projects to accelerate building reuse and care. Additionally, public capacity-building is needed to help building owners, practitioners, and builders who are new to these approaches overcome the complexity that may accompany building reuse and retrofit projects. Training is essential, as poor retrofit and renovation projects can cause long-term performance issues. Policy Principle 2 Reuse First Regulation Economic Government Investment Information Property Rights X X X From Principle to Policy Reuse First | Policy Mechanisms Building Codes Building Performance Standards Zoning Ordinances Tax Credits Decarbonization Loans Permitting Relief Sustainable Reuse of Public Assets Climate Planning Regulation Economic Government Investment Heritage districts Property Rights
34 Policy Principle 2 Reuse First Implement reuse-first zoning and planning to incentivize existing building projects over demolition and new construction. Regulate whole life carbon for all construction using methods that credit the avoided emissions associated with building reuse. Offer flexible compliance pathways—not exemptions—for existing and historic buildings to comply with energy and emissions requirements. Align decarbonization and heritage financial incentives to support solutions that preserve heritage value while reducing emissions. Penalize prolonged vacancy—buildings in use are more likely to be maintained and can provide space for housing and other essential needs. Culture Shift Alongside policy levers, cultural shifts are needed to accelerate reuse. In many communities, the new is seen as more innovative and solutions-oriented than what already exists, and existing buildings are often dismissed as dated, too difficult to adapt, or incapable of delivering emissions reductions. Shifting values toward stewardship and building care will strengthen the impact of policy. Priority Policy Levers Endnotes 1. Global Alliance for Buildings and Construction, “Global Status Report for Buildings and Construction 2025–2026,” UN Environment Programme, 2026, https://www.unep.org/resources/report/global-statusreport-buildings-and- construction-2025-2026. 2. Historic England, “The Economic Value of the Heritage Sector,” November 1, 2024, https://historicengland.org.uk/research/heritage-counts/heritage-and- economy/economic-value/.
Reuse First | Five Principles of Heritage-Informed Decarbonization35 Reuse First in Practice The City of Westminster (London, UK) instituted a “retrofit first” policy that requires require project proponents to 1) study opportunities for reuse before building new, 2) develop a circularity statement indicating how demolished materials will be recycled or reduced, and 3) conduct life-cycle assessment (LCA) for all renovation and new construction projects. This is an effective example of creating policy incentives to prioritize building reuse. However, this policy does not explicitly elevate heritage assets within the policy itself. There is an opportunity for policymakers considering similar policies to ensure that heritage buildings and practitioners are engaged in the whole process (for example, the UK’s Warm Homes Plan). Westminster Retrofit First Policy Policy Type Regulation Stakeholder Type Local Agency Tax credits are a flexible economic policy tool that can support rehabilitation, reuse, and retrofit. In New York State (USA), historic rehabilitation tax credits for registered historic properties, including residential properties, can be used for energy efficiency improvements and on-site renewable energy installations, showing how a common U.S. preservation incentive can be aligned more directly with decarbonization goals. In South Carolina (USA), tax credits extend beyond designated historic buildings to include abandoned structures such as former textile mills, demonstrating how the same policy tool can be used more broadly to unlock adaptive reuse, housing, and community revitalization potential. These examples show how tax credits can support broad co-benefits of building reuse through a mechanism that can also create a financial return on investment for the government agency. Tax Credits for Building Reuse and Decarbonization Policy Type Economic Stakeholder Type State Agency The City of Amsterdam (Netherlands) passed the Empty Vacancy Act to address a growing shortage of affordable housing in the city. Under this legislation, building owners must report building vacancies to local agencies or face financial penalties. This also enables property owners to lease their commercial or residential spaces for short-term rentals, such as when a property is for sale or acquiring the necessary building permits for renovation. Together, this promotes building reuse and recognizes the value of existing buildings in addressing a range of societal challenges, such as affordability, housing, and decarbonization. Amsterdam Empty Vacancy Act Policy Type Regulation Stakeholder Type Local Agency
Reuse First | Decarbonizing the Built Environment through Heritage: The Complete Toolkit36 At over 100 years old, Rebekah Scott Hall at Agnes Scott College previously housed a dining hall and student parlors. It now serves as a welcome center and admissions office with student residences above. The flexible use of this building over time has preserved memory and reduced whole life carbon emissions. Image credit: Agnes Scott College
Reuse First | Five Principles of Heritage-Informed Decarbonization37 Q2. Are buildings in your area subject to energy efficiency or emissions requirements? Is there financial, educational, or technical support available for owners of existing buildings? Q3Q1 Q2 How might adaptive reuse address misalignment between the buildings your community has and those it needs? For example, can old office or industrial buildings be adapted to address housing needs? Reuse First // CONTEXT PROMPTS What types of policies govern how buildings are built and reused in your community, and who governs those policies? What are the pathways for public involvement in mechanisms that drive reuses? Building reuse and care depends on the density and types of buildings in a community, their current condition, real estate markets, and many other conditions. Use these questions to understand how policies currently approach reuse and how reuse can solve other climate or social issues within your community.
Engage Place | Decarbonizing the Built Environment through Heritage: The Complete Toolkit38 3 Implement place-based solutions to build, maintain, and live sustainably. From bio-based, local materials to context-specific passive comfort strategies, heritage offers scientifically supported lessons for low-carbon design, construction, maintenance, and use, while fostering a culture of care that sustains and passes down local practices. PRINCIPLE 3 Engage Place Through industrialization of the building sector, once- localized design and construction practices have become standardized around the world, weakening the relationship between built and natural environments, landscapes, and cultures. Buildings that utilized local materials and well-understood passive design strategies to respond to local culture and climate have largely been replaced by steel, concrete, and glass construction deployed similarly across contexts. This has also resulted in the loss of skills and knowledge as practices of building care and maintenance are replaced with an expensive “take-make-waste” mindset. Why This Matters
Engage Place | Five Principles of Heritage-Informed Decarbonization39 Policies that support the use of local heritage knowledge lead to buildings that are often less expensive to operate, emit less carbon, have a longer lifespan, and are easier to maintain, while building capacity for sustainable building practices within the community. Building codes and standards that govern building practices in many jurisdictions are based largely on modern construction, with a uniform approach that limits flexibility for local materials or comfort practices. These policies can act as barriers to both the use of local materials and construction systems—which can have lower embodied carbon—and the implementation of passive approaches to heating, cooling, and ventilation—which create usable indoor environments with lower operational carbon. Updating these policies offers two key opportunities for heritage-informed decarbonization. First, codes and standards can better enable low-carbon materials common in older construction, such as timber, masonry, and earth, by integrating them into regulations and training building officials in their safe and effective use. These materials can support local economies, reduce transportation impacts, and make care, repair, and future reuse easier and more affordable. Second, codes and standards can revise mechanical system requirements to allow occupant-centered comfort, health, and usability strategies informed by traditional passive or low-energy approaches. Policy Principle 3 Engage Place Regulation Economic Government Investment Information Property Rights X X X From Principle to Policy Engage Place | Policy Mechanisms Climate Action Plans R&D for heritage-based technology Design Guidelines Technical Guidelines for Retrofits Workforce Training Regulation Government Investment Information Building Codes Building Performance Standards
Engage Place | Decarbonizing the Built Environment through Heritage: The Complete Toolkit40 Policy Principle 3 Engage Place Include local, traditional building materials like earth, timber, or thatch within building codes to enable safe and effective use. Ensure that building heating, cooling, and ventilation standards allow compliance through performance-based methods that reflect occupant well-being over prescribed space conditioning. Fund education for building officials, owners, and designers in climate-responsive, passive design techniques, as well as for owners in how to operate their buildings effectively within their climate for their own uses. Support workforce development in traditional trades and craft skills. Culture Shift Expectations of buildings have evolved around and spurred on the advancement of technologies that make it possible to tightly control indoor climate and reduce maintenance. A culture shift is required to re-establish norms such as operating windows or shades to improve comfort, accepting variation in indoor conditions, and repairing rather than replacing components like windows. In some places, traditional construction may be perceived as of lower quality or social value, while new industrial approaches are seen as a sign of socioeconomic status. This type of perception creates barriers to traditional approaches that can only be overcome by reestablishing their perceived value. Priority Policy Levers
Engage Place | Five Principles of Heritage-Informed Decarbonization41 Engaging Place in Practice This policy was developed by Indigenous Climate Action to create capacity for Indigenous communities to identify and implement place-based climate strategies and solutions. The toolkit provides resources and examples of decarbonization strategies that prioritize local building materials and traditional building strategies, and also advocate for community-led solutions within Indigenous communities. While the toolkit was developed to support Indigenous communities in Canada, the toolkit can have broader applicability globally, and offers another critical perspective on the role of place- based solutions in heritage-informed decarbonization strategies. Throughout the Southwest United States, Native Americans and Spanish colonial settlers used adobe and other earth-based materials in construction. The state of New Mexico’s Earthen Building Materials Code has formalized this typology, establishing minimum standards for the construction of earthen bearing walls for one- and two-family dwellings. The code simplifies approvals for use of earth as an option that prioritizes both decarbonization and historical and cultural practices. However, the code mandates the use of stabilized earthen components or concrete structural members for some applications, which detracts from future recyclability and considerably increases embodied carbon emissions compared to unstabilized earthen construction, in addition to eroding heritage techniques. Published by Historic England, Cadw, and Historic Environment Scotland, this training resource is aimed at providing construction professionals, planners and other taking the UK’s Level 3 Award in Energy Efficiency Measures for Older and Traditional Buildings course with resources to understand the unique energy efficiency characteristics of buildings built prior to 1919. This resource is an example of public sector organizations providing additional training, information, and guidance to bolster workforce capacity to implement place-based solutions and ensure the successful implementation of energy efficiency and other climate strategies in the UK’s historic building stock. Indigenous Climate Action Toolkit Policy Type Information Stakeholder Type Community Advocacy Organization New Mexico Earthen Materials Building Code Policy Type Regulation Stakeholder Type State Agency Energy Efficiency in Older and Traditional Homes Training Program Policy Type Information Stakeholder Type Regional Agency
Engage Place | Decarbonizing the Built Environment through Heritage: The Complete Toolkit42 Innovative use of earthen construction at the Cheerville project in Tamil Nadu, India. Image courtesy of Masons Ink.
Engage Place | Five Principles of Heritage-Informed Decarbonization43 Q2. Engage Place // CONTEXT PROMPTS What buildings successfully withstand severe weather events? Do they have common features or materials? How could your community learn from these spaces to adapt to climate change? Q3Q1 Q2 What materials are locally available in your region, and how have they historically been used in buildings? Are those materials still accessible and accepted today? What is the weather like where you live? Is it primarily hot and humid? Cold and dry? What do you need from your built environment in order to stay comfortable and healthy in this climate? Heritage-informed decarbonization strategies can be rooted in the culture, climate, and resources of a place. Use these questions to understand how your context impacts the decarbonization approaches that will be most effective, economical, and resilient.
Revalue Building Waste | Decarbonizing the Built Environment through Heritage: The Complete Toolkit44 4 Reframe building waste as a resource. Heritage construction and maintenance practices around the world are founded in circularity, demonstrating how to extend the life of buildings and materials and supporting a marketplace and industry that recognize resources rather than waste. PRINCIPLE 4 Revalue Building Waste Globally, the construction industry generates 30—40% of all solid waste, and at the same time consumes 40—50% of raw materials.1 The costs of this linear “take-make-waste” economic model are not equally distributed. Low-income and marginalized communities are more likely to live within proximity to mines, industrial facilities, and landfills, bearing the economic and public health costs of these facilities. Moving to a circular economy minimizes waste, reduces impacts from new materials, and keeps more money in the local economy, creating up to 50 to 300 times more jobs per ton of waste compared to traditional landfilling.2 Heritage approaches demonstrate each tier of the waste reduction hierarchy, from using long-lived, durable, repairable materials, to closing the materials loop through deconstruction and salvage. Why This Matters
Revalue Building Waste | Five Principles of Heritage-Informed Decarbonization45 Materials circularity simultaneously advances economic, waste management, and decarbonization goals—keeping more money in the local economy, reducing pressure on landfill facilities from a major solid waste industry, and reducing carbon emissions associated with producing new building materials. Building materials deconstruction, salvage, and reuse require alignment of policies across departments or agencies that deal with waste management, historic preservation, building permissions, and code development. To accelerate circular economic principles in the built environment it is vital to both disincentivize landfill and incentivize circular practices as well as capacity building for owners, practitioners, and officials. Government support for research, development, and demonstration of materials and building approaches that learn from the past are powerful approaches to demonstrate proof of concept and drive market viability. Additionally, public agencies can drive change by publishing technical guidance or supporting training for building owners and practitioners. Economic Regulation Government Investment Information Property Rights X X X X From Principle to Policy Policy Principle 4 Revalue Building Waste Revalue Building Waste | Policy Mechanisms Building Codes Building Performance Standards Incentives for salvage Grants to support emerging markets Public processing and storage facilities Demonstration Projects Workforce training Materials reuse guidelines Regulation Economic Government Investment Information
46 Policy Principle 4 Revalue Building Waste Promote deconstruction over demolition through mechanisms like deconstruction ordinances and material recovery requirements. Allow salvaged, reused materials to count toward low-embodied carbon design and procurement requirements. Enable the use of salvaged materials through codes and material standards. Leverage public-private partnerships to create an enabling ecosystem that simultaneously advances workforce development training and certification, materials processing and storage facilities, and training for designers, owners, contractors and building officials. Culture Shift A consumer culture that values the use of older materials also drives materials reuse and circularity. Similar to the market for secondhand clothing or vintage furnishings, there is potential to create market demand for materials that connect building inhabitants to the past through the unique character of salvaged materials. However, as many salvaged materials may be invisible to building occupants or can be installed to give the impression of newness, this culture shift is not essential to begin transformation toward a circular economy. Priority Policy Levers Endnotes 1. Emina Kristina Petrović and Caroline Ann Thomas, “Global Patterns in Construction and Demolition Waste (C&DW) Research: A Bibliometric Analysis Using VOSviewer,” Sustainability 16, no. 4 (2024): 1561, https://doi.org/10.3390/su16041561. 2. Place Economics, “Treasure in the Walls: Reclaiming Value Through Material Reuse in San Antonio,” March 2021, https://www.placeeconomics.com/resources/ treasure-in-the-walls-reclaiming-value-through-material-reuse-in-san-antonio/.
Revalue Building Waste | Five Principles of Heritage-Informed Decarbonization47 The CALGreen Building Code (California, USA), the first mandatory statewide green building code in the U.S., embeds both material recovery and building reuse into standard compliance pathways. It requires diversion of at least 65% of construction and demolition waste from landfill through recycling, reuse, or salvage, supported by waste management planning, while allowing projects to meet embodied carbon targets through the use of existing building structures. Together, these provisions reflect a “both/and” approach to reducing waste while valuing buildings and materials in place. However, designated historic buildings are governed by the California Historical Building Code and can be exempt from the requirements of CALGreen, perpetuating a regulatory separation between historic and existing buildings. Set for adoption in 2026, the European Union’s Circular Economy Act aims to create a single market for recovered materials, increase regional supply of high-quality recycled materials, and stimulate demand for them across the EU. Together, this will decrease demand for new materials, support decarbonization of the materials supply chain, and strengthen regional economic resilience. The Act also responds to a key regional challenge: uneven standards can limit the growth of cross-border markets for salvage, reuse, and recycled materials. With the EU’s circularity rate currently at about 12%, the Act is part of a broader effort to double that rate to 24% by 2030. Its implementation is supported by monitoring tools and industry-specific programs that help apply circular economy principles across sectors. The state of Washington’s (USA) building code allows for ungraded salvaged lumber to be reused in construction. Without an alternative pathway for reuse, more than 350,000 tons of wood were disposed of to fuel industrial boilers within the region. While the City of Seattle amended their building code to recognize these lumber sources as valid sources of structural and non-structural lumber for buildings, a local company developed a process to transform deconstructed and other wood sources into dimensional lumber. At the local level, Seattle offers deconstruction training and financial incentives to ensure this resource is successfully leveraged, demonstrating the need for government leadership at the state and local levels, as well as private resources to create demand for salvaged materials. Washington Building Codes for Salvaged Lumber Policy Type Building Code Stakeholder Type State and Local Agencies CALGreen Building Code Policy Type Building Code Stakeholder Type State Building Agency EU Circular Economy Act Policy Type Regulation Stakeholder Type Supranational Agency Revaluing Building Waste in Practice
Revalue Building Waste | Decarbonizing the Built Environment through Heritage: The Complete Toolkit48 Re:Purpose Savannah materials salvage facility, The Yard Image credit: Elizabeth Rowe
Revalue Building Waste | Five Principles of Heritage-Informed Decarbonization49 Q2. Revalue Building Waste // CONTEXT PROMPTS What materials do building owners and homeowners in your community most need? Could those come from buildings that are beyond repair or no longer needed? Q3Q1 Q2 Beyond just environmental concerns, what concerns do you have about waste in your community? How does building demolition impact the community? What concerns exist about waste in your community? Where does your waste go, and which communities are impacted by it? Fundamental to heritage-informed decarbonization is a values shift to see the potential in the buildings and materials we already have. Use these questions to examine your community’s approach to and attitude toward waste, and more importantly, to explore how materials from existing buildings can be a valuable asset.
Make Policy Inclusive | Decarbonizing the Built Environment through Heritage: The Complete Toolkit50 5 Include heritage and Indigenous voices in climate policymaking. Including heritage and Indigenous perspectives in decision- making connects planning and policy with vital knowledge about building in balance with the environment while engaging communities in the all-of-society response needed to address climate change. PRINCIPLE 5 Make Policy Inclusive Climate policy for the built environment is often developed through siloed government structures that separate expertise on historic and existing buildings and Indigenous Knowledge from the agencies creating climate goals, building regulations, housing policy, or infrastructure investment. This can produce policies that overlook place-based knowledge, conflict with cultural practices, or create technical barriers to implementation. Bringing heritage, Indigenous, and community perspectives into decision-making leads to more rooted and effective policy by expanding the knowledge base behind climate action, strengthening public buy-in, and helping ensure that solutions are responsive to how people actually build, care for, and live in places. Why This Matters
Make Policy Inclusive | Five Principles of Heritage-Informed Decarbonization51 Deep integration of heritage and Indigenous Knowledge-Holders into the decision-making process leads to policies that incorporate the best available solutions from many knowledge systems, are implementable, and are applied effectively and respectfully. Implementing this principle requires changing not only policy content, but the processes and institutions through which policy is made. Heritage and Indigenous Knowledge-Holders should be included early and formally in climate planning, building regulation, infrastructure investment, and adaptation policy development—not consulted only after priorities and solutions have already been defined. In many contexts, advancing this principle may also require evolving property rights and governance tools, such as land trusts, conservation easements, heritage districts, and Indigenous governance models, to support long-term stewardship and place greater control in the hands of communities. Together, these shifts help produce climate policy that is more grounded, implementable, and responsive to local cultures, knowledge systems, and needs. Policy Principle 5 Make Policy Inclusive Regulation Economic Government Investment Information Property Rights X X X X From Principle to Policy Make Policy Inclusive | Policy Mechanisms Requirements of regulatory development and oversight bodies Grant autonomy for self- governance in climate action Demonstrate inclusive engagement processes Guidelines for community- led processes Heritage districts Land trusts Conservation easements Regulation Government Investment Information Property Rights
Make Policy Inclusive | Decarbonizing the Built Environment through Heritage: The Complete Toolkit52 Policy Principle 5 Make Policy Inclusive Developed by the Government Architect NSW, Connecting with Country is a framework for planning, designing, and delivering built environment projects through a place-based approach guided by Indigenous Knowledge. Grounded in the philosophy “If we care for Country, Country will care for us,” it aims to support environmental outcomes, community wellbeing, protection of cultural sites, and fostering of cultural practice. The framework was shaped through interviews, workshops, and pilot projects involving Traditional Custodians, Aboriginal organizations and Land Councils, government agencies, and project teams, offering a strong example of how public policy can be developed through early and structured Aboriginal engagement rather than consultation after key decisions are made. Include Indigenous and heritage representation as early as the problem-definition stage of climate planning. Require that climate plans assess impacts on cultural heritage and living traditions, not just on emissions and risk. Tie climate funding eligibility to demonstrated inclusion of Indigenous and heritage knowledge holders. Make long-term heritage protection tools, such as easements and land trust ownership, eligible mechanisms for delivering climate outcomes. Update climate planning guidance to recognize heritage stewardship as a climate strategy, rather than a constraint. Connecting with Country Policy Type Government Investment Stakeholder Type State Agency Priority Policy Levers
Make Policy Inclusive | Five Principles of Heritage-Informed Decarbonization53 Making Policy Inclusive in Practice The Province of British Columbia (Canada) invested over $2 million from their Climate Preparedness and Adaptation Strategy in a capacity-building pilot program for First Nations to strengthen their resilience to climate change impacts. The focus of the program is on developing advisory groups to provide mentorship, fill knowledge gaps, and implement Indigenous-informed solutions. In addition to capacity building and solutions development, this financial investment demonstrates a commitment to uplifting frontline climate communities, and creates formal pathways for Indigenous perspectives to become part of policy development and inform locally vibrant and accessible solutions. Located in Nairobi, Kenya, the Kibera Public Space Project is a community network developed to improve the physical, social, and economic conditions of the informal settlement of Kibera. Despite the overcrowding and economic conditions of the community, community leaders have implemented community-driven projects to demonstrate the co-benefits of preservation, conservation, and climate resilience. Each space in the project area aims to meet the specific needs of residents while also ensuring investment in green and grey infrastructure for flood resilience. The project has demonstrated success in connecting local resident’s perspectives to official policymaking processes, including in remediating flooding hotspots, with the County Department of Public Health. The Edisto Island Open Land Trust (South Carolina, USA) was created to protect Edisto Island from development along South Carolina’s coast and preserve the island’s Gullah Geechee cultural resources. The Gullah Geechee are descendants of African slaves that settled along the sea island of the southern United States, and Edisto Island is home to some of the oldest homes built by African Americans during Reconstruction (~1885). Land trusts are important policy tools to bridge land use, heritage, and climate policy protecting both landscapes and the cultural heritage resources that exist on those lands. The Edisto Island Open Last Trust works to protect these cultural resources from the impacts of climate change and share the lessons these places can teach in the face of a changing climate. Edisto Island Open Land Trust Policy Type Property Rights Stakeholder Type Heritage Advocacy Organization British Columbia’s Indigenous Climate Resilience Capacity Building Program Policy Type Government Investment Stakeholder Type State Agency Kibera Public Space Project Policy Type Government Investment Stakeholder Type Community Activists
Make Policy Inclusive | Decarbonizing the Built Environment through Heritage: The Complete Toolkit54 Opening of the Louis Market, an adaptive reuse of a market into a Center for Cultural Organizing in Tucson, Arizona, USA. Photo courtesy of Obsidian Lens Media and the Southwest Folklife Alliance
Make Policy Inclusive | Five Principles of Heritage-Informed Decarbonization55 Q2. Are there positive examples of cross-agency and cross- organization collaboration that you can point to as examples for how to advance heritage- informed decarbonization? Q3Q1 Q2 What do successful engagement processes look like for your community? What does successful shared decision- making look like? Make Policy Inclusive // CONTEXT PROMPTS Who holds Indigenous, local and/or heritage knowledge within your community? What barriers prevent these knowledge holders from meaningfully shaping planning and policymaking? Effective heritage-informed decarbonization depends not only on what policies are made, but on who shapes and implements them. Use these questions to explore whose knowledge is recognized in your community and how meaningful inclusion can advance heritage-informed decarbonization solutions.
56 Regulation Legally binding standards that drive innovation and accelerate transitions to desired processes, technologies or customs. Incentives and penalties for actions and behaviors in the private sector to encourage alignment with public goals and targets. Economic Learn From the Past Revalue Building Waste Make Policy Inclusive Reuse First Engage Place 1 4 5 2 3Heritage districts Learn from the greatest living laboratory for climate adaptation – the existing built environment. Prioritize continued building (re)use and care. Implement place-based solutions to build, maintain, and live sustainably. Reframe building waste as a resource. Include heritage and Indigenous voices in climate policymaking. POLICY MECHANISMS Five Principles of Heritage-Informed Decarbonization across Five Policy Mechanisms The Five Principles Building codes Building performance standards Zoning ordinances Requirements of regulatory development and oversight bodies Grant autonomy for self- governance in climate action Building codes Building performance standards Building codes Building performance standards Tax credits Decarbonization loans Permitting relief Incentives for salvage Grants to support emerging markets Demonstrate inclusive engagement process
Make Policy Inclusive | Five Principles of Heritage-Informed Decarbonization57 Direct financial investments from governments in their own operations, infrastructure, and research and development. Guidance to promote certain technologies or behaviors. Protections for cultural and environmental resources that ensure maintenance for a desired purpose. Government & Public Investment Information Property Rights Exemplar Cases Climate planning Demonstrating decarbonizing heritage buildings R&D for heritage-based technology Heritage Council Victoria Climate Action Plan HiBERatlas MENA Guide to Heritage- Centric Approaches to Climate Resilience Washington Building Codes for Salvaged Lumber CalGreen Building Code EU Circular Economy Act Westminster Retrofit First Policy Tax Credits for Building Reuse and Decarbonization Amsterdam Empty Vacancy Act Indigenous Climate Action Toolkit New Mexico Earthen materials Building Code Energy Efficiency in Older and Traditional Homes Training P’gram British Columbia’s Indigenous Climate Resilience Capacity Building Program Kibera Public Space Project Edisto Island Open Land Trust Technical guidance for retrofits Design guidelines Technical guidance for retrofits Design guidelines Workforce training Workforce training Materials reuse guidelines Guidelines for community-led processes Land trusts Sustainable reuse of public assets Climate action plans Climate action plans R&D for heritage-based technology Public processing and storage facilities Demonstration projects Heritage districts Land trusts Conservation easements Heritage districts
The Diocese Office in Linköping 2 Image by Steve Nyström, courtesy of FutureHist project team
Cases of Heritage-Informed Decarbonization Section 3
About | Decarbonizing the Built Environment Through Heritage: The Complete Toolkit60 Exploring Heritage-Informed Decarbonization On-the-Ground This collection features 14 cases of projects, practices, initiatives, and policies from around the world, illustrating how heritage and climate professionals, governments, organizations, and communities are practicing the five principles of heritage-informed decarbonization introduced in the toolkit’s second section. Heritage-informed decarbonization principles are themed as: learn from the past; reuse first; engage place; revalue building waste; and make policy inclusive. These cases aim to demonstrate the successful application of heritage-informed decarbonization principles across cultures, climates, and scales. As real-world examples, either complete or underway, each case offers replicable lessons, methods, and insights that policymakers, practitioners, communities, and heritage advocates can adapt to their own contexts. Each case summary presents the outcomes of practicing heritage-informed decarbonization, examines the challenges people overcame, the context-specific enablers and hurdles, and the tools, policies, and cultural factors contributing to the case’s success. This collection represents a variety of approaches, inviting reflection and analysis on how the ideas and approaches of heritage-informed decarbonization can be applied to the design, planning, maintenance, and engagement of the built environment. Case Selection Criteria These 14 cases are selected from a collection of more than 110 examples of heritage-informed decarbonization projects, initiatives, and policies, illustrating the breadth of heritage-informed decarbonization. Coalescing the larger collection was an important milestone in the first year of the Decarbonizing the Built Environment Through Heritage project. About Case Selection and Organization
About | Cases of Heritage Informed Decarbonization61 2. Community Impact: Building on the established co-benefits framework (found in Section 1 of this toolkit), every case, whether project or policy, was evaluated to understand its intended audience, and ensure that it addressed the needs of the local community. 3. Community Relevance and Transferability: Finally, each project was evaluated on how accessible and transferable the project goals and processes were to a wide variety of communities and stakeholders, to ensure that cases would be credible to policymakers. This evaluation was completed through an iterative process, internally with the project team as well as with other industry stakeholders from the Climate Heritage Network and the North American Community Advisory Group. Stakeholders from within each Climate Heritage Network Region—Africa and the Arab States, Asia-Pacific, Europe, Latin America and the Caribbean, and Contractor deconstruction training. Image by City of San Antonio Department of Historic Preservation. To locate examples, the project team reviewed literature, analyzed policy, and conducted global outreach through workshops and interviews with Climate Heritage Network members and partner organizations. All examples were evaluated to ensure integration of decarbonization and heritage strategies and to identify the co-benefits of this pairing. Each example was further evaluated against criteria to select the set of high-impact, diverse case studies featured in this section. These criteria include: 1. Alignment with the Definition of Heritage-Informed Decarbonization: While all examples addressed decarbonization and heritage, each was further evaluated for its alignment with the expanded definition of heritage-informed decarbonization (found in Section 1 of this toolkit). The diagram 14 Cases of Heritage-Informed Decarbonization by Five Principles is a visual index of alignment and deeper engagement with the subthemes found within each of the five principles.
About | Decarbonizing the Built Environment Through Heritage: The Complete Toolkit62 North America—identified the cases that best represented heritage-informed decarbonization within their area. The final list of cases was selected to ensure a balance of geographic representation, example type (projects on specific buildings, programs and initiatives, and policies), and the related heritage-informed decarbonization principles. The larger collection of examples is complied online as The Heritage-Informed Decarbonization Project Atlas. Organization and Structure of Case Studies The case studies are organized sequentially by case type. Case review begins with examples focused on buildings, then moves to examples of programs or initiatives that have addressed broader scales ranging from portfolios of buildings to low-carbon construction methods. Following, there are several examples covering programs and initiatives oriented toward furthering the understanding of and mainstreaming of decarbonization through heritage. The final set of case studies are different examples of policy—from community land trusts, municipal ordinances around the reuse of building materials or whole buildings, to organizational agendas to include heritage in cross-sectoral climate policy. All case studies follow the same format in their presentation: Overview: Location, contributors or team members, and a brief synopsis of the case study Heritage-Informed Decarbonization Narrative: Details on strategies and actions taken that illustrate the heritage-informed decarbonization principles as well as co- benefits and outcomes Co-Benefits: Identification of benefits beyond decarbonization resulting from the case study project or policy Cultural Context, Hurdles, and Enablers: Discussion of context-specific considerations, especially those that impeded or promoted the implementation of the case study, to prompt reflection on similarities and differences with other contexts that could inform the replication or adaptation of these case studies’ approaches The project team reviewed existing references and materials on the case studies and, where possible, conducted semi-structured interviews with those involved with the project or policy development. Reading the Case Studies Section 1 of the Toolkit lays out frameworks of language, policies, participants, and co-benefits of heritage-informed decarbonization that are referenced throughout the case studies. These frameworks provide a common way to describe, categorize, and evaluate heritage-informed decarbonization implemented in diverse contexts and are a recommended resource to help readers navigate these cases. Indexing the Cases The diagram titled 14 Cases of Heritage-Informed Decarbonization by Five Principles indexes each case against five principles and twelve approaches to heritage-informed decarbonization. While the cases demonstrate rich approaches that may touch facets of heritage-informed decarbonization not indicated here, this matrix aims to help readers easily identify cases relevant to them and to see how cases of different types and geographies can embody similar heritage approaches.
Raa Maram, Andhra Pradesh, India. Image by Masons Ink
Hikma Community Complex Masons Ink Equatorial School of Architecture Agnes Scott College Indigenous Stilt Structures Designing the 21st Century Ger Learn from the Past Revalue Building Waste Make Policy Inclusive Reuse First Engage Place 1 4 5 2 3 Comfort of People Occupant Behavior Low-Carbon Materials Inclusive Governance Responsible Energy Use Adaptive Reuse Building Care Passive Design Cultural Practices Salvage and Deconstruction Knowledge Maintenance Urban Design Nandaji, Niger Singapore Ilàjẹ-Bàrígà and Ilàje-Ese- Odo, Nigeria Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia Bengaluru, India Decatur, Georgia, USA BUILDING PRACTICE PROGRAM/INITIATIVE 14 Cases of Heritage-Informed Decarbonization by Five Principles The Five Principles The principles and attributes of heritage-informed decarbonization demonstrated by each case.
D !,6ABCD!CD 6 AD D DDDDD D D D " #$"%D D$& &" D$D'" # "( ) DDD DD*+D*-../0D12D314-.5748D9:0;/40.<D=D10-D04/<04D*+D>05.D52D?-770<<8D9@4D Saving Embodied Carbon Through Strengthening Existing Housing November 2023 The Relevancy Guidebook Fideicomiso de la Tierra del Caño Martín Peña LA Adaptive Reuse Saving Embodied Carbon Historic England BEACON FuturHist San Antonio Reuse Italy Illinois, USA Multi-regional Europe San Juan, Puerto Rico United Kingdom San Antonio, Texas, USA Los Angeles, California, USA PROGRAM/INITIATIVE POLICY
Hikma Community Complex | Decarbonizing the Built Environment Through Heritage: The Complete Toolkit66 CASE 01 - BUILDING Dandaji, Niger 2015–2018 Hikma Community Complex: Building with Heritage Overview The Hikma Community Complex project brings together the preservation and reuse of a heritage structure with new construction using local, low- carbon materials to meet community needs. The project team engaged the local village community to identify strategies to convert an existing mosque into a library and community center and construct a new mosque with earth-based materials. By involving the masons who had worked on the existing mosque, the project also served as an opportunity to further disseminate vernacular, low- carbon building techniques. Project Team Project Team: Mariam Issoufou, Yasaman Esmaili, Harouna Diallo, Tata-Mbolwone, Moussa Salissou, Fatima Ali Building Contractor: Entreprise Salou Alpha & Fils Engineering: URBATEC Approaches To Heritage-Informed Decarbonization » Advances adaptive reuse and low-carbon construction with local earthen materials » Uses passive, climate- responsive design to support human comfort » Sustains local building knowledge through crafts and practices » Creates a community-serving space that supports inclusion and social cohesion New prayer hall celebrating use of earthen construction. Photo by James Wang, © 2022 studio chahar.
Hikma Community Complex | Cases of Heritage Informed Decarbonization67 Heritage-Informed Decarbonization Narrative The Hikma Community Complex in the village of Dandaji in the west of Niger comprises two structures — a former mosque, now used as a library and community center, and a new mosque — connected by a public space. Dandaji’s residents had initially planned to demolish their former mosque, an adobe structure designed by local architect El Hadji Falké Barmou in the twentieth century. The intent was to build a new, larger mosque of reinforced concrete to accommodate the community’s changing needs. Upon hearing about this plan, architect Mariam Issoufou began to advocate for the rehabilitation and reuse of the existing mosque to preserve it as built heritage while accommodating the community’s new requirements. She and collaborator architect Yasaman Esmaili succeeded in convincing the village leaders to commission the design for such a project. The village leaders obtained funding from residents and community/ religious organizations and facilitated community consultation to inform project decisions.1 Reusing the mosque required repair and restoration of its built fabric, which had experienced erosion over the years from water damage and neglect. The design team’s solution was to invite the masons who had worked on the construction of the prior mosque, who were intimately familiar with the building techniques and materials used for the mosque. Their expertise was vital in the application and transmission of built heritage in the form of local building traditions and knowledge: for instance, through their input, the project made use of local, natural materials like salt and Arabic gum as termite repellent and shea butter to make earthen surfaces more waterproof. Meanwhile, the construction for the new mosque likewise leveraged local materials that minimized embodied carbon emissions from processing and transport. The primary structural system Key Participants Design Practices & Construction Firms Co-benefits » Workforce development » Gender equality » Educational opportunities » Community & social cohesion The existing mosque was preserved and adapted for its new use as a library and community center. Photo by James Wang, © 2022 studio chahar.
Hikma Community Complex | Decarbonizing the Built Environment Through Heritage: The Complete Toolkit68 Cultural Context, Hurdles, and Enablers The traditional materials repaired and used on this project reflect both the construction traditions and climate of Dandaji. The architectural forms and thermal properties of the earthen materials have been used over time to support livability in the hot, arid climate. Despite its emphasis on locally sourced, low- carbon materials, some compromises were necessary. For example, the earthen mixes for certain structural components contained concrete additives. Though timber would have been used historically, the team opted for metal partitions, stairs, and mezzanine framing as timber has become much scarcer. Concrete and metals have higher embodied carbon emissions relative to earth or timber, but contemporary conditions have resulted in their use. employed compressed earth bricks (CEBs), made of laterite soil taken directly from the site. The inclusion of concrete as a stabilizer in the CEBs was limited to critical structural components to minimize embodied carbon.2 Most of the project’s materials were similarly sourced within a five-kilometer radius.3 Using CEBs also entailed reductions in operational carbon emissions, due to their thermal insulation properties. The resulting structure expanded capacity to 1,000 people and provided enough space that has encouraged women and children, who had previously avoided the often male-dominated space, to visit regularly. Additionally, landscaping for the new mosque integrated a drip irrigation system with a rain- capturing underground reservoir that enhances indoor occupant comfort.4 The Community Complex project connected to decarbonization in several ways. First, it minimized embodied carbon emissions by avoiding the construction of a new mosque in concrete, a particularly carbon-intensive material. The use of CEB and locally sourced materials for the new structure took advantage of low-carbon materials. Second, the use of earthen constructive systems lowered operational emissions by reducing the need for mechanical cooling. The existing adobe mosque had long offered a comfortable indoor environment protected from external heat, and the CEB for the new mosque featured comparable thermal properties. Lastly, the project created opportunities for intergenerational exchange of skills to build with low-carbon materials, expanding the opportunity for future work that continues the application and transmission of local construction knowledge. The Community Complex created opportunities for intergenerational exchange of skills to build with low- carbon materials, expanding the opportunity for future work that continues the application and transmission of local knowledge.
Hikma Community Complex | Cases of Heritage Informed Decarbonization69 The new, expanded worship space allowed women and children to participate in what had been a male- dominated space. Photo by James Wang, © 2022 studio chahar. Old Materials Made New The complex used multiple forms of earthen construction in both the rehabilitation of the old mosque and the construction of the new one. Photo by Mariam Kamara
Hikma Community Complex | Decarbonizing the Built Environment Through Heritage: The Complete Toolkit70 Contemporary use of vernacular earthen construction. Photo by James Wang, © 2022 studio chahar.
The design team has stressed the importance of continued dialogue with the community and its leaders for this project, starting with the choice for adaptive reuse rather than demolition and replacement of the existing mosque. It was crucial for the team to understand and gain the confidence of the community to convincingly demonstrate the value of reusing the old mosque over a new modern one. Once underway, the project continued to engage with the community, including by employing local workers for construction, which led to the community’s sense of ownership and familiarity with the project. Acknowledgments Thank you to Neo Maditla (Communications and Business Development Lead, Mariam Issoufou Architects) and Yasaman Esmaili (Studio Chahar) for reviewing the draft and providing images for the case study. Endnotes 1. Davos Baukultur Alliance, “The Hikma Community Complex,” World Economic Forum, 2025, https://reports.weforum.org/docs/WEF_ PR286_Hikma_Community_Complex_V2.pdf. 2. Yasaman Esmaili and Mariam Issoufou, “Revitalizing Tradition in Dandaji, Niger: A Mosque and Library for Community Life,” Journal of Traditional Building, Architecture and Urbanism 6 (2025): 15–33, https://www. traditionalarchitecturejournal.com/index.php/ home/article/view/869/245. 3. Mariam Issoufou Architects, “Hikma Community Complex,” accessed June 3, 2026, https://www. mariamissoufou.com/hikma. 4. Mariam Issoufou Architects, “Hikma Community Complex: Regional Hub for Culture and Education,” accessed June 3, 2026, https:// www.mariamissoufou.com/3-hikma. The ceiling of the rehabilitated building illustrates use of multiple local, vernacular building materials. Photo by James Wang, © 2022 studio chahar.
Singapore’s Equatorial School of Architecture | Decarbonizing the Built Environment Through Heritage: The Complete Toolkit72 CASE 02 - BUILDING Singapore 2015–2023 Net-Zero Renewal of Singapore’s Equatorial School of Architecture Overview The National University of Singapore renovated its1970s SDE1 and SDE3 buildings (known as the Equatorial School of Architecture) at the College of Design and Engineering as a net- zero energy adaptive reuse project, integrating passive ventilation and cooling strategies suited to the tropical climate. The reuse reduced the project’s embodied carbon to an estimated fifth of comparable new construction. The resulting buildings support a broader shift toward decarbonization in the built environment serving as a “living lab” for students, emerging design professionals, and the broader public. Project Team Campus Design Innovations Group, National University of Singapore (design architects; lead designer Erik L’Heureux, FAIA); CPG Consultants (architect of record); DP Green (landscape architect); Transsolar KlimaEngineering; IEN Consultants; WSP Consultancy; E2000; Quants Associates; CCW Associate; Lian Soon Construction; Office of Estate Development, University Campus Infrastructure, National University of Singapore Approaches To Heritage-Informed Decarbonization » Showcases adaptive reuse as a low-carbon alternative to demolition and new construction » Applies place-based passive and hybrid cooling strategies to reduce energy use and support occupant comfort » Uses the campus as a demonstration project to build knowledge and shift practice Equatorial School of Architecture. Image © Finbarr Fallon, courtesy NUS
Singapore’s Equatorial School of Architecture | Cases of Heritage Informed Decarbonization73 Key Participants Researchers; Institutions Co-benefits » Educational opportunities » Natural landscape protection The National University of Singapore’s School of Design and Environment (renamed the College of Design and Engineering in 2023) occupied two reinforced-concrete buildings constructed in 1973 and 1976. These distinctly tropical brutalist buildings formed an important part of Singapore’s post-independence architectural legacy. Rather than demolition and replacement, the University undertook a comprehensive adaptive reuse of SDE1 and SDE3, transforming them into a net-zero energy academic environment with exceptionally low embodied carbon. The completed project subsequently achieved WELL Certification from the International WELL Building Institute. The renovation aimed to minimize both its operational and embodied carbon footprint by identifying precise architectural interventions that addressed the original buildings’ shortcomings around circulation, daylight access, thermal performance, and energy consumption, rather than relying on technological substitution alone. Post- completion life-cycle assessments estimated the renovation’s embodied carbon at approximately one-third that of an equivalent new low-carbon building and roughly one-fifth that of a conventional reinforced-concrete replacement.1 The renovation incorporated passive design approaches across the 23,000 square meters of floor area to reduce energy demand and improve occupant experience. For example, deep bronze veils replaced the original louvers to mitigate solar heat gain while preserving daylight and allowing views outward, and operable windows enable natural and cross-ventilation throughout much of the buildings. Over 65% of the total area uses a hybrid cooling system that integrates 27°C operating temperature, 100% fresh air, elevated air speed with ceiling fans, and dehumidification.2 This approach reduces operational emissions while improving indoor environmental quality and Heritage-Informed Decarbonization Narrative Renovated Equatorial School of Architecture. Image © Finbarr Fallon, courtesy NUS
Singapore’s Equatorial School of Architecture | Decarbonizing the Built Environment Through Heritage: The Complete Toolkit74 The renovation of the Equatorial School of Architecture responded to Singapore’s hot, humid climate. It reduced energy use by implementing passive design features such as shading from plants and architectural elements, as well as a hybrid cooling and natural ventilation system. New canopies engage the existing structure. Image © Finbarr Fallon, courtesy NUS A Climate-Responsive Performance Approach
Singapore’s Equatorial School of Architecture | Cases of Heritage Informed Decarbonization75 The Equatorial School of Architecture demonstrates that decarbonization does not have to sacrifice architectural quality, heritage value, or occupant experience. The project positions adaptive reuse as a primary strategy for reducing carbon emissions while improving environmental performance and pedagogical outcomes rather than viewing existing buildings as liabilities. The project offers a replicable model for universities, institutions, and cities confronting the dual challenges of climate change and aging building stock. It illustrates how architecture can move beyond mitigation toward leadership, using the built environment itself as a catalyst for cultural change, environmental stewardship, and the education of future generations. occupant comfort. The design employs intelligent building systems and over 2,000 rooftop solar panels to drive its net zero operational energy target. The result is a learning environment that acts as a living lab to inspire and demonstrate the potential of low-carbon construction for future architecture design professionals. These buildings lead by example for students and higher education institutions—especially those connected to architecture, design, and the built environment. The design integrates high-quality spatial experiences, social learning environments, and exceptional environmental performance to promote a broader disciplinary shift toward decarbonization. Over 20,000 visitors, including international student groups, real estate developers, building code officials, and government officials have already participated in tours to learn from these buildings. Original SDE3, image courtesy of NUS
Singapore’s Equatorial School of Architecture | Decarbonizing the Built Environment Through Heritage: The Complete Toolkit76 Occupants adapted their expectations of indoor comfort through a low-energy approach to managing humidity, air flow, and temperature that has become a model for the updated Singapore Building Code. Demonstrating A New Model At the same time, the wider sociocultural context also informed users’ initial reactions. Much of the population in Singapore is accustomed to setting air conditioning systems to artificially maintain interior temperatures much lower than in the renovated SDE1 and SDE3 buildings. As such, occupants needed an adjustment period to alter their expectations and accept that the renovated buildings did offer comparably comfortable interior environments. Over time, the hybrid cooling system used for SDE1 and SDE3 have also been integrated into other buildings on campus, including the Yosef Ishak House, and the principles have now been incorporated into the Singapore Building Code. Cultural Context, Hurdles, and Enablers The National University of Singapore has targeted net-zero emissions across its campus by 2030. The University created its Campus Design Innovations Group to implement renovation and adaptive reuse projects that centered energy efficiency, decarbonization, sustainability, and design excellence. This wider institutional context encouraged and enabled simultaneously pursuing architectural quality, enhanced social spaces, and ambitious carbon-reduction targets. The Equatorial School of Architecture was a university-funded project with an internal design team, which allowed for creativity, flexibility, and leadership to advance both design and decarbonization unachievable with conventional consultant/client delivery approaches. Beyond the University, Singapore released its 2030 Green Plan outlining decarbonization goals and strategies about the time of the project’s completion. This timing resulted in the renovation receiving considerable attention as a success story for adaptive reuse and aligning to the country’s larger decarbonization goals. Renovated interior space. Image © Finbarr Fallon, courtesy NUS
Singapore’s Equatorial School of Architecture | Cases of Heritage Informed Decarbonization77 Acknowledgments Thank you to Erik L’Heureux, FAIA, for participating in an interview about this project and for review and additions to the case study draft. Thank you also to Johannes Widodo (National University of Singapore) for feedback on the case study. Endnotes 1. Wolfgang Kessling, “Evaluating the Hidden Carbon in SDE 1 & 3,” in Renovating Carbon: Re-Imagining the Carbon Form, 146-158, ed. Erik L’Heureux and Giovanni Cossu (Oro Editions, 2022), https://transsolar. com/media/pages/publications/papers/evaluating-the- hidden-carbon-in-sde-1-3/7ec256f3ff-1680669812/ nus-sde13_renovating-carbon_wk.pdf. 2. Erik L’Heureux and Bertrand Lasternas, The Deep Veil: The Architecture of a High-Performance Equatorial Façade (CIBSE, 2025), https://www.cibse.org/get- involved/sfe-news/spotlight-facade-awards-the-deep- veil-the-architecture-of-a-high-performance-equatorial- facade/.
Indigenous Knowledge in Stilt Structures | Decarbonizing the Built Environment Through Heritage: The Complete Toolkit78 Example of a stilt structure CASE 03 - PRACTICE Ilàjẹ-Bàrígà and Ilàje-Ese- Odo, Nigeria Indigenous Knowledge in Stilt Structures Overview The stilt structures common in the coastal Ilàjẹ- Bàrígà and Ilàje-Ese-Odo communities in southwest Nigeria demonstrate the potential of Indigenous building practices and knowledge for low-carbon, resilient construction. As a typology that has evolved over generations in response to local lifestyles, needs, and environmental hazards, vernacular stilt structures integrate resilience to local natural hazards and the use of readily available materials requiring minimal carbon expenditure for processing and transportation. Approaches To Heritage-Informed Decarbonization » Applies Indigenous knowledge to shape low-carbon, climate- responsive building design » Uses local, minimally processed materials to reduce embodied carbon » Sustains cultural practices and livelihoods through place-based building traditions » Supports intergenerational transfer of resilient, low-carbon building knowledge
Indigenous Knowledge in Stilt Structures | Cases of Heritage Informed Decarbonization79 Key Participants Researchers; Community activists and advocates Co-benefits » Affordable housing » Disaster resilience & preparedness » Community & social cohesion The stilt structures’ proximity to water is tied to the community’s reliance on fish- ing for economic and spiritual subsistence. Heritage-Informed Decarbonization Narrative For generations, the Ilàjẹ coastal communities have continued to build and innovate the construction of houses with stilts that raise the structures above water. As much of these communities’ subsistence and economy derive from fishing, the stilt structures provide convenient access to the water. Fish-derived ingredients also play an important role in Ilàjẹ healing and medicinal practices.1 The waterside stilt structures play a vital role in facilitating these communities’ livelihoods and cultural practices. Building by the water, however, requires deep familiarity with and observation of the local climate and potential hazards. Recent water levels inform the height at which the floor of new structures is built. Typically, the floors are three or four feet above the highest water levels from the previous year, resulting in stilts that are on average 15 to 16 feet long.2 Through adaptation and expertise accumulated over time, the stilt structures can withstand heavy rain, flooding, high tides, and strong winds. The stilt structures’ materiality is a direct response to the performance requirements of the local site. Specific, local species of wood are used for different parts of the structure based on their compatibility with water. Elements that are below the water are constructed of a locally common timber called òmèghné , while wooden members above the water are of the Ekì timber species, which also has some degree of moisture resistance. Some varieties of these structures may also have composite substructures that combine stilts and earthen foundations.3 The use of local, naturally sustainable materials in these structures means that their embodied carbon footprint is minimal based on reduced need for mechanical processing or transportation. The Indigenous knowledge and skills required to create these structures represent heritage as evolving,
Indigenous Knowledge in Stilt Structures | Decarbonizing the Built Environment Through Heritage: The Complete Toolkit80 place-based intelligence, which synthesizes craftsmanship, disaster resilience, and constructive traditions. They demonstrate the possibility for heritage solutions to contribute to decarbonization while simultaneously mitigating disaster risk. The making and maintaining of stilt structures as a living knowledge system is therefore an effective mechanism for intergenerational knowledge transfer of low-carbon, resilient practices. Cultural Context, Hurdles, and Enablers The stilt structures emerged over time in response to local conditions and belief systems. As such, a particular skill set and knowledge base is required to appropriately construct them. There is thus a need for local artisans who are familiar with these constructive practices, as well as mechanisms that ensure the continued intergenerational transmission of this knowledge. As can be the case with traditional construction practices, it can be challenging to ensure that these structures and building practices remain appealing to local communities, given the increasing tendency to associate such vernacular building typologies with backwardness and poverty. Indeed, elsewhere in Nigeria, there has recently been an extensive campaign to demolish similar wooden stilt structures in Lagos,4 suggesting potential for their increased vulnerability and stigmatization in the future. There is also evidence of the integration of imported and industrially manufactured materials for these structures. Imported nails, in particular, have been used based on the reasoning that they create more durable connections.5 Although this substitution is at a relatively small scale, it raises questions about the carbon cost incurred from the manufacturing and transportation of these components; given that the embodied carbon As a form of evolving, place-based heritage that synthesizes constructive traditions, craftsmanship, and resilience, the stilt structures contribute to decarbonization while mitigating disaster risk. of these stilt structures are so low, even small decisions may make a pronounced impact on the overall carbon footprint. Additionally, the local sourcing of materials has contributed to the economic practicality of this typology in resource- constrained communities. As a typology built in response to local hazards, the stilt structures have proven effective to extreme winds and climatological events. However, hazard types and risks vary significantly depending on geography and progression of global warming. It is thus necessary to consider what hazards are most relevant in a given place, and, just as importantly, identifying heritage construction methods or examples that local builders have evolved over time, and local belief systems that support them, to better respond to these hazards.
Indigenous Knowledge in Stilt Structures | Cases of Heritage Informed Decarbonization81 Acknowledgments Thank you to Dr. Mokolá dé Johnson for sharing informative reso urces for the case study and reviewing the draft. All images are credited to Mokolá dé Johnson. Endnotes 1. O. M. Ehinmore and S. A. Ogunode, “Fish in Indigenous Healing Practices among the Ilaje of Coastal Yorubaland of Nigeria: A Historical Perspective,” European Scientific Journal 9, no. 14 (May 2013): 196–206. 2. Emma Ekpo and Mokolade Johnson, “Indigenous Knowledge in Sustainable Stilt Structures of Nigerian Resilient Communities: A Study of Ilàjẹ-Bàrígà and Ilàje -Ese-Odo,” in Design for Climate Adaptation: Proceedings of the UIA World Congress of Architects Copenhagen 2023, ed. Billie Faircloth, Maibritt Pedersen Zari, Mette Ramsgaard Thomsen, and Martin Tamke (Springer, 2023), 49–58. 3. Ibid. 4. Reuters, “Decades of Memories Swept Away: Thousands Lose Homes as ‘Venice of Nigeria’ Is Demolished,” January 28, 2026, https://www.reuters.com/pictures/decades-memories-swept-away- thousands-lose-homes-venice-nigeria-is-demolished-2026-01-28/. 5. Ekpo and Johnson, “Indigenous Knowledge.” Community of enclosed and open stilt structures.
Designing the 21st Century Ger | Decarbonizing the Built Environment Through Heritage: The Complete Toolkit82 Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia 2018–2019 Designing the 21st Century Ger Overview The Designing the 21st Century Ger project brought together researchers, practitioners, and advocates to explore options for adaptations to the ger, a type of portable housing with a long history and tradition in Mongolia (“yurt” in Russian). Originally conceived to address the severe air pollution resulting from the combustion of coal, wood, and waste to heat gers, proposed solutions included insulation and electrification, leading to decarbonization by reducing carbon emissions without disrupting cultural or traditional norms. Project Team GerHub, KieranTimberlake, University of Pennsylvania Center for Environmental Building and Design, Arc’teryx, The North Face, UNICEF Mongolia & UNICEF Office of Innovation Approaches To Heritage-Informed Decarbonization » Builds on lived practices and local construction methods to develop locally responsive, low- carbon solutions » Improves thermal comfort through simple upgrades such as insulation and air sealing » Reduces air pollution and enables a transition away from coal heating, improving health and supporting electrification CASE 04 - PROGRAM/INITIATIVE Ger materials, courtesy of KieranTimberlake
Designing the 21st Century Ger | Cases of Heritage Informed Decarbonization83 Heritage-Informed Decarbonization Narrative Gers are domed, portable dwellings originally developed to suit nomadic lifeways, often made of wood and textiles, that have been used and evolved around what is now Mongolia for centuries. A 2018 statistic estimates that over 60% of Ulaanbaatar’s population live in gers.1 Increased urban migration in Mongolia has transformed gers from nomadic dwellings to the basis of fixed family plots in Ulaanbataar’s rapidly growing ger districts. With limited access to municipal services, heating for urban gers depends on combustion of coal, supplemented by wood and household trash. During winter months, this results in significant carbon emissions and fine particulate matter pollution. For example, the annual average fine particulate matter concentration (PM2.5) in Ulaanbaatar measured in 2016 was over 20 times the current World Health Organization recommended levels.2 This level of exposure to fine particulate matter can result in a variety of respiratory, cognitive, and developmental health issues. Yet heating remains essential in this climate: the average winter temperature around Ulaanbaatar goes below -20°C,3 and families spend 25 to 40% of their income on fuel.4 In response, the Designing the 21st Century Ger project studied the ger’s thermal performance to identify solutions to reduce dependence on coal consumption. The research team began with fieldwork in the ger districts, observing the material culture of ger construction and learning from residents how they design, build, and maintain their homes. These visits revealed a diversity of existing innovations that informed the prototyping effort, including improved stoves and hearths, insulated doors and vestibules, attention to edge conditions, improved chimneys, and insulated skylights. The team then constructed six experimental gers at a controlled testbed to isolate and measure Key Participants Researchers; Environmental and climate advocacy organizations Co-benefits » Affordable housing » Public health and wellness » Reducing energy burden Modern Mongolian ger with insulated flooring above grade
Designing the 21st Century Ger | Decarbonizing the Built Environment Through Heritage: The Complete Toolkit84 Over 60% of Ulaanbaatar’s population lives in gers, demonstrating the continued relevance of heritage-based housing typologies within extreme cold climates and growing communities. the contribution of specific building components to overall thermal performance. Floor prototypes explored the relative contributions of insulation, thermal mass, and air sealing using materials available in local markets, including wool batt insulation, EPS foam, concrete tile, and standard wood planking. Prototypes to insulate the door and toono (opening at the center of the roof), developed by Arc’teryx and The North Face, addressed infiltration and radiant heat loss through these vulnerable openings. One test ger was also used to assess whether the various modifications made all- electric heating a technically and financially viable alternative to heating through combustion. The nine-week winter monitoring period yielded quantitative results: a ger outfitted with an improved door and toono used approximately 25% less energy than the baseline, while a ger combining an insulated floor, improved door, and improved toono used 45% less energy.5 The research demonstrated that meaningful thermal improvements are achievable through relatively simple, low-cost interventions using locally available materials and construction methods. Less energy use means less expense and air pollution for residents. Additionally, a ger with improved performance could be heated with electricity for less money than with the fuel necessary to heat a typical ger. The continued prevalence of gers throughout Mongolia made this project a high-impact step toward decarbonization. By iterating on the tradition of gers, the team respected and leveraged the heritage of local communities with interventions that minimized disruption to local building practices and knowledge. Cultural Context, Hurdles, and Enablers This project hinged upon the recognition of the ger as a form of living architecture: despite its deep historical roots, not only is there a substantial population of ger residents today, but these residents undergo cycles of making and remaking their gers to adapt to changing conditions or needs. This engrained local understanding of the ger as a flexible typology informed the project’s design and facilitated users’ receptivity to proposed changes to gers. This context distinguishes this project from both those suggesting improvements to post- industrial housing and those addressing traditional houses that use materials or techniques that local communities have come to consider undesirable. Despite an openness to adaptation, the project team found other practical contextual factors that affected the adoption of proposed design solutions. For example, electrification of the ger reduced both pollution levels and energy costs to residents. However, this raised accompanying questions about how families would acquire electric heat pumps as an initial investment, as well as residents navigating the change to household habits to pay utility bills rather than acquiring wood or coal. Given such adjustments, it was essential to communicate and demonstrate to residents that electric heaters were affordable, easy to use, and led to occupant thermal comfort.
Designing the 21st Century Ger | Cases of Heritage Informed Decarbonization85 Acknowledgments Thank you to Dr. Bill W. Braham (Weitzman School of Design, University of Pennsylvania) and Ryan Welch (KieranTimberlake) for providing valuable insight on the project through discussion and review of case study drafts, as well as providing additional informational sources. All images courtesy of UNICEF Office of Innovation/Mongolia Country Office. Endnotes 1. Tsolmon Begzsuren and Veronica Mendizabal Joffre, “Translating Women’s Voices into Action in Mongolia: Addressing Gender-Based Violence through Investments in Infrastructure,” East Asia Working Paper Series 14, Asian Development Bank, http://dx.doi.org/10.22617/WPS189587-2. 2. AARC Consultancy, Air Pollution in Mongolia: Opportunities for Further Actions (United Nations Development Programme, September 2019), https://www.undp.org/mongolia/publications/air-pollution-mongolia- opportunities-further-actions; World Health Organization, WHO Ambient Air Quality Database, 2022 Update: Status Report (World Health Organization, 2023), https://iris.who.int/server/api/core/bitstreams/34c921bb- f3ce-4dcd-a7f8-e405ecaed126/content. 3. World Bank, “Mongolia. Climatology (CRU),” Climate Change Knowledge Portal, accessed June 3, 2026, https://climateknowledgeportal.worldbank.org/country/mongolia/climate-data-historical. 4. Takuya Kamata et al., Mongolia: Enhancing Policies and Practices for Ger Area Development in Ulaanbaatar (World Bank, 2010), http://documents.worldbank.org/curated/en/288141468061498905. 5. William W. Braham, et al., “Cooking, Heating, Insulating Products and Services (CHIPS) for Mongolian Ger: Reducing Energy, Cost, and Indoor Air Pollution,” Energy for Sustainable Development 71 (2022): 462–479 Ger test site
Masons Ink | Decarbonizing the Built Environment Through Heritage: The Complete Toolkit86 CASE 05 - PROGRAM/INITIATIVE Bengaluru, India 2022–2025 Masons Ink: Heritage Knowledge, Women’s Empowerment, and Low-Carbon Building Overview The architecture and design firm Masons Ink has facilitated grassroots initiatives in Bengaluru, India, to empower women in the construction industry through the development of specialized knowledge and skills in sustainable building practices. They have provided training for women in construction with low-carbon materials, including earth and bamboo, and brought together all-women mason teams to realize their architectural projects alongside the client, site architect, and a community researcher. Combating biases of both women in construction and bio- and geo-based materials, Masons Ink has synergized environmentally sustainable construction with social empowerment and gender parity. Project Team Masons Ink, Sindhoor Pangal (client), Oviya M (site architect), Abhigna Battepatti (community researcher) Approaches To Heritage-Informed Decarbonization » Applies traditional knowledge and low-carbon materials to reduce emissions in construction » Uses heritage-informed, climate- responsive design to support human comfort » Sustains intergenerational transfer of heritage building skills through training » Delivers community benefit through local sourcing and shared knowledge Cheerville project, Bengaluru, India
Masons Ink | Cases of Heritage Informed Decarbonization87 Heritage-Informed Decarbonization Narrative Founded in 2014, Masons Ink grounds its work on three core areas: sustainability, heritage conservation, and social architecture. Masons Ink has integrated these priorities in its initiatives to train and employ women masons in construction with techniques that minimize carbon emissions, thus providing women a foundation for further livelihood opportunities and recognition while also promoting the continued intergenerational transfer and application of constructive skills rooted in local heritage. The Cheerville project illustrates Masons Ink’s efforts and strategies to pursue the goals of women’s empowerment and environmentally sustainable construction. Masons Ink sought to overcome social norms that have relegated women to less valuable positions in India’s construction industry. To this end, founders Rosie Paul and Sridevi Changali coordinated a team of women for the construction of Cheerville, a residence on the outskirts of Bengaluru that utilizes earthen, lime, and bamboo materials and avoided use of cement. The project began in 2022 with Masons Ink’s recruitment and training of local women in construction. The workforce continued to grow as Masons Ink recruited and trained more participants through 2025. Ultimately, the project had provided training for 23 women from nearby villages.1 Masons Ink received a grassroots grant from the International Network for Traditional Building, Architecture & Urbanism in 2024 for their Upskilling and Training Initiative for Women Masons project. Masons Ink has also employed and coordinated all-women construction teams for other projects, providing further opportunities for women masons. Beyond the construction team, the Cheerville project brought broader community benefits. By sourcing local materials, the project supported the livelihoods of others while reducing the Key Participants Design practices and construction firms Co-benefits » Workforce development / employment » Empowering women » Public health » Circular economy The Cheerville project employed local women, upskilling them as masons
Masons Ink | Decarbonizing the Built Environment Through Heritage: The Complete Toolkit88 Material Memory Participatory learning and action on-site, helping the masons break from the taboo of earthen building materials as a symbol of poverty.
Masons Ink | Cases of Heritage Informed Decarbonization89 Cheerville reengages with traditional construction techniques, such as Araish, a plastering technique for waterproofing. embodied carbon necessary for material transport. Additionally, Masons Ink identified and invited skilled artisans to share their knowledge. These sessions were open to the public, enabling the local community to partake in these learning opportunities. Cultural Context, Hurdles, and Enablers Though women working in construction is not uncommon in India, they have faced obstacles to professional advancement, generally confined to secondary roles and thus denied career pathways to become skilled masons. Masons Ink prioritized ensuring pay parity and dignified working conditions for women. The Cheerville project adopted a flexible workday schedule to accommodate team members’ caregiving responsibilities. Though construction work in India typically starts in the early morning, the project adjusted hours to avoid interrupting women’s roles within their families. Based on their knowledge of construction trends in the area, Masons Ink considers the upskilling to lead to the women participants’ future employment as suburban plots continue to be developed. The sociocultural roles of and expectations for women are highly sensitive to context and require careful consideration. However, this example demonstrates the value of conceptualizing and implementing creative solutions, such as adjusted work schedules, to minimize conflicts with existing obligations. It also speaks to the importance of establishing dialogue and being receptive to adapting project plans based on ongoing discussions. For Cheerville, the involvement of a dedicated community researcher to facilitate this process of engagement and communication was crucial in this respect. Masons Ink noted that the sociocultural context may have a heavier influence in rural contexts. In
Masons Ink | Decarbonizing the Built Environment through Heritage: The Complete Toolkit90 Courtyards and verandahs are architectural features often found in vernacular construction in this region of India. They provide usable exterior space and help keep residents cool and shaded in the local climate. Vernacular Climate Strategies COurtyard project, illustrating vernacular low-carbon materials and passive cooling strategies.
91 ACKNOWLEDGMENTS Thank you to Rosie Paul for participating in an interview about Masons Ink and the Cheerville project, and reviewing drafts of this case study. this case, the upskilling had to address not only the practical skills but also building women’s confidence and ability to overcome existing obstacles to the profession. In some contexts, earthen construction is associated with poverty and considered outdated. However, both the women mason team’s and the broader community’s perceptions of earthen building evolved over the course of the Cheerville project. And although the use of natural materials and the necessary training lengthened the project timeline, Masons Ink believes that this experience would make future projects progress more smoothly and that there are strategies to streamline construction phases. The negative perception of earthen building materials, despite their low- carbon benefits, is a geographically widespread phenomenon. Masons Ink’s approach to openly showcase and encourage innovative work with techniques using earth may thus be insightful for other contexts with deeply rooted biases against these materials. Acknowledgments Thank you to Rosie Paul for participating in an interview about Masons Ink and the Cheerville project, and for reviewing drafts of this case study. All images courtesy of Masons Ink. Endnotes 1. R. Paul, S. Changali, S. Pangal, A. Battepatti, and O. Mohanraj, “Empowering Women as Agents of Change in Climate Resilience,” IOP Conference Series: Earth and Environmental Science 1554 (2025): 012156, https://iopscience.iop.org/ article/10.1088/1755-1315/1554/1/012156. 2. United Nations. “Path to Low-Carbon Construction Is Clear as Mud.” UN News, March 6, 2024, https://news.un.org/en/ story/2024/03/1147282. 3. Jyoti Soni Dhanak and Antonio Roberto Quiroz Soto, “Keeping Building Traditions Alive: Mason’s Ink’s Work with Women Masons in India,” International Network for Traditional Building, Architecture & Urbanism (INTBAU), November 6, 2024, https://www.intbau.org/ keeping-building-traditions-alive-masons-inks- work-with-women-masons-in-india/. Raa Maram project uses structural materials found on-site and salvaged from a nearby abandoned building and includes a vernacular verandah of Tharawad houses of Karala, India
Agnes Scott College | Decarbonizing the Built Environment Through Heritage: The Complete Toolkit92 CASE 06 - PROGRAM/INITIATIVE Decatur, Georgia, United States of America 2022 Agnes Scott College: Scaling Up Climate Action through Campus Stewardship Overview Agnes Scott College is a private liberal arts college for women located within metro-Atlanta, Georgia, committed to achieving carbon neutrality by 2037. The College has prioritized reuse and renovation of its existing campus buildings over new construction, while undertaking energy efficiency upgrades as well as quantifying and reporting the benefits of these measures. The ongoing campus sustainability efforts at Agnes Scott College illustrate the value of steadily instilling and fostering a community’s culture of stewardship around buildings and places. Project Team Kimberly Reeves, Executive Director, Center of Sustainability, Agnes Scott College Susan Kidd, Inaugural Executive Director, Center of Sustainability, Agnes Scott College (retired) Approaches To Heritage-Informed Decarbonization » Advances building reuse, and responsible retrofit to reduce greenhouse gas emissions » Demonstrates the climate value of whole-life carbon accounting in heritage-informed decision- making » Aligns long-term care for place with institutional investment, community values, and decarbonization goals Main Hall, Agnes Scott College
Agnes Scott College | Cases of Heritage Informed Decarbonization93 Heritage-Informed Decarbonization Narrative Agnes Scott is a nationally acclaimed liberal arts college located in Decatur, Georgia—minutes from Atlanta’s dynamic tech and corporate hubs, influential civic organizations, and world-class cultural institutions, and is one of first higher education institutions in the United States to target carbon neutrality. The college committed to achieving carbon neutrality by 2037, and to date has reduced its operational greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions by about 50%.1 As part of its public commitments to carbon neutrality, the college has publicly benchmarked its operational GHG emissions since 2008.2 Unique to colleges in the United States that often prioritize new construction over building reuse, Agnes Scott College has been intentionally making use of its existing campus footprint, with no new construction on campus since 2008, while continuing to see growth of its student body and campus operations. While this decision has critically Key Participants Institutions Co-benefits » Educational opportunities » Gender equality » Natural landscape protection » Disaster resilience & preparedness » Local economy growth Main Hall Rededication Ceremony, October 2024 important implications for the environmental context of the institution, Agnes Scott’s stewardship philosophy extends beyond its decarbonization goals. Of the approximately 1 million square feet of building space at Agnes Scott, roughly two- thirds were built before 1972, meeting one of the National Register of Historic Places’ standards for age (50 years or older).3 College leadership has had an unwritten “philosophy” of preserving campus buildings, rather than an explicit, official policy. In 2021, Agnes Scott College’s Center for Sustainability was interested in quantifying the impact of the college’s stewardship philosophy. The college was beginning its third major building renovation since 2014, each of which adapted building use to increase classroom, administrative, and residence hall space. Working with developers of the Carbon Avoided Retrofit Estimator (CARE) Tool — a program available at no cost online — the college quantified the embodied carbon of its physical campus and the carbon benefits of its stewardship philosophy.
Agnes Scott College | Decarbonizing the Built Environment Through Heritage: The Complete Toolkit94 The renovation of Main Hall, the oldest building on Agnes Scott College’s campus, was imperative to preserving a treasured historic building while working toward the college’s ambitious decarbonization targets, despite the costs being comparable for new construction. The resulting report, “Scaling Up Climate Action through Building Stewardship at Agnes Scott College,” provides quantitative data on the embodied carbon benefits of stewardship at the campus scale and provides highly replicable results.4 Agnes Scott was one of the first known colleges in the United States to expand its greenhouse gas emissions inventory beyond operational emissions and account for the embodied emissions of its building stewardship decisions. The report found that between 2007 and 2037, incremental improvements to energy efficiency across campus, in conjunction with reuse of buildings at the end of their renewal cycles, resulted in projected avoided emissions equivalent to about 115,000 MT CO2e. This represents a 41% reduction in emissions from the operational baseline, compared to a 3% reduction that would result from decarbonization through new high-performance construction, demonstrating that replacing existing buildings with highly efficient new construction does not yield the needed near-term carbon reductions due to the high upfront embodied carbon emissions. Cultural Context, Hurdles, and Enablers Prospective students often cite the physical campus as a determining factor in deciding to attend Agnes Scott College, which in and of itself is a compelling argument for continued stewardship. Generations of alumnae have supported the stewardship of buildings on campus to preserve the cherished history and aesthetic, including alumnae who have specifically prioritized this issue upon donating to the college. The strength of the campus landscape has been buoyed by those who love and treasure it. Alumnae donor support was also central to Agnes Scott’s establishment of a Green Revolving Fund in 2011 as a financing mechanism dedicated to efficiency upgrades on campus.5 The savings resulting from the decarbonization projects completed through the Green Revolving Fund are revolved back into the fund, which in turn supports subsequent efforts. Within a few years of its establishment, the Green Revolving Fund became a model for other institutions‘ sustainability initiatives. The college’s commitment to carbon neutrality is likewise grounded in principles of stewardship and preservation, focusing first and foremost on how to maximize the use of existing resources both for economic stewardship and the preservation of the college’s cultural heritage. Agnes Scott leadership integrated the results of the “Scaling Up Climate Action” report into its fundraising messaging for the renovation of their oldest building, Main Hall, to make the case that the renovation of this historic building, despite the costs that approached that for
Agnes Scott College | Cases of Heritage Informed Decarbonization95 The efforts at Agnes Scott College speak to the im- portance of engaging with relevant communities and groups to understand what makes a place import- ant and special to them. Reuse projects can garner support and resources by leveraging and reflecting community values, narratives, and memories. For Agnes Scott College, this required the Center of Sus- tainability to communicate and collaborate with the school’s administrative offices in charge of college advancement and alumnae engagement, facilities management, and business and finance. Similarly, the Center of Sustainability works to socialize the college’s Comprehensive Campus Master Plan, joint Climate Resilience Plan in partnership with the City of Decatur, and Climate Action Plan to the wider Agnes Scott community for awareness. new construction, was imperative to preserving a treasured historic building while working toward the college’s ambitious decarbonization targets. The Main Hall renovation received LEED Platinum certifi- cation and received the Georgia Trust’s Excellence in Sustainable Rehabilitation award and the U.S. Green Building Council’s U.S. Local Leadership Award for Project Excellence in Georgia. The building reuse projects also led to the profes- sional development of undergraduate students and young professionals in sustainable building practices and decarbonization. Student employees, interns, and recent graduates hired as fellows have, for example, learned about and contributed through real-world projects for LEED accreditation. Building stewardship can thus become the basis for training future practitioners whose professional impacts extend beyond the campus. Ribbon-cutting ceremony celebrating the reopening and sustainable rehabilitation of Agnes Scott College’s histor- ic Main Hall
Agnes Scott College | Decarbonizing the Built Environment Through Heritage: The Complete Toolkit96 Main Hall’s Bell Tower The rehabilitation of Main Hall preserved the college’s bell- ringing tradition, allowing future generations of students to celebrate achievements within a historic campus landmark. Ringing the Bell Graduating students ring the historic Main Hall bell in celebration of a job offer or graduate school acceptance.
Agnes Scott College | Cases of Heritage Informed Decarbonization97 Image Caption can go here Acknowledgments Thank you to Kimberly Reeves (Executive Director of Agnes Scott College’s Center of Sustainability) for participating in an interview, reviewing drafts of the case study, and coordinating review of the case study across Agnes Scott College staff. All images courtesy of Agnes Scott College. Endnotes 1. Agnes Scott College Center for Sustainability, “Energy and Climate Action,” accessed June 3, 2026, https://www.agnesscott.edu/center- for-sustainability/energy-and-climate-action- plan/index.html. 2. Sustainability Institute at the University of New Hampshire, “Agnes Scott College,” Sustainability Indicator Management and Analysis Platform, accessed June 3, 2026, https://unhsimap.org/public/institution/287. 3. Agnes Scott College and Goody Clancy, “Scaling Up Climate Action through Building Stewardship: The Carbon Savings of Existing and Historic Buildings at Agnes Scott College,” May 13, 2022, https:// www.agnesscott.edu/assets/documents/ departments/sustainability/carbon_savings_ action_plan.pdf, iii. 4. Agnes Scott College and Goody Clancy, “Scaling Up Climate Action.”
BEACON | Decarbonizing the Built Environment Through Heritage: The Complete Toolkit98 CASE 07 - PROGRAM/INITIATIVE Italy 2025–2027 BEACON: Modeling and Simulation Tools to Guide Historic Building Retrofits Overview BEACON is the latest phase of a practical research initiative to support energy and environmental improvement interventions on built heritage, simulating and optimizing energy performance while preserving the heritage value of historic buildings using advanced diagnostic tools mainstreaming building information modeling and building performance simulation processes. It frames built heritage as a source of positive change in combating climate change through retrofitting. Project Team Filippo Calcerano (CNR ISPC, Principal Investigator), Letizia Martinelli (CNR ISPC), Elena Verticchio (CNR ISPC), Stefano Cursi (CNR ISPC), Elena Gigliarelli (CNR ISPC), Giovanni Caruso (CNR ISPC), Marta Calzolari (University of Ferrara, Research Unit coordinator), Cristina Cornaro (University of Tor Vergata, Research Unit Coordinator), Beatrice Bartolucci (University of Tor Vergata), Gianluigi Bovesecchi (University of Tor Vergata) Approaches To Heritage-Informed Decarbonization » Advances responsible retrofit of heritage buildings » Applies advanced simulation to guide heritage-based energy improvements » Extends building life while safeguarding heritage value » Builds tools and knowledge to scale heritage-informed decarbonization BEACON project team on site
BEACON | Cases of Heritage Informed Decarbonization99 Key Participants Researchers; Institutions Co-benefits » Professional development & upskilling » Educational opportunities Villa Modragone, the demonstration project of the BEACON project Heritage-Informed Decarbonization Narrative BEACON (“Built hEritage SustAinable CONservation”) is a research project funded by the Italian Ministry of Research under the PRIN2022 program, with CNR ISPC (the National Research Council of Italy’s Institute of Heritage Science) as the coordinator, and participants from the University of Rome Tor Vergata and University of Ferrara.1 Before the current BEACON program, CNR ISPC began work on energy efficiency and heritage buildings in 2006. Its research has since progressed toward understanding the unique considerations for and barriers to energy retrofits of historic buildings. The precedent of BEACON was BEEP (“BIM for Energy Efficiency in the Public sector”), developed within the EU-funded program ENICBCMed. BEEP developed Heritage Building Information Modeling (HBIM) and a simulation-based energy and environmental improvement intervention workflow, including Energy Performance Contracting, a financial mechanism that funds energy efficiency measures and renewable energy installations through post-retrofit reductions in energy costs. Nine BEEP case studies tested this process in different conditions, both in terms of different actors’ expertise in conservation, environmental design, HBIM and simulation and of historical, climatic, and market maturity contexts. The results were compiled into a guideline document, published online in an open repository, while the final, extended version was published as both a book and an online, open-access version.2 Building on these efforts, and working on the case study of Villa Mondragone in Italy, BEACON aims to upgrade the existing guideline, making it more accessible through an online playbook interface that will guide users through the necessary steps to complete an energy and environmental improvement of a historical building, based on simple, initial questions about the building to be improved. This would give decision-makers
BEACON | Decarbonizing the Built Environment through Heritage: The Complete Toolkit100 a preliminary sense of the cost, time, and effort involved. Another new product is a Learning Outcome Framework for upskilling and building the capacity of professionals and public administrations and disseminating knowledge throughout the architecture, engineering, and heritage sectors. These tools are meant to be widely usable to facilitate retrofits; for example, even if an owner of a public building lacks the know-how or funds, these resources could guide the development of an appropriate intervention. Meanwhile, on the technical side, BEACON aims to consolidate scientific knowledge on the process, from the analysis phase to the simulation of complex historical buildings, along with the interoperability process between Heritage Building Information Modeling and Building Performance Simulation. Cultural Context, Hurdles and Enablers A key motivation for BEACON is to tackle obstacles to implementing energy retrofits by first identifying and understanding specific strategies and interventions. Per the project team, this was especially necessary in Italy, where funds dedicated to the energy and environmental improvement of public buildings do not necessarily support analytics and design to enable the retrofit. Developing a coherent strategy has required internal collaboration and engaging with stakeholders, such as building owners, practitioners, and the public. The team cited a need to create consensus and address many existing misconceptions about historical buildings. One such assumption, for example, was that retrofits for historic buildings would be prohibitively expensive. However, with the appropriate tools and processes, time –– rather than cost –– is the limiting factor to decarbonization through energy retrofits. Point cloud resulting from the geometric survey of the building performed with SLAM, drone, and traditional techniques
101 Acknowledgments Thank you to Elena Verticchio and Filippo Calcerano from the Istituto di Scienze del Patrimonio Culturale for participating in an interview about BEACON, reviewing drafts of the case study, and providing additional informational sources, and to their project team member Letizia Martinelli. All images courtesy of the BEACON project. Challenges may arise from variabilities across buildings and policy. Recognizing that each building and context is different, BEACON aims to balance sensitivity to such specificities with leveraging transferable elements of existing resources. Likewise, data for HBIM or BPS on heritage buildings and the local climate may not be equally readily available depending on the context. Meanwhile, few national regulations on building energy audits and performance have acknowledged or included historical buildings specificities and the needs to develop tailored intervention, which undermine the possibility to deploy the right diagnostics, information management, and simulation to avoid maladaptation. Endnotes 1. Consiglio Nazionale delle Ricerche, Istituto di Scienze del Patrimonio Culturale, “Built hEritage sustAinable CONservation,” accessed June 3, 2026, https://www.ispc.cnr. it/en/2025/02/24/beacon/. 2. Elena Gigliarelli, Filippo Calcerano, Letizia Martinelli, Stavroula Thravalou, Kristis Alexandrou, and Georgios Artopoulos, “Guidelines for Energy Efficiency HBIM Development of Existing Buildings,” January 2024, doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.6393027. Infra-red thermography of the main facade
The Relevancy Guidebook | Decarbonizing the Built Environment Through Heritage: The Complete Toolkit102 CASE 08 - PROGRAM/INITIATIVE Illinois, United States of America 2019–2023 The Relevancy Guidebook: How We Can Transform the Future of Preservation Overview “The Relevancy Guidebook: How We Can Transform the Future of Preservation,” published in 2023, explicitly connects built cultural heritage with climate-related issues, urging historic preservation practitioners to recognize and act on the need to contribute to climate change mitigation. The resource captures the themes that emerged from interviews with 130 practitioners, researchers, and advocates. These interviews provided evidence that many in the preservation field are aware of climate issues but unsure how to take action in their own practice. In response, the Guidebook compiles resources and ideas to inspire future preservation work and reframe built heritage as part of the solution toward decarbonization. Project Team Bonnie McDonald, Landmarks Illinois Approaches To Heritage-Informed Decarbonization » Builds guidance linking heritage practice to climate mitigation through cross-sector insight » Promotes retrofit and passive strategies to reduce emissions in existing buildings » Integrates heritage into housing, development, and sustainability systems » Advances community-led and inclusive approaches to a low- carbon built environment D !,6ABCD!CD 6 AD D DDDDD D D D " #$"%D D$& &" D$D'" # "( ) DDD DD*+D*-../0D12D314-.5748D9:0;/40.<D=D10-D04/<04D*+D>05.D52D?-770<<8D9@4D
The Relevancy Guidebook | Cases of Heritage Informed Decarbonization103 Heritage-Informed Decarbonization Narrative The Relevancy Guidebook — published by Landmarks Illinois in November 2023 and written by its president and CEO, Bonnie McDonald — was the outcome of the broader Relevancy Project, intended to explore the imperative of preservation to adapt and evolve in today’s world. Downloadable from Landmark Illinois’ website, the Guidebook is a free, publicly available resource.1 The Guidebook is structured around eight primary topics that emerged from interviews with diverse actors influencing the future of built buildings, across expertise, sector, geography, identities, and other factors. One of the key findings from this project is that climate change and preservation’s role in reducing the built environment’s carbon emissions recurred among the top issues across interviews. Key Participants Heritage advocacy organization; Design practices and construction firms Co-benefits » Affordable housing » Public health and wellness » Local economy growth Edith Farnsworth House during a 2008 flood. Photo by Landmarks Illinois Landmarks Illinois is a nonprofit organization founded in 1971 that promotes reusing the built environment to foster healthy, livable, and thriving communities. Taking its fiftieth anniversary as an opportunity to reflect on the organization’s role, a task force of individuals from and beyond Illinois’ preservation community generated a new set of guiding principles for Landmarks Illinois.2 One of these principles addressed the need to “confront climate change and promote environmental justice” by investigating preservation’s role in climate action and embracing innovative solutions to improve the performance of historic buildings. The task force also identified affordable housing, health, job security, and equity as key principles to elevate. Through the Relevancy Project, McDonald interviewed 130 professionals, academics, and advocates between August 2019 and February 2021. Importantly, many of the interviewees whose perspectives informed the Guidebook’s findings did not identify themselves as historic preservationists — they were in adjacent fields that have crucial
The Relevancy Guidebook | Decarbonizing the Built Environment Through Heritage: The Complete Toolkit104 implications for and connections with the existing built environment, including housing, community development, real estate development, and sustainability. This choice reflects the Relevancy Guidebook’s overall push for preservation to become more “multidimensional” — proactively engaging with and tackling contemporary problems with communities and professions beyond preservation. The Guidebook not only addresses why preservationists should become more involved in fighting climate change but also connects readers to actionable studies and resources, linking publications, organizations, and tools within its text. It encourages preservation professionals to advise building owners to conduct energy audits and building systems evaluations; integrate passive design measures to reduce operational carbon The Relevancy Guidebook calls on preservation professionals to more intentionally position existing and historic buildings as contributors to climate resilience, equity, and community wellbeing, while connecting that work to practical action. emissions; evaluate active design solutions for historic buildings; and pay attention to the local ecosystems of historic sites. Additionally, as a general principle applicable beyond climate issues, the Guidebook encourages preservationists to invite communities to have leadership roles in decision-making. As a resource to push preservationists to move beyond discussion and toward meaningful advancement on climate and other challenging issues, actionable steps with different levels of difficulty and investment are central to the goal of the Guidebook. Cultural Context, Hurdles, and Enablers The embedded preservation practices and policy in the United States make the field difficult to change. McDonald sees the root causes of this entrenchment as a lack of cross-sector information, education, and collaboration, as well as the inflexible interpretation of preservation policies that reinforces prioritization of conserving original material over current users’ and communities’ needs and realities. These factors can obstruct the development of networks and relationships that preservationists could leverage as effective tools toward climate change mitigation. In this context, Landmarks Illinois as a respected preservation organization saw itself well-suited to take on a project to reflect on the preservation field and its critics. It could count on funding, a preexisting professional reputation, and a supportive board of directors to support the Relevancy Project. This may not always be the case for preservation advocacy nonprofits. However, as the Guidebook suggests, there is a range of actions possible for individuals or organizations to work toward these societal goals — contextual hurdles are critical to consider, but could perhaps inform rather than stifle action.
The Relevancy Guidebook | Cases of Heritage Informed Decarbonization105 Endnotes 1. Landmarks Illinois, “Introducing ‘The Relevancy Guidebook,’” accessed June 3, 2026, https://www.landmarks.org/ introducing-the-relevancy-guidebook/. 2. Landmarks Illinois, “Our Guiding Principles,” April 20, 2021, https://www.landmarks. org/wp-content/uploads/2021/06/ Guiding-Principles-FINAL-APPROVED-BY- BOD-4.20.21.pdf. Acknowledgments Thank you to Bonnie McDonald for partici- pating in an interview about “The Relevancy Guidebook” and for reviewing case study drafts. Volunteers and staff of People for Community Recovery and Landmarks Illinois at the Shop Building, Altgeld Gardens. Photo by Lewis Purdy for Landmarks Illinois
Saving Embodied Carbon Through Strengthening Existing Housing | Decarbonizing the Built Environment Through Heritage: The Complete Toolkit106 CASE 09 - PROGRAM/INITIATIVE Approaches To Heritage-Informed Decarbonization » Builds evidence for retrofit of existing homes as a low-carbon, economical resilience strategy » Improves life safety and disaster resilience while keeping residents in place » Supports development of low- carbon housing policy and practice Multiregional 2023 Saving Embodied Carbon Through Strengthening Existing Housing Overview Build Change is a nonprofit organization that works to improve housing resilience in disaster-prone areas around the world. For their Saving Embodied Carbon Through Strengthening Existing Housing study, Build Change analyzed its data from two decades of housing retrofit and reconstruction projects to analyze the carbon implications of their resilience work. The study serves as evidence to urge government leaders to implement policies and programs that promote resilient housing by addressing vulnerabilities in existing houses as well as new construction. It frames effective housing retrofits as a strategy to promote decarbonization while decreasing the potential damage and disruption from future climate-related hazard events and providing opportunities to improve residents’ quality of life. Project Team Louise Foulkes, Elizabeth Hausler, Lizzie Blaisdell Collins, Pierre Paya, Monica Schroeder Saving Embodied Carbon Through Strengthening Existing Housing November 2023
Saving Embodied Carbon Through Strengthening Existing Housing | Cases of Heritage Informed Decarbonization107 Key Participants Researchers; Community activists and advocates Co-benefits » Affordable housing » Local economy growth » Disaster resilience and preparedness » Water and sanitation access » Avoiding displacement and depopulation Heritage-Informed Decarbonization Narrative Housing intersects with heritage in many ways. Houses may embody vernacular architecture styles and local construction techniques, and most importantly, they contribute to place-based identities of communities. Reusing and adapting existing houses can therefore support heritage- informed decarbonization while providing safe, disaster-resilient, and comfortable shelter. Adapting existing homes built with local materials and traditions also allows residents to maintain continuity in their lifestyles and livelihoods — a replacement home of reinforced concrete of the same cost as a retrofit of a typical stone house in Nepal, for example, would be much smaller such that residents would no longer have room for livestock or extended family members. Saving Embodied Carbon drew on data from 355 houses built or retrofitted by Build Change and its partners across Colombia, Haiti, Honduras, Nepal, the Philippines, and Sint Maarten.1 It compared the carbon and financial costs of retrofit to resilient new housing of an equivalent size. Since Build Change was directly involved in these projects, the team had access to detailed material quantities and types, enabling a rigorous analysis. Their analysis found that on average, retrofitting reduced embodied carbon by about two-thirds compared to new construction by avoiding the embodied carbon associated with new materials. Importantly, even adding an additional story to an existing house entailed a 50 percent reduction in emissions. Meanwhile, a prior multicountry study of Build Change projects found that improving an existing house — through repairs, habitability upgrades, structural strengthening against earthquakes and strong winds, and/or expansion — cost an average of only 23% as much as building a new house.2 While preventative retrofits before disasters are more efficient, post-disaster retrofits still have significant carbon savings. Local worker performing home repair and strengthening.
Saving Embodied Carbon Through Strengthening Existing Housing | Decarbonizing the Built Environment Through Heritage: The Complete Toolkit108 Before (left) and after (below) images of a house retrofitted in Nepal after the 2015 earthquake. The retrofit included: a new ring beam, through ties, strongbacks, slab strips, plaster, stone gable infill replaced with lightweight timber panels, and an improved roof.
Saving Embodied Carbon Through Strengthening Existing Housing | Cases of Heritage Informed Decarbonization109 Based on Build Change’s experience, the study addresses the importance of incentives for homeowner “buy-in.” In practice, hazard mitigation and carbon reductions are often low priorities for homeowners. Thus, retrofit programs are more likely to be widely taken up when they also address immediate needs and improve quality of life, for example by increasing living space through vertical expansion. The study’s findings have become an asset both within and beyond Build Change’s work. The organization has leveraged the study to strengthen connections with climate-focused donors and partners, while other groups have drawn on the research in their own work. For instance, the International Institute for Environment and Development incorporated findings from the Saving Embodied Carbon study in its research on the impacts of forced displacement of communities.3 Cultural Context, Hurdles, and Enablers A main driver for Saving Embodied Carbon was the gap in data availability around embodied carbon for building materials in the global South and self- built housing. Over 2.8 billion people worldwide, or about a third of the global population, live in buildings are deemed “inadequate” or “informal” based on definitions from the United Nations.4 Despite their prevalence, there is limited scholarly, industry, and commercial data on the carbon emissions associated with these buildings. For instance, calculating embodied carbon in the global North often uses documents like Environmental Product Declarations (EPDs) that manufacturers issue to report the carbon emissions associated with their products. This has not yet become an industry norm worldwide, nor are EPDs available for non-manufactured products, which necessitated creative workarounds for the study’s analysis. One strategy was to report relative differences in Saving Embodied Carbon demonstrated that repairing and strengthening existing homes led to a 68% reduction in embodied carbon compared to new construction. Even with a second floor addition, the retrofits still reduced embodied carbon by nearly half compared to new construction the size of the original home.
Saving Embodied Carbon Through Strengthening Existing Housing | Decarbonizing the Built Environment Through Heritage: The Complete Toolkit110 House in Haiti before (above) and after (below) retrofit following the 2021 Nippes earthquake. The retrofit included conversion to a confined masonry system with new reinforced concrete tie columns and ring beam and a new reinforced concrete slab roof.
Saving Embodied Carbon Through Strengthening Existing Housing | Cases of Heritage Informed Decarbonization111 Acknowledgments Thank you to Louise Foulkes (Build Change, Caribbean Director & Engineering Program Manager) for participating in an interview on the “Saving Embodied Carbon” study, as well as reviewing drafts of the case study. Thank you to Ariana Karamallis (Build Change, Global Advocacy and Development Manager) for facilitating the development of the case study and review of the case study draft. All images courtesy of Build Change. Endnotes 1. Build Change, “Saving Embodied Carbon through Strengthening Existing Housing,” November 2023, https://embodiedcarbon.climateresilienthousing.org/. 2. Build Change, “The Cost of Improving Vulnerable Housing: Recommendations for Investments in Housign Resilience from an Analysis of Global Project Data,” 2022, https://buildchange.org/ resources/cost-of-improving-housing. 3. Camila Cociña, Alejandro Barcena, Paula Sevilla- Núñez, Alexandre Apsan Frediani, and José Manuel Roche, “Forced Evictions and Climate Change: The Damaging Impact on Risks and Emissions,” International Institute for Environment and Development, October 2025, https://www.iied.org/ sites/default/files/pdfs/2025-10/22672iied.pdf. 4. UN-Habitat, “Rescuing SDG 11 for a Resilient Urban Planet: Executive Summary,” 2023, https://unhabitat. org/sites/default/files/2023/11/sdg_11_synthesis_ report_2023_executive_summary_2023.pdf. emissions between new construction and retrofits, rather than absolute emission quantities for each scenario. This challenge led to Build Change collaborating with Autodesk, the developer of Revit, a building information model program that had been used for some prior Build Change projects included in the study. Through its pro bono program, Autodesk provided a script that allowed for the extraction of quantities from the Revit building models to be used for embodied carbon calculations. This demonstrates the benefits and creative solutions that may result from forming partnerships and soliciting assistance. The study focused on embodied rather than operational carbon because operational emissions are relatively low in many of the project areas, especially in informal housing. This is highly distinct from much of the global North, where operational carbon tends to make up much of a building’s total carbon footprint. However, as more policy targets the reduction of operational carbon, embodied carbon has become increasingly relevant as the next area of focus. As such, studies like this and experiences from the global South can offer insights and perspectives to guide the global North’s efforts toward decarbonizing the built environment.
FuturHist: Scalable Retrofit Innovation for Historic Buildings | Decarbonizing the Built Environment Through Heritage: The Complete Toolkit112 CASE 10 - PROGRAM/INITIATIVE Europe 2024—2027 FuturHist: Scalable Retrofit Innovation for Historic Buildings Overview FuturHist is a four-year project arising from a European Commission directive for research to address the lowest energy-performing buildings in each country across Europe. The team aims to create replicable solutions to retrofit historic buildings for the clean energy transition by focusing on common building typologies. FuturHist has produced resources, training, and technology innovation opportunities aimed at a wide audience, spanning practitioners and industry, policymakers, and researchers, as well as residents, owners, and managers of older buildings. Project Team Eurac Research; Uppsala University; University of Innsbruck; Erik Arkitekter; Edinburgh World Heritage; Sendzimir Foundation; Agencia de la Vivienda y Rehabilitación de Andalucía; City of Kraków; Svenska Kyrkan; Natürlich Bauen; Calchèra San Giorgio; Holzmanufaktur; White Arkitekter; Cracow University of Technology; Aalborg University; University of Strathclyde; ICOMOS International; INTBAU Approaches To Heritage-Informed Decarbonization » Develops scalable, responsible retrofit strategies for common historic building types » Tests practical solutions that reduce energy use while improving human comfort and safeguarding heritage value » Builds tools, products, and market pathways to scale heritage-informed decarbonization FuturHist demonstration project Plaza de la Corredera. Photo Credit: AVRA
FuturHist: Scalable Retrofit Innovation for Historic Buildings | Cases of Heritage Informed Decarbonization113 Heritage-Informed Decarbonization Narrative FuturHist aims to enable the large-scale retrofit of historic buildings by developing typology-based solutions that can help meet the European Union’s energy performance standards while preserving cultural value. The FuturHist team first undertook background research to understand the baseline conditions around policy, professional practice, and the existing built environment to identify common historical building typologies with potential for scalable decarbonization solutions. Its first deliverables were a set of reports summarizing the European state-of-the-art in passive solutions for energy-efficient historic buildings, active systems for clean energy transitions, and the methodology for developing an integrated planning toolkit to support decision-making processes around decarbonizing the existing built environment.1 These documents provide not only background information but also recommended steps to guide practical action. Key Participants Researchers; Institutions; Design practices and construction firms Co-benefits » Reducing energy burden » Avoiding displacement & depopulation » Workforce development FuturHist demonstration project Terraced House in Kraków. Photo credit: M. Niezabitowska Krogulec There are five ongoing demonstration projects that intend to apply the findings from this contextual research into practice:2 Scottish Veterans Residences Lodge (Edinburgh, Scotland): test of a self-healing lime render on an eighteenth-century masonry building Lister co-op tenement (Edinburgh, Scotland): assessment of timber sash and case window retrofit solutions and draught-proofing for an early- nineteenth-century masonry residential building Multifamily residential building (Córdoba, Spain): prefabricated lime-based panels for internal insulation; use of clay and biochar blocks to regulate internal climate; restoration of balcony doors to optimize thermal performance; and installation of heating, cooling, and plumbing systems for a brick structure built in 1683 Terraced house (Kraków, Poland): insulation of the envelope; renovation or replacement of windows;
FuturHist: Scalable Retrofit Innovation for Historic Buildings | Decarbonizing the Built Environment Through Heritage: The Complete Toolkit114 An Integrated Collaboration The FuturHist team brings together researchers, practitioners, building owners, builders, and materials manufacturers to develop innovative, implementable approaches. waterproofing of basement walls with clay; and installation of ventilation with heat recovery and PV units for a nineteenth-century brick residence Diocese Office (Linköping, Sweden): installation of a new mechanical ventilation system; optimization of the heating system; and window retrofits for a building with brick walls and wooden roof framing, mostly built in the nineteenth century The buildings were chosen because they are representative of common typologies in their regions and held by owners with large portfolios, meaning that the interventions developed for these demonstration projects are likely to be replicable to many other buildings, which could thus lead to a greater cumulative impact. Across the demonstration projects, the proposed retrofit strategies include window replacement, installation of solar panels and ventilation systems, and the innovative use of heritage finishes and insulation to enhance thermal performance. Depending on the project location, the solutions range from the application of bio-based plasters, clay insulation on foundations, biochar, and lime- based renders. The FuturHist team works with industry partners to develop products for use on the demonstration projects, which aim to spark additional research and development in the marketplace. For instance, traditional lime finishes were adapted to prefabricated interior insulation panels, showing the potential of aligning these traditional low-carbon materials with contemporary construction practices and workforce skills by employing innovative manufacturing and installation approaches. Thus, these projects will also help to share heritage-based knowledge about and show the efficacy of traditional building materials and techniques that can contribute toward decarbonization. The final phases for FuturHist include the development of a toolkit to curate resources based on building typology, connecting practitioners to the most relevant and applicable existing tools for a given building for a project. Cultural Context, Hurdles, and Enablers The involvement of a wide array of partners has been critical to the project’s success and long-term impact. In identifying demonstration projects, FuturHist involved entities that owned or managed large portfolios of buildings to increase the likelihood that solutions developed and implemented within the project will be applied to more broadly. Accordingly, the demonstration projects also build the capacity of building stewards and staff to learn about these potential strategies for decarbonization of their buildings. FuturHist Krakow, Photo credit: M. Niezabitowska Krogulec.
FuturHist: Scalable Retrofit Innovation for Historic Buildings | Cases of Heritage Informed Decarbonization115 Image Caption can go here The FuturHist demonstration projects were selected to maximize the scale of potential decarbonization impact. Each building represents a common historic typology in need of retrofit to comply with new building performance regulations. Scalable Impact Diocese office building in 1969, by Einar Jagerwall. Image courtesy of the Ö stergötlands museum
FuturHist: Scalable Retrofit Innovation for Historic Buildings | Decarbonizing the Built Environment through Heritage: The Complete Toolkit116 Image Caption can go here The scope of FuturHist included tests of innovative building envelope approaches rooted in heritage materials and knowledge. Image credit: FuturHist
117 Different collaborators across industry and academia have focused on specific aspects of the project. For instance, academic partners have taken the lead on technical research while private partners have investigated how products developed for FuturHist could approach the local market in terms of demand and potential messaging. The question around marketability has also influenced the solutions developed within the project. The team has focused on heritage-informed passive solutions, deriving from natural materials or vernacular techniques, that could be applied more broadly to different buildings. Conversely, active solutions tailored to specific architectural typologies or historic buildings were unlikely to have strong market potential. The introduction of newly developed products also raises the issue of existing building regulations and material or product standards. Explaining the demonstration projects as pilot initiatives has simplified their regulatory review despite their use of products unfamiliar to designers and review officials. However, this is an anticipated challenge Acknowledgments Thank you to Daniel Herrera (Eurac Research; FuturHist project coordinator) for participating in an interview and reviewing case study drafts. Thank you also to Anna Wiktorowska (Sendzimir Foundation; FuturHist communications lead) for helping to coordinate meetings and sharing additional informational sources and images. to bring these products to the market. Likewise, it is important for other teams applying materials or technologies unconventional in current construction practice to consider the existing regulatory landscape that could limit their integration into projects. A lodge at Whitefoord House. Image credit: Yasser Battikha, Edinburgh World Heritage Endnotes 1. Available at FuturHist, “Resources,” https:// futurhist.eu/resources/ (under “Reports”). 2. FuturHist, “Demonstrators,” accessed June 3, 2026, https://futurhist.eu/demonstrators/.
Fideicomiso de la Tierra del Caño Martín Peña | Decarbonizing the Built Environment Through Heritage: The Complete Toolkit118 Casa Naborí, photo courtesy of Fideicomiso de la Tierra del Caño Martín Peña CASE 11 - POLICY San Juan, Puerto Rico 2004–present Fideicomiso de la Tierra del Caño Martín Peña: Adapting the Community Land Trust Model Overview The Fideicomiso de la Tierra del Caño Martín Peña demonstrates the potential of a community land trust to help communities maintain sense of belonging and social cohesion—including heritage—countering threats of displacement and sociocultural discontinuity and centering decision- making around community leadership and action. By understanding land “as a common heritage, not as an individual possession,”1 the Fideicomiso is a policy mechanism that protects both the existing urban fabric and physical assets like housing as well as community-based cultural values. The Fideicomiso’s ownership structure has enabled the community to remain where they lived while also curbing pressures to demolish existing structures and build new high-rise buildings, thus avoiding significant embodied carbon emissions and community displacement. Approaches To Heritage-Informed Decarbonization » Supports inclusive, community- led decision-making through a land trust that gives residents long-term control over land and housing » Reduces greenhouse gas emissions by enabling housing preservation and continued use » Maintains cultural value and community continuity by keeping residents in place and supporting place-based stewardship
Fideicomiso de la Tierra del Caño Martín Peña | Cases of Heritage Informed Decarbonization119 Key Participants Environmental advocacy organization; Community activists and advocates Co-benefits » Affordable housing » Community & social cohesion » Avoiding displacement & depopulation » Disaster resilience & preparedness Aerial view of Caño Martín Peña. Courtesy of Fideicomiso de la Tierra del Caño Martín Peña Heritage-Informed Decarbonization Narrative The Caño Martín Peña refers to an estuarine channel in San Juan and the residential communities that have developed along the water. There are eight communities that make up the Caño populations, where typical houses are self-built by the families without undergoing official processes to rent or buy the land and to obtain construction permits. While this allows for the organic development of a cohesive urban social fabric, it also leaves residents vulnerable to displacement. The origins of the Fideicomiso (Community Land Trust) arose around 2000 in response to San Juan’s plans to develop the real estate in the Caño Martín Peña area. Members of the Caño’s eight communities were concerned that the pending development would increase the value of the land where they lived, leading to gentrification and current residents’ displacement. Residents sought to avoid a repetition of the development that had displaced existing communities adjacent to the Caño from the 1970s and 1980s to make way for the skyscrapers of the “Golden Mile,” San Juan’s financial district. Through community action and discussions at over 700 community meetings, the Fideicomiso was formalized in 2004 through legislation that established its collective ownership of 78.6 hectares of previously State-owned land by the channel. This new arrangement enabled the Fideicomiso to recognize families’ formal ownership through individual surface ownership rights (i.e., structures built on and physical improvements made to collectively owned lots). The Fideicomiso facilitates this process by providing orientations and guidance for residents until they acquire surface rights, which then crucially makes the property officially registrable and inheritable. The Fideicomiso has a Board of Trustees composed primarily of community residents with individual surface rights, along with representatives from
Fideicomiso de la Tierra del Caño Martín Peña | Decarbonizing the Built Environment through Heritage: The Complete Toolkit120 the G-8, a group comprising representatives of each of the Caño’s eight communities, and other sectors. The law establishing the Fideicomiso also recognizes the G-8 as an oversight body for the Fideicomiso’s functions and activity. One of Fideicomiso’s primary goals is to ensure that residents continue to have access to dignified, affordable housing to minimize risk of displacement. One strategy to do so is to acquire and rehabilitate existing houses while keeping them at market rate. The Fideicomiso runs Techo Digno, a program to implement minor improvements to land trust members’ homes. Additionally, the Fideicomiso has rehabilitated a housing unit that is now rented to a younger professional born and raised within the communities. This, and a second rehabilitation project underway, could then serve as an informative testing ground for the Fideicomiso’s future housing rehabilitation efforts. There is also work underway to utilize existing buildings within the district beyond residential use. For example, the G-8 undertook a socioeconomic development project to repurpose a formerly abandoned four-story building, Casa Naborí, into temporary accommodation with shared spaces for cultural and academic exchange and community engagement. This project aims to advance community-led tourism and economic initiatives, including workforce development and job creation. The renovation design, completed in 2020, includes plans to install a photovoltaic system to reduce operating costs and serve as an emergency power source during extreme climate events and prolonged blackouts, all while furthering decarbonization by integrating renewable energy sources. Cultural Context, Hurdles, and Enablers The community land trust model is transferable and adaptable, including through the fundamental integration of community participation and leadership. The Fideicomiso itself borrowed the foundational premise of the community land trust from existing North American precedents. Accordingly, representatives of the Fideicomiso de la Tierra del Caño Martín Peña have regularly shared lessons learned with other communities, especially across Puerto Rico and By treating land as a shared heritage rather than a private commodity, the Fideicomiso shows how communities can protect belonging, prevent displacement, and shape a lower-carbon future on their own terms. the Latin American region. The model is especially appropriate for communities with residents who live on land owned by the state and lack legal title, or private land that could be acquired through donation, sale, or state intervention; who have a strong sense of belonging to and a desire to remain where they live; and who perceive a significant threat of displacement or gentrification.2
121 Image of community engagement. Courtesy of Fideicomiso de la Tierra del Caño Martín Peña Acknowledgments Thank you to Adriana Ocasio (Program coordinator, Fideicomiso de la Tierra del Caño Martín Peña) for participating in conversations to develop the case study, sharing informational sources, and coordinating review of case study drafts. Thank you to Grace M. Salado Martínez, Mariolga Juliá Pacheco, and Niria Y. Bermudez Zaccheus (Fideicomiso de la Tierra del Caño Martín Peña) for feedback on the case study draft. Endnotes 1. Line Algoed and María E. Herná ndez Torrales, “The Land is Ours. Vulnerabilization and Resistance in Informal Settlements in Puerto Rico: Lessons from the Caño Martín Peña Community Land Trust,” Radical Housing Journal 1, no. 1 (April 2019): 34. 2. Line Algoed, María E. Hernández Torrales, and Lyvia Rodríguez Del Valle, “El Fideicomiso de la Tierra del Caño Martín Peña: Instrumento Notable de Regularización de Suelo en Asentamientos Informales,” Working Document WPLA1SP, Lincoln Institute of Land Policy, June 2018. Beyond their work that directly implicates the built environment, the Fideicomiso undertakes a wide variety of programming and initiatives to holistically address community needs and wellbeing. These include temporary land use agreements, enabling residents to use vacant spaces flexibly (for example, as a community garden) until the determination of their permanent use according to the comprehensive development plan. Additionally, the Fideicomiso maintains a full calendar of community outreach efforts through workshops, door-to-door visits, assemblies, and other formats to inform, convene, and receive ongoing input from the communities it serves.
Historic England | Decarbonizing the Built Environment Through Heritage: The Complete Toolkit122 CASE 12 - POLICY United Kingdom Historic England’s Cross-Governmental Model to Integrate Heritage into Climate Policy Overview Historic England illustrates an effective model for heritage-focused, public-sector bodies to pursue partnerships with and advise other governmental sectors on leveraging the historic and existing built environment toward decarbonization. Buildings are the UK’s second highest carbon emitting sector, accounting for roughly 76 metric tons of carbon dioxide equivalent, or 18% of total UK emissions in 2024.1 In England specifically, about a fifth of all domestic buildings and about a third of all non-domestic buildings were built before 1919.2 Accordingly, pre-1919 buildings account for a significant proportion of the built environment, and so must be integrated into national retrofit policy for the UK to achieve its commitment to achieving net zero by 2050. Historic England provides expertise to various sectors and units within the broader UK government toward this objective. Approaches To Heritage-Informed Decarbonization » Integrates heritage into national climate policy through cross- government collaboration » Advances reuse and retrofit of traditional buildings as low- carbon strategies » Builds evidence, guidance, and tools for heritage-informed decarbonization » Demonstrates co-benefits across housing, health, resilience, and circular economy Historic England’s flagship guidance on retrofit. © Historic England
Historic England | Cases of Heritage Informed Decarbonization123 Heritage-Informed Decarbonization Narrative As an arm’s-length government body, Historic England’s work on heritage and climate has positioned them to provide credible, evidence- based input across government. Its work spans research, technical guidance, market preparation, and direct policy engagement, which together help integrate older and historic buildings into decarbonization efforts. Among the most recent developments is its 2025 Developing a Decarbonisation Plan, designed to “support cultural and heritage organisations responsible for historic buildings to navigate the processes and steps involved in decarbonising their buildings to meet their net zero targets.”3 Historic England has built the evidence base for heritage-informed decarbonization through case studies, research, and guidance documents. These range from case studies of building retrofits at a listed Victorian townhouse to the revitalization of a former hydroelectric power station to its original use as a source of renewable energy, which are shared out through public-facing publications and webinars.4 Historic England’s flagship guidance document on retrofitting older buildings is Historic England Advice Note 18: Adapting Historic Buildings for Energy and Carbon Efficiency.5 Written in 2024 and updated in 2026, it explores different types of retrofit interventions, considerations for traditional (i.e., pre-1919) buildings, and navigating the planning and listed building consent processes. Since the advice note’s publication, planners and project managers have shared feedback on its utility in guiding retrofit decision-making. Part of Historic England’s climate work pertains to influencing policy. To this end, Historic England has sought to collaborate with other government bodies, arm’s-length public bodies, and policymakers to influence national policy development. These departments and organizations include: Key Participants Heritage agencies; Researchers Co-benefits » Affordable housing » Circular economy » Public health and wellness » Disaster resilience & preparedness » Reducing energy burden Roussillon Park Chichester © Historic England Archive
Historic England | Decarbonizing the Built Environment Through Heritage: The Complete Toolkit124 » Department for Energy Security and Net Zero (DESNZ) Historic England has worked with DESNZ on retrofit policy (e.g., development of new domestic Minimum Energy Efficiency Standards) and improving decarbonization and climate resilience of pre-1919 buildings. This culminated in Historic England’s contribution to the development of DESNZ’s Warm Homes Plan (2026), a policy paper discussing the retrofit of UK homes. Historic England sought to ensure that the document accounted for traditional buildings, and because of their engagement, the Warm Homes Plan includes content on Heritage and traditional buildings,6 as well as links to key Historic England policy positions and resources. » Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (DEFRA) Historic England has engaged DEFRA to include reuse of traditional buildings as a low-carbon alternative to new builds as part of the UK’s transition toward a circular economy. » Ministry of Housing, Communities, and Local Government (MHCLG) Historic England has advised MHCLG on the performance of traditionally constructed homes and their potential contribution toward national housing goals. The primary focus has been on Energy Performance Certificate reform, ensuring that these new assessments of building performance are suitable for traditional buildings. Historic England has also sought to engage with local governments in England, as well as devolved nations and Ireland, to support the development of heritage-friendly climate policy. Historic England has noted that their climate change messaging has become increasingly visible in national policymaking. For example, the latest Climate Change Risk Assessment (CCRA4-IA) and the Well-Adapted UK Report (part of the UK’s reporting commitments under the Climate Change Act) are increasingly recognizing cultural heritage.7 CCRA4-IA sets out risks across the UK economy, including to all types of cultural heritage, while the Well-Adapted UK Report sets out adaptation actions and enablers across 14 key systems, one of which is Cultural Heritage. This includes four main categories: Heritage sites and cultural landscapes, heritage buildings, fixed assets, movable assets. Historic England demonstrates how research, guidance, and policy collaboration across multiple branches of government can work together to embed built heritage in climate strategy. Cultural Context, Hurdles, and Enablers Historic England offers a replicable governance and collaboration model for heritage expertise to influence mainstream climate policy through technical research, education, and policy advising. Even in a government with climate action mandates, for Historic England, it was important to remain proactive and persistent in demonstrating that heritage has clear cross-cutting contributions across the built environment, infrastructure, health,
Historic England | Cases of Heritage Informed Decarbonization125 and beyond, because many will assume that heritage is not relevant to climate or environmental policy and might not consider bringing heritage actors into such discussions. Historic England representatives found it essential to focus on co-benefits to overcome opposition to heritage–climate work on the grounds of difficulty, expense, and other obstacles. For example, the effective retrofitting of older homes leads not just to carbon savings but greater wellbeing outcomes, lower bills, reduced fuel poverty, improved resilience to climate hazards, etc. Discussing how climate policy can deliver on other government priorities can underscore the importance of heritage–climate work. Endnotes 1. Climate Change Committee, “Progress in Reducing Emissions: 2025 Report to Parliament,” June 2025, https:// www.theccc.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/2025/06/Progress-in-reducing-emissions-2025-report-to-Parliament. pdf. 2. Valuation Office Agency, “Council Tax: Stock of Properties Statistical Commentary,” updated September 21, 2023, https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/council-tax-stock-of-properties-2023/council-tax-stock-of- properties-statistical-commentary. 3. Historic England, “Developing a Decarbonisation Plan,” updated March 18, 2026, https://historicengland.org.uk/ advice/climate-change/your-organisation-to-net-zero/developing-a-decarbonisation-plan/. 4. Historic England, “Listed Victorian Townhouse Retrofit in Clapham,” accessed June 3, 2026, https:// historicengland.org.uk/research/heritage-counts/2019-carbon-in-built-environment/case-studies/listed- victorian-townhouse/; Historic England, “Ancient Technology Brings Linton Lock Hydro Back to Life,” accessed June 3, 2026, https://historicengland.org.uk/research/heritage-counts/2019-carbon-in-built-environment/case- studies/linton-lock-hydro/. 5. Historic England, “Adapting Historic Buildings for Energy and Carbon Efficiency,” Historic England Advice Note 18, February 16, 2026, https://historicengland.org.uk/images-books/publications/adapting-historic-buildings- energy-carbon-efficiency-advice-note-18/. 6. Department for Energy Security and Net Zero, “Warm Homes Plan,” updated March 18, 2026, https://www.gov. uk/government/publications/warm-homes-plan, 71. 7. J. A. Lowe, M. Harrison, and R. J. Perks, “The Fourth Climate Change Risk Assessment – Independent Assessment (CCRA4-IA) Technical Report,” May 20, 2026, https://www.ukclimaterisk.org/publications/technical-report-ccra4- ia/; Climate Change Committee, “A Well-Adapted UK – the Fourth Independent Assessment of UK Climate Risk (CCRA4-IA),” May 20, 2026, https://www.theccc.org.uk/publication/a-well-adapted-uk/. Gloucester Cathedral © Historic England Archive Acknowledgments Thank you to Nikhil Scott (Senior Policy Adviser, Climate Change, Historic England) for his involvement in developing this case study through conversations, sharing information and resources, and reviewing drafts.
San Antonio Deconstruction & Circular Economy Program | Decarbonizing the Built Environment Through Heritage: The Complete Toolkit126 CASE 13- POLICY San Antonio, Texas, USA 2022–Present San Antonio Deconstruction & Circular Economy Program Overview The City of San Antonio’s pioneering deconstruction and salvage policy demonstrates a municipal approach to develop regulatory mechanisms and accompanying initiatives to support workforce training and material redistribution. The program preserves pieces of built cultural heritage while reducing the quantity of materials sent to landfills. It also reduces demand for new construction materials and associated embodied carbon investment. Project Team San Antonio Office of Historic Preservation Approaches To Heritage-Informed Decarbonization » Advances deconstruction and material reuse as an alternative to demolition and disposal » Preserves cultural value of old materials while creating a new material flow for local housing and community projects » Builds workforce skills for deconstruction and heritage trades » Creates an ecosystem of policy, training, and infrastructure to scale circularity Deconstruction contractors disassemble framing
San Antonio Deconstruction & Circular Economy Program | Cases of Heritage Informed Decarbonization127 Heritage-Informed Decarbonization Narrative To date, San Antonio is the largest city in the United States to pass a deconstruction ordinance requiring the full deconstruction, rather than demolition and disposal, of older homes. Adopted by San Antonio City Council in September 2022, the ordinance is the first major deconstruction policy led by a U.S. municipal historic preservation agency.1 Since the policy took effect, more than 170 homes have undergone deconstruction. The ordinance requires that permits be pulled by certified deconstruction contractors who complete a hands-on deconstruction training program administered by the City of San Antonio Office of Historic Preservation (OHP), resulting in more than 200 individuals trained in the trade since 2019 — an increase of nearly 550% in available service providers. These figures speak to the growing local opportunities for decarbonization through deconstruction, leading to the salvage and reuse of components from San Antonio’s older buildings. Key Participants Local government agency; Design practices and construction firms Co-benefits » Affordable housing » Workforce development » Local economy growth » Public health & wellness » Circular economy Certified deconstruction contractor training workshop in San Antonio, Texas Drivers for the deconstruction ordinance included a steady increase in building demolition beginning in 2012 and community activism in response to demolition of affordable housing in older neighborhoods that were not under the protection of historic designation. The ordinance revised the city code to require full deconstruction, rather than demolition, for certain structures and thus promote reuse and recycling of building materials. The ordinance established phases for compliance, with an increasing scope for deconstruction requirements over time. As of January 2025, the ordinance has required deconstruction for residential single-family structures, multiunit structures with eight or fewer units, and accessory structures that were (a) built before 1945 anywhere within the city limits, or (b) built before 1960 if designated (within a historic district or as a local historic landmark) and/or located within a Neighborhood Conservation District.
San Antonio Deconstruction & Circular Economy Program | Decarbonizing the Built Environment Through Heritage: The Complete Toolkit128 San Antonio presents a new kind of preservation policy—one that protects the value embedded in older buildings through deconstruction, material reuse, workforce development, and decarbonization. Certified deconstruction contractors must complete the deconstruction and complete pre- and post- deconstruction forms reviewed by the OHP.2 These forms involve inventorying salvaged, discarded, and landfilled materials. Meanwhile, the Director of the Office of Historic Preservation has authority to modify or exempt requirements if they deem compliance technically unfeasible. The City has developed and supported related services and systems to facilitate the implementation of the deconstruction ordinance. The City of San Antonio provides a list of certified contractors that have completed a training program with the city’s Office of Historic Preservation.3 Deconstruction training has been received well by contractors that had not undertaken deconstruction work previously, as it expands their offerings to clients. Many have also remarked that taking apart buildings has been one of the best ways to learn how to build. Additionally, the City established the Material Innovation Center (MIC) as a hub to receive, store, and research salvaged materials.4 It hosts training programs in wood window repair and preservation carpentry through the Living Heritage Trades Academy and public workshops; a community tool library is currently under development. Through the MIC, materials reclaimed from deconstruction are distributed at no cost to community impact projects, including affordable housing repair programs, education and research, public infrastructure like bus stops and shade structures, art and creative reuse, urban farms, and more. The deconstruction ordinance thus was not an isolated piece of legislation; it also created and depended on an “ecosystem” for deconstruction by establishing training programs and facilities to store salvaged materials. Intentionally establishing a workforce development program before enacting legislation has enabled the program to build capacity for long-term success. Cultural Context, Hurdles, and Enablers There are several characteristics of San Antonio and its Office of Historic Preservation that made it a conducive environment for the development of a deconstruction policy. First, the prevalence of wood-frame structures in the older building stock of San Antonio made deconstruction viable and likely to have impacts at meaningful scales. Meanwhile, the OHP has long recognized the importance of and worked to protect heritage beyond officially designated buildings or districts. This expansive view has encouraged taking steps toward deconstruction, which is not yet recognized across the preservation sector as a strategy to preserve historical assets. In crafting policy around deconstruction, the OHP team utilized various strategies to both learn from others’ experiences and deeply understand the local context. Conversations with other municipalities that had enacted deconstruction policies informed San Antonio’s ordinance and planning process. Locally, OHP convened an advisory committee that brought together diverse perspectives, including demolition contractors,
San Antonio Deconstruction & Circular Economy Program | Cases of Heritage Informed Decarbonization129 Learning by Un-building Participants receive hands-on deconstruction training, learning how to carefully dismantle buildings to maximize material salvage and reuse. PARK(ing) Day PARK(ing) Day is an annual event that transforms parking spaces into public spaces. A local architecture firm designed and built a temporary shade structure using wood recovered through the city’s deconstruction ordinance program.
San Antonio Deconstruction & Circular Economy Program | Decarbonizing the Built Environment through Heritage: The Complete Toolkit130 Window of Opportunity Historic windows are given a second life through restoration, preserving craftsmanship while reducing waste and embodied carbon.
131 Office of Historic Preservation at the Material Innovation Center Acknowledgments Thank you to Stephanie Phillips (Senior Program Manager, Deconstruction & Circular Economy, City of San Antonio Office of Historic Preservation) for participating in an interview and reviewing drafts of the case study. Photos courtesy of the City of San Antonio Department of Historic Preservation. and joined neighborhood association meetings to facilitate conversations around the proposed policy and its impacts. Discussions with the advisory committee led to the realization that it was critical to gather locally specific data to explain why a deconstruction policy made sense for San Antonio. Accordingly, several studies were commissioned to characterize the local context of demolition and construction waste and the economic and workforce impacts of deconstruction. The development and implementation of the policy also necessitated communicating the value of deconstruction to other governmental sectors. In doing so, the OHP team found explanations focusing on each of the co-benefits to be effective — it was vital to target the audience’s interests and priorities rather than presenting preservation as an inherent good. The ordinance has also deepened OHP’s relationship with other offices, such as waste management and housing. Endnotes 1. San Antonio Reuse, “Deconstruction Forms,” City of San Antonio Office of Historic Preservation, accessed June 3, 2026, https:// www.sareuse.com/forms. 2. City of San Antonio Office of Historic Preservation, “Rehabber Club,” accessed June 3, 2026, https://www.sarehabberclub.com/ contractor-list?category=Certification%3A%20 Deconstruction. 3. San Antonio Reuse, “Material Innovation Center at Port San Antonio,” City of San Antonio Office for Historic Preservation, accessed June 3, 2026, https://www.sareuse.com/mic.
Scaling Adaptive Reuse in Los Angeles for Heritage and Housing | Decarbonizing the Built Environment Through Heritage: The Complete Toolkit132 CASE 14 - POLICY Los Angeles, California, USA 1999-2025 Scaling Adaptive Reuse in Los Angeles for Heritage and Housing Overview Expanding upon the success of its pioneering 1999 Adaptive Reuse Ordinance, the City of Los Angeles has adopted a greatly expanded Citywide Adaptive Reuse Ordinance, which became effective in February 2026, simplifying regulatory requirements and increasing the number of eligible existing buildings. The policy is a leading example of facilitating and prioritizing the reuse of existing buildings, promoting both heritage conservation and reduction of embodied carbon alongside the co-benefit of the creation and maintenance of much-needed affordable housing. Project Team Los Angeles City Planning Approaches To Heritage-Informed Decarbonization » Establishes a citywide adaptive reuse policy to scale building reuse as a low-carbon development pathway » Streamlines approvals and aligns reuse with housing goals to accelerate conversion and deliver affordable housing » Builds enabling systems across planning, code, and governance to normalize reuse in development practice 433 S.Spring St, DTLA. Image credit: Evanne St. Charles
Scaling Adaptive Reuse in Los Angeles for Heritage and Housing | Cases of Heritage Informed Decarbonization133 Heritage-Informed Decarbonization Narrative The City of Los Angeles’s 1999 Adaptive Reuse Ordinance aimed to spark conversion of existing, underutilized, or historically significant buildings into residential use, thereby minimizing vacant building square footage, generating new housing, and protecting the city’s architectural heritage. The 1999 ordinance created adaptive reuse incentives just for Downtown Los Angeles, and 2003 amendments expanded these incentives to several additional targeted areas within the city. The City has cited these initial versions of the ordinance as a catalyst for the revitalization of historic neighborhoods like Downtown Los Angeles and Hollywood.1 Expansion of the Adaptive Reuse program was identified as a strategy within the City’s Housing Element of its General Plan (The Plan to House L.A.) and became a key component of the implementation program for this plan, the Key Participants Local government agency Co-benefits » Affordable housing » Local economy growth » Avoiding displacement & depopulation South Broadway, Downtown Los Angeles, USA. Image credit: The Erica Chang under CC BY 3.0 license, via Wikimedia Commons Citywide Housing Incentive Program.2 The amended ordinance enhances incentives and streamlines approval processes to convert underutilized buildings for residential use. In turn, Los Angeles City Planning sees the conversion of existing buildings into housing as a way to both increase housing availability and maintain the city’s sense of place. While the original ordinance only applied to buildings built before July 1, 1974, the updated ordinance has greatly expanded this scope to cover buildings whose Certificates of Occupancy were issued over 15 years ago, and to expand the geographic boundary from downtown Los Angeles to all neighborhoods within city limits.3 Thus, the amended ordinance now applies to buildings constructed over an additional 37 years, while ensuring that the scope will continue to increase on a rolling basis according to the 15-year threshold. The ordinance enables projects to bypass zoning code barriers and apply for permitting directly through the Department of Building and Safety.
Scaling Adaptive Reuse in Los Angeles for Heritage and Housing | Decarbonizing the Built Environment Through Heritage: The Complete Toolkit134 The Broadway Arcade Building, built in 1924 in Downtown Los Angeles, is listed on the National Register of Historic Places and the California Register. Its adaptive reuse, completed in 2010, has led to its current mixed- use status with 143 residential units. Cultural Context, Hurdles, and Enablers The cross-sectoral nature of this policy is key to both its development and implementation. Los Angeles City Planning initiated and led the creation of the ordinance while working closely with the Los Angeles’s Department of Building and Safety, Fire Department, City Attorney, and Mayor’s Office, coordinating departmental input on the ordinance. The ordinance’s relevance to housing, community development, and cultural heritage preservation, among other issues, also raises questions about how existing policy frameworks from each of these areas may interact, align, or contradict. In anticipation, the updates to the ordinance include additional code commentary, with the goal of providing further clarification of approval processes. Even following the enactment of the ordinance, there are ongoing discussions with the Mayor’s Office and the City’s fiscal advisors on the potential creation of new financial incentives for adaptive reuse, following the example of other cities like New York, San Francisco, Boston, and Calgary. A few of the more significant incentives that have been added include:4 • More flexibility in how interior spaces may be reconfigured without counting as new floor area • Projects that provide affordable housing are eligible for unlimited density in the new construction portion of the project • Projects that provide affordable housing may add up to two new residential floors above an existing building • Minimum unit size requirements have been eliminated; units can now be as small as allowed by Building Code standards • A new rooftop story may be added, without counting towards a project’s building height or floor area, to provide new shared amenities or open space for residents The Citywide Adaptive Reuse Ordinance was unanimously approved by the City Council on December 10, 2025. The ordinance went into effect as of February 1, 2026. Image credit: Visitor 7 under CC BY 3.0 license, via Wikimedia Commons
135 With respect to historic preservation issues and agencies, the ordinance makes several provisions specific to designated historic buildings. The ordinance allows historic resources included in the City’s HistoricPlacesLA database to follow the California Historic Building Code rather than the more general Existing Buildings Code. Depending on the situation, this code option may help move adaptive reuse projects forward by providing more flexibility in design procedures and code review. These projects must also undergo review and approval by the city’s Office of Historic Resources to ensure compliance with the Secretary of the Interior’s Standards for Rehabilitation, which informs their approach to renovation and energy efficiency upgrades. Acknowledgments We would like to thank Ken Bernstein (Principal City Planner, City of Los Angeles Office of Historic Resources and Urban Design Studio) for his review of the case study draft. Endnotes 1. Los Angeles Conservancy, “Citywide Adaptive Reuse Ordinance (ARO),” accessed June 3, 2026, https://www.laconservancy. org/save-places/at-a-glance-policies-for- neighborhoods/citywide-adaptive-reuse- ordinance-aro/. 2. Los Angeles City Planning, “Housing Element Update,” accessed June 3, 2026, https:// planning.lacity.gov/plans-policies/housing- element-rezoning-program. 3. Los Angeles City Planning, “Fact Sheet: Citywide Adaptive Reuse Ordinance,” March 2024, https://planning.lacity.gov/ odocument/55760ec6-e4c1-4add-9927- cd348fe51ed2/FD_Fact_Sheet_-_2024_ Adaptive_Reuse_Ordinance_2024-0214.pdf. 4. Los Angeles City Planning, “Adaptive Reuse,” accessed June 3, 2026, https://planning. lacity.gov/project-review/adaptive-reuse. The Citywide Adaptive Reuse Ordinance is key to the ongoing plans to convert the former Sunkist Headquarters building in the San Fernando Valley into housing. Image credit: Cbl62 under CC BY 3.0 license, via Wikimedia Commons
Bibliography | Decarbonizing the Built Environment Through Heritage: The Complete Toolkit138 Section 01: Introducing Heritage-Informed Decarbonization Building Fast. Falling Short. As Climate Risks Rise and Cities Grow, We Must Rethink How We Build to Create Better Lives for All - Global Status Report for Buildings and Construction 2025/26. United Nations Environment Programme, 2026. https://doi.org/10.591 17/20.500.11822/49531. Section 02: The Five Principles of Heritage-Informed Decarbonization Smith, Zachary. “Can Climate Tech Save Our Cities?” World Economic Forum, World Economic Forum, December 6, 2024. https://www.weforum.org/ stories/2024/12/can-climate-tech-save-our-cities/. Luis Blanco, Jose, et.al. “From Start-up to Scale-up: Accelerating Growth in Construction Technology.” McKinsey & Company, McKinsey & Company, May 3, 2023. https://www.mckinsey.com/industries/ private-capital/our-insights/from-start-up-to-scale-up- accelerating-growth-in-construction-technology. Building Fast. Falling Short. As Climate Risks Rise and Cities Grow, We Must Rethink How We Build to Create Better Lives for All - Global Status Report for Buildings and Construction 2025/26. Historic England. “The Economic Value of the Heritage Sector.” Historic England, November 1, 2024. https:// historicengland.org.uk/research/heritage-counts/ heritage-and-economy/economic-value/. Petrović, Emina Kristina, and Caroline Ann Thomas. “Global Patterns in Construction and Demolition Waste (C&DW) Research: A Bibliometric Analysis Using VOSviewer.” Sustainability 16, no. 4 (2024): 1561. https://doi.org/10.3390/su16041561. Place Economics. Treasure in the Walls: Reclaiming Value Through Material Reuse in San Antonio - PlaceEconomics. 2021. https://www.placeeconomics. com/resources/treasure-in-the-walls-reclaiming-value- through-material-reuse-in-san-antonio/ Case 01: Hikma Community Complex: Building with Heritage Davos Baukultur Alliance. “The Hikma Community Complex.” World Economic Forum, 2025. https:// reports.weforum.org/docs/WEF_PR286_Hikma_ Community_Complex_V2.pdf. Esmaili, Yasaman, and Mariam Issoufou. “Revitalizing Tradition in Dandaji, Niger: A Mosque and Library for Community Life.” Journal of Traditional Building, Architecture and Urbanism 6 (2025): 15–33. https:// www.traditionalarchitecturejournal.com/index.php/ home/article/view/869/245. Holcim Foundation. “Legacy Restored in Niger: Religious and Secular Complex (Hikma Complex).” Accessed June 3, 2026. https://www.holcimfoundation.org/ projects/legacy-restored. Holcim Foundation Awards. “Hikma Complex.” Accessed June 3, 2026. https://awards.holcimfoundation.org/ past-winners/hikma-complex. Mariam Issoufou Architects. “Hikma Community Complex.” Accessed June 3, 2026. https://www. mariamissoufou.com/hikma. Mariam Issoufou Architects. “Hikma Community Complex: Regional Hub for Culture and Education.” Accessed June 3, 2026. https://www.mariamissoufou.com/3- hikma. UN Environment Programme. “The Nigerien Architect Channelling the Past into Contemporary, Climate- Savvy Buildings.” December 10, 2025. https://www. unep.org/news-and-stories/story/nigerien-architect- channelling-past-contemporary-climate-savvy- buildings. Case 02: Net-Zero Renewal of Singapore’s Equatorial School of Architecture Corredera, Antonio. “Collaborative Process: New College of Design and Environment by Erik L’Heureux, NUS SDE.” Metalocus, February 13, 2023. https://www. metalocus.es/en/news/collaborative-process-new- college-design-and-environment-erik-lheureux-nus- sde. Bibliography
Bibliography | Decarbonizing the Built Environment Through Heritage: The Complete Toolkit139 Jingmei, Luo. “NUS School of Design and Environment’s Updated Sustainable Design.” Design and Architecture, June 19, 2023. https://www.designandarchitecture. com/article/renovated-the-national-university-of- singapores-school-of-design-and-environment-1- and-3-features-sustainable-design-with-net-zero-low- carbonnbsp.html. Kessling, Wolfgang, and Nirmal Kishnani. “Calibrating the Carbon Problem.” In Renovating Carbon: Re-Imagining the Carbon Form, ed. Erik L’Heureux and Giovanni Cossu. Oro Editions, 2022. https://transsolar.com/ media/pages/publications/papers/evaluating-the- hidden-carbon-in-sde-1-3/7ec256f3ff-1680669812/ nus-sde13_renovating-carbon_wk.pdf. L’Heureux, Erik. Discussion with Anna Gasha. February 19, 2026. National University of Singapore, College of Design and Engineering. “Campus Design Innovations Group.” Accessed June 3, 2026. https://cde.nus.edu.sg/arch/ cdig/. Transsolar KlimaEngineering. “Carbon Transformations at the Equator – NUS SDE 1 & 3, Singapore, Singapore.” Accessed June 3, 2026. https://transsolar. com/projects/singapore-nus-sde-1-3-carbon- transformations-at-the-equator. Transsolar KlimaEngineering. “The Carbon Transformations of the School of Design 1&3 at the National University of Singapore.” Directed by Sara Kessling. November 17, 2025. https://www.youtube. com/watch?v=zZ88ag_GVyM. Case 03: Indigenous Knowledge in Stilt Structures Brisibe, Warebi Gabriel. “Base Camp Architecture: Examining Variations in Fisher Dwellings in Nigeria and Cameroon.” SAGE Open 6, no. 1 (January 2016). https://doi.org/10.1177/2158244016636942. Ehinmore, O. M., and S. A. Ogunode. “Fish in Indigenous Healing Practices among the Ilaje of Coastal Yorubaland of Nigeria: A Historical Perspective.” European Scientific Journal 9, no. 14 (May 2013): 196–206. Ekpo, Emma, and Mokolade Johnson. “Indigenous Knowledge in Sustainable Stilt Structures of Nigerian Resilient Communities: A Study of Ilàjẹ-Bàrígà and Ilàje -Ese-Odo.” In Design for Climate Adaptation: Proceedings of the UIA World Congress of Architects Copenhagen 2023, edited by Billie Faircloth, Maibritt Pedersen Zari, Mette Ramsgaard Thomsen, and Martin Tamke, 49–58. Springer, 2023. Reuters. “Decades of Memories Swept Away: Thousands Lose Homes as ‘Venice of Nigeria’ Is Demolished.” January 28, 2026. https://www.reuters.com/pictures/ decades-memories-swept-away-thousands-lose- homes-venice-nigeria-is-demolished-2026-01-28/. Case 04: Designing the 21st Century Ger Tsolmon Begzsuren and Veronica Mendizabal Joffre, “Translating Women’s Voices into Action in Mongolia: Addressing Gender-Based Violence through Investments in Infrastructure,” East Asia Working Paper Series 14, Asian Development Bank, http://dx.doi. org/10.22617/WPS189587-2. AARC Consultancy. Air Pollution in Mongolia: Opportunities for Further Actions. United Nations Development Programme, September 2019. https:// www.undp.org/mongolia/publications/air-pollution- mongolia-opportunities-further-actions. Braham, William W., Max Hakkarainen, Munkhbayar Buyan, Gankhuyag Janjindorj, Jay Turner, and Sunder Erdenekhuyag. “Cooking, Heating, Insulating Products and Services (CHIPS) for Mongolian Ger: Reducing Energy, Cost, and Indoor Air Pollution.” Energy for Sustainable Development 71 (2022): 462–479. doi. org/10.1016/j.esd.2022.10.017. Braham, William W., and Ryan Welch. Discussion with Anna Gasha and Billie Faircloth, April 3, 2026. Carlisle, Stephanie, and Nicholas Pevzner. “Mongolian Energy Futures: Repowering Ulaanbaatar.” Kleinman Center for Energy Policy, University of Pennsylvania, October 2019. https://kleinmanenergy.upenn.edu/wp- content/uploads/2020/08/KCEP-Mongolian-Energy-
Bibliography | Decarbonizing the Built Environment Through Heritage: The Complete Toolkit140 Futures-Singles-1.pdf. Kamata, Takuya, James A. Reichert, Tumentsogt Tsevegmid, Yoonhee Kim, and Brett Sedgewick. Mongolia: Enhancing Policies and Practices for Ger Area Development in Ulaanbaatar. World Bank, 2010. http://documents.worldbank.org/curated/ en/288141468061498905. National Center for Public Health and UNICEF Mongolia. “Mongolia’s Air Pollution: A Call to Action to Protect Children.” Discussion paper, February 2018. https:// www.unicef.org/eap/sites/unicef.org.eap/files/press- releases/eap-media-Mongolia_air_pollution_crisis_ ENG.pdf. World Bank. “Mongolia. Climatology (CRU).” Climate Change Knowledge Portal. Accessed June 3, 2026. https://climateknowledgeportal.worldbank.org/ country/mongolia/climate-data-historical. World Health Organization. WHO Ambient Air Quality Database, 2022 Update: Status Report. World Health Organization, 2023. https://iris.who.int/server/ api/core/bitstreams/34c921bb-f3ce-4dcd-a7f8- e405ecaed126/content. Case 05: Mason’s Ink: Heritage Knowledge, Women’s Empowerment, and Low-Carbon Building Paul, Rosie. Discussion with Anna Gasha. February 20, 2026. Paul, R., S. Changali, S. Pangal, A. Battepatti, and O. Mohanraj. “Empowering Women as Agents of Change in Climate Resilience.” IOP Conference Series: Earth and Environmental Science 1554 (2025): 012156. https://iopscience.iop.org/ article/10.1088/1755-1315/1554/1/012156. Paul, Rosie, Sanjani Girirajan, and Sridevi Changali. 2024. “Traditional Building Knowledge in Indian Lime and Earthen Plasters.” Journal of Traditional Building, Architecture and Urbanism 5: 436–449. https://www. traditionalarchitecturejournal.com/index.php/home/ article/view/775/219. United Nations. “Path to Low-Carbon Construction Is Clear as Mud.” UN News, March 6, 2024. https://news. un.org/en/story/2024/03/1147282. Soni Dhanak, Jyoti, and Antonio Roberto Quiroz Soto. “Keeping Building Traditions Alive: Mason’s Ink’s Work with Women Masons in India.” International Network for Traditional Building, Architecture & Urbanism (INTBAU), November 6, 2024. https://www.intbau.org/ keeping-building-traditions-alive-masons-inks-work- with-women-masons-in-india/. Case 06: Scaling Up Climate Action through Campus Stewardship Agnes Scott College and Goody Clancy. “Scaling Up Climate Action through Building Stewardship: The Carbon Savings of Existing and Historic Buildings at Agnes Scott College.” May 13, 2022. https://www. agnesscott.edu/assets/documents/departments/ sustainability/carbon_savings_action_plan.pdf. Agnes Scott College Center for Sustainability. “Energy and Climate Action.” Accessed June 3, 2026. https:// www.agnesscott.edu/center-for-sustainability/energy- and-climate-action-plan/index.html. Agnes Scott College Center for Sustainability. “Green Revolving Fund.” Accessed June 3, 2026. https://www. agnesscott.edu/center-for-sustainability/energy-and- climate-action-plan/green-revolving-fund.html. Green, Josh. “The First Building in DeKalb County to Have Electricity Will Soon Go Solar.” Atlanta Magazine, July 11, 2024. https://www.atlantamagazine.com/news- culture-articles/the-first-building-in-dekalb-county-to- have-electricity-will-soon-go-solar/. Kidd, Susan, and Lea Ann Hudson, eds. Harnessing the Sun: A Case Study of Solar Energy Deployment at Agnes Scott College. November 2015, Agnes Scott College. https://www.southface.org/wp-content/ uploads/2016/08/Solar-Case-Study.pdf. Kidd, Susan, and Ruby Woodside. “Building Trust and Community: The Transformative Experience of the Green Revolving Fund at Agnes Scott College.” Campus Sustainability Hub, Association for the Advancement of Sustainability in Higher Education. May 18, 2020. https://hub.aashe.org/browse/ casestudy/23390/Building-Trust-and-Community-The- Transformative-Experience-of-the-Green-Revolving- Fund-at-Agnes-Scott-College.
Bibliography | Decarbonizing the Built Environment Through Heritage: The Complete Toolkit141 Mitchell, Kathy. “134-Year-Old Agnes Scott Building Renovated to Top Sustainability Level.” The Champion Newspaper, August 22, 2025. https:// thechampionnewspaper.com/134-year-old-agnes- scott-building-renovated-to-top-sustainability-level/. Reeves, Kimberly. Discussion with Anna Gasha, February 27, 2026. Sustainability Institute at the University of New Hampshire. “Agnes Scott College.” Sustainability Indicator Management and Analysis Platform. Accessed June 3, 2026. https://unhsimap.org/public/ institution/287. Case 07: BEACON: Modeling and Simulation Tools to Guide Historic Building Retrofits Calcerano, Filippo, and Elena Verticchio. Discussion with Anna Gasha and Elizabeth Rowe. February 19, 2026. Consiglio Nazionale delle Ricerche, Istituto di Scienze del Patrimonio Culturale. “Built hEritage sustAinable CONservation.” Accessed June 3, 2026. https://www. ispc.cnr.it/en/2025/02/24/beacon/. Cornaro, Cristina, Gianluigi Bovesecchi, Filippo Calcerano, Letizia Martinelli, and Elena Gigliarelli. “An HBIM Integrated Approach Using Non- Destructive Techniques (NDT) to Support Energy and Environmental Improvement of Built Heritage: The Case Study of Palazzo Maffei Borghese in Rome.” Sustainability 15, no. 14 (2023): 11389. Gigliarelli, Elena, Filippo Calcerano, Letizia Martinelli, Stavroula Thravalou, Kristis Alexandrou, and Georgios Artopoulos. “Guidelines for Energy Efficiency HBIM Development of Existing Buildings.” January 2024. doi. org/10.5281/zenodo.6393027. Gigliarelli, Elena, Filippo Calcerano, and Letizia Martinelli. Methodology for the Energy Renovation of Heritage Buildings Using BIM: Guidelines for the Development of an Energy Efficient Heritage Building Information Model (EE-HBIM). Cnr Edizioni, 2022. https://bhilab.ispc.cnr.it/ index.php/s/j3c6weYejfr7EHm. F. Calcerano, S. Thravalou, L. Martinelli, K. Alexandrou, G. Artopoulos, E. Gigliarelli, Energy and environmental improvement of built heritage: HBIM simulation-based approach applied to nine Mediterranean case-studies, Build. Res. Inf. (2023). https://doi.org/https://doi.org/10. 1080/09613218.2023.2204417. K. Alexandrou, L. Martinelli, S. Thravalou, E. Gigliarelli, Artopoulos, G., F. Calcerano, Heritage BIM and performance simulation interoperability: methodological insights from representative case studies in Cyprus and Italy, Archit. Eng. Des. Manag. (2025). https://doi.org/https://doi.org/10.1080/174520 07.2025.2451404. E. Verticchio, L. Martinelli, E. Gigliarelli, F. Calcerano, Current practices and open issues on the whole- building dynamic simulation of historical buildings: A review of the literature case studies, Build. Environ. 258 (2024) 111621. https://doi.org/10.1016/j. buildenv.2024.111621. E. Verticchio, L. Martinelli, E. Gigliarelli, A. Potts, E. Lucchi, F. Calcerano, Built heritage adaptation and mitigation: The need for a joint effort through heritage science, in: Clim. Mitig. Adapt. Strateg. Cult. Nat. Herit., Elsevier, 2026: pp. 57–84. https://doi.org/10.1016/B978-0-443- 34061-1.00010-X. Case 08: The Relevancy Guidebook: How We Can Transform the Future of Preservation Landmarks Illinois. “Introducing ‘The Relevancy Guidebook.’” Accessed June 3, 2026. https://www. landmarks.org/introducing-the-relevancy-guidebook/. Landmarks Illinois. “Our Guiding Principles.” April 20, 2021. https://www.landmarks.org/wp-content/ uploads/2021/06/Guiding-Principles-FINAL- APPROVED-BY-BOD-4.20.21.pdf. McDonald, Bonnie. Discussion with Anna Gasha and Elizabeth Rowe. March 5, 2026. McDonald, Bonnie. “The Relevancy Guidebook: How We Can Transform the Future of Preservation.” Landmarks Illinois. November 2023. https://www.landmarks.org/ relevancy-guidebook/TheRelevancyGuidebook.pdf.
Bibliography | Decarbonizing the Built Environment Through Heritage: The Complete Toolkit142 Case 09: Saving Embodied Carbon through Strengthening Existing Housing Build Change. “The Cost of Improving Vulnerable Housing: Recommendations for Investments in Housign Resilience from an Analysis of Global Project Data.” 2022. https://buildchange.org/resources/cost-of- improving-housing. Build Change. “Saving Embodied Carbon through Strengthening Existing Housing.” November 2023. https://embodiedcarbon.climateresilienthousing.org/. Cociña, Camila, Alejandro Barcena, Paula Sevilla-Núñez, Alexandre Apsan Frediani, and José Manuel Roche. “Forced Evictions and Climate Change: The Damaging Impact on Risks and Emissions.” International Institute for Environment and Development, October 2025. https://www.iied.org/sites/default/files/pdfs/2025- 10/22672iied.pdf. Foulkes, Louise. Discussion with Anna Gasha. March 11, 2026. Karamallis, Ariana. “Reducing Carbon Emissions, Increasing Adequate Housing: How the Buildings and Construction Sector Can do Both.” Build Change. April 15, 2024. https://buildchange.org/reducing-carbon- emissions-increasing-adequate-housing-how-the- buildings-and-construction-can-do-both. UN-Habitat. “Rescuing SDG 11 for a Resilient Urban Planet: Executive Summary.” 2023. https://unhabitat. org/sites/default/files/2023/11/sdg_11_synthesis_ report_2023_executive_summary_2023.pdf. Case 10: FuturHist: Scalable Retrofit Innovation for Historic Buildings Boxer, Keith, and Krzysztof Barnaś. “Guidelines for RES Integration.” FuturHist. June 30, 2025. https://futurhist. eu/wp-content/uploads/FuturHist_D3.2.pdf. FuturHist. “Demonstrators.” Accessed June 3, 2026. https://futurhist.eu/demonstrators/. Herrera, Daniel. Discussion with Anna Gasha and Lori Ferriss. March 25, 2026. Hesse, Philipp, and Luka Nedzbala. “Barrier Analysis: Identifying Views on Hindrances to the Retrofitting of Historic Buildings.” FuturHist. January 20, 2025. https://futurhist.eu/wp-content/uploads/FuturHist- D1.1.pdf. Hupkes, Jelrik, and Petra Eriksson. “Selection of Tools: A Review of Guidelines and Tools for Energy Retrofits in Historic Buildings.” FuturHist. March 31, 2025. https:// futurhist.eu/wp-content/uploads/FuturHist_D1.4.pdf. Leijonhufvud, Gustaf. “Assessment Categories and KPIs: A Multidimensional Approach to Performance Assessment.” FuturHist. March 31, 2025. https:// futurhist.eu/wp-content/uploads/FuturHist_D1.6.pdf. Leijonhufvud, Gustaf. “Policy Framework: An Overview over European Policies for Energy Efficiency in Historic Buildings.” FuturHist. September 30, 2024. https:// futurhist.eu/wp-content/uploads/FuturHist-D1.3.pdf. Muchorowska, Marianna, and Federico Trentin. “Conservation Compatible Solutions for HVAC and RES Integration in Historic Buildings.” FuturHist. June 30, 2025. https://futurhist.eu/wp-content/uploads/ FuturHist_D3.1.pdf. Muchorowska, Marianna, and Alexandra Troi. “Conservation Compatible Passive Retrofit Solutions.” FuturHist. June 30, 2025. https://futurhist.eu/wp- content/uploads/FuturHist_D2.1.pdf. Poma, Elena, and Daniel Herrera-Avellanosa. “Building Typology: Analysis of the Building Stock and Typologies Definition.” FuturHist. December 20, 2024. https://futurhist.eu/wp-content/uploads/FuturHist- D1.2.pdf. Racoń-Leja, Kinga, Krzysztof Barnaś, and Marzena Nowak- Ocłoń. “Current Practice of Renovation: Quantifying the Baseline.” FuturHist. December 30, 2024. https:// futurhist.eu/wp-content/uploads/FuturHist-D1.5.pdf. Sand, Signe, and Morten Ørsager. “Multidimensional Decision-Making Methodology to Identify an Optimised Solution for Deep Renovation of Historic Buildings.” FuturHist. January 31, 2026. https:// futurhist.eu/wp-content/uploads/FuturHist_D4.1_ Multidimensional-decision-making-methodology-to- identify-an-optimised-solution-for-deep-renovation-of- historic-buildings-1.pdf.
Case 11: Fideicomiso de la Tierra del Caño Martín Peña: Adapting the Community Land Trust Model Algoed, Line, and María E. Herná ndez Torrales. “The Land is Ours. Vulnerabilization and Resistance in Informal Settlements in Puerto Rico: Lessons from the Caño Martín Peña Community Land Trust.” Radical Housing Journal 1, no. 1 (April 2019): 29–47. Algoed, Line, María E. Herná ndez Torrales, and Lyvia Rodríguez Del Valle. “El Fideicomiso de la Tierra del Caño Martín Peña: Instrumento Notable de Regularización de Suelo en Asentamientos Informales.” Working Document WPLA1SP. Lincoln Institute of Land Policy, June 2018. Fideicomiso de la Tierra Caño Martín Peña. “Administración de Bienes Inmuebles.” Accessed June 3, 2026. https://fideicomisomartinpena.org/ administracion-de-bienes-inmuebles/. Litsek, Felipe, and Lara Masetto. “A Model for the Global South: Puerto Rico’s Community Land Trust, the Fideicomiso de la Tierra Caño Martín Peña.” Translated by Cristina Fornara. RioOnWatch, October 1, 2023. https://rioonwatch.org/?p=74589. Ocasio, Adriana. Discussion with Anna Gasha and Elizabeth Rowe. April 1, 2026. Case 12: Historic England’s Cross- Governmental Model to Integrate Heritage into Climate Policy Climate Change Committee. “Progress in Reducing Emissions: 2025 Report to Parliament.” June 2025. https://www.theccc.org.uk/wp-content/ uploads/2025/06/Progress-in-reducing-emissions- 2025-report-to-Parliament.pdf. Climate Change Committee. “A Well-Adapted UK – the Fourth Independent Assessment of UK Climate Risk (CCRA4-IA).” May 20, 2026. https://www.theccc.org.uk/ publication/a-well-adapted-uk/. Department for Energy Security and Net Zero. “Warm Homes Plan.” Updated March 18, 2026. https://www. gov.uk/government/publications/warm-homes-plan. Historic England. “Adapting Historic Buildings for Energy and Carbon Efficiency.” Historic England Advice Note 18. February 16, 2026. https://historicengland.org.uk/ images-books/publications/adapting-historic-buildings- energy-carbon-efficiency-advice-note-18/. Historic England. “Ancient Technology Brings Linton Lock Hydro Back to Life.” Accessed June 3, 2026. https:// historicengland.org.uk/research/heritage-counts/2019- carbon-in-built-environment/case-studies/linton-lock- hydro/. Historic England. “Developing a Decarbonisation Plan.” Updated March 18, 2026. https://historicengland.org.uk/ advice/climate-change/your-organisation-to-net-zero/ developing-a-decarbonisation-plan/. Historic England. “Heat Pumps in Historic Buildings: Air Source Heat Pump Case Studies – Large Buildings.” January 13, 2026. https://historicengland.org.uk/ images-books/publications/air-source-heat-pumps- historic-buildings-large/. Historic England. “Heat Pumps in Historic Buildings: Air Source Heat Pump Case Studies – Small-Scale Buildings.” May 26, 2023. https://historicengland.org. uk/images-books/publications/air-source-heat-pumps- historic-buildings/. Historic England. “Heat Pumps in Historic Buildings: The Viability of Ground Source Heat Pumps in Historic Buildings.” September 22, 2025. https://historicengland. org.uk/images-books/publications/viability-ground- source-heat-pumps-historic-buildings/. Historic England. “Heat Pumps in Historic Buildings: The Viability of Water Source Heat Pumps in Historic Buildings.” January 27, 2026. https://historicengland. org.uk/images-books/publications/viability-water- source-heat-pumps-historic-buildings/. Historic England. “Listed Victorian Townhouse Retrofit in Clapham.” Accessed June 3, 2026. https:// historicengland.org.uk/research/heritage-counts/2019- carbon-in-built-environment/case-studies/listed- victorian-townhouse/. Lowe, J. A., M. Harrison, and R. J. Perks. “The Fourth Climate Change Risk Assessment – Independent Assessment (CCRA4-IA) Technical Report.” May 20, 2026. https://www.ukclimaterisk.org/publications/ technical-report-ccra4-ia/.
Scott, Nikhil. Discussion with Anna Gasha and Elizabeth Rowe. March 2, 2026. Valuation Office Agency. “Council Tax: Stock of Properties Statistical Commentary.” Updated September 21, 2023. https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/council-tax- stock-of-properties-2023/council-tax-stock-of-properties- statistical-commentary. Case 13: San Antonio Deconstruction and Circular Economy Program City of San Antonio. “Ordinance Amending Chapter 12 Entitled ‘Vacant Structures’ of the City Code to Adopt Deconstruction Regulations for Residential and Accessory Structures Within the City of San Antonio and Establishing Penalties.” September 8, 2022. https://library. municode.com/TX/San_Antonio/ordinances/code_of_ ordinances?nodeId=1174068. City of San Antonio Office of Historic Preservation. “Rehabber Club.” Accessed June 3, 2026. https://www.sarehabberclub.com/contractor- list?category=Certification%3A%20Deconstruction. Phillips, Stephanie. Discussion with Anna Gasha and Elizabeth Rowe. March 3, 2026. PlaceEconomics. “Opportunity at Risk: San Antonio’s Older Affordable Housing Stock.” 2019. https://www.sanantonio. gov/Portals/0/Files/HistoricPreservation/CurrentProjects/ AffordableHousing/OpportunityAtRisk-Report.pdf. PlaceEconomics. “Treasure in the Walls: Reclaiming Value through Material Reuse in San Antonio.” February 2021. https://www.sanantonio.gov/Portals/0/Files/ HistoricPreservation/Deconstruction/Treasure%20in%20 the%20Walls.pdf. San Antonio Reuse. “Deconstruction Forms.” City of San Antonio Office of Historic Preservation. Accessed June 3, 2026. https://www.sareuse.com/forms. San Antonio Reuse. “Material Innovation Center at Port San Antonio.” City of San Antonio Office for Historic Preservation. Accessed June 3, 2026. https://www. sareuse.com/mic. Wibranek, Bastian. “Design Follows Availability: Affordable Dwelling Units Based on Reclaimed Materials in San Antonio.” August 2023. https://static1.squarespace. com/static/5e5433d1544ec2286cfa4376/t/65 08ad4bc10552171503b329/1695067495963/ Design+Follows+Availability+-+Salvage-to-ADU+Report. Case 14: Scaling Adaptive Reuse in Los Angeles for Heritage and Housing Los Angeles City Planning. “Adaptive Reuse.” Accessed June 3, 2026. https://planning.lacity. gov/project-review/adaptive-reuse. Los Angeles City Planning. “Fact Sheet: Citywide Adaptive Reuse Ordinance.” March 2024. https:// planning.lacity.gov/odocument/55760ec6-e4c1- 4add-9927-cd348fe51ed2/FD_Fact_Sheet_-_2024_ Adaptive_Reuse_Ordinance_2024-0214.pdf. Los Angeles City Planning. “Housing Element Update.” Accessed June 3, 2026. https://planning.lacity. gov/plans-policies/housing-element-rezoning- program. Los Angeles Conservancy. “Citywide Adaptive Reuse Ordinance (ARO).” Accessed June 3, 2026. https:// www.laconservancy.org/save-places/at-a-glance- policies-for-neighborhoods/citywide-adaptive- reuse-ordinance-aro/. Los Angeles Conservancy. “Sunkist Headquarters.” Accessed June 3, 2026. https://www. laconservancy.org/learn/historic-places/sunkist- headquarters/. Lubell, Sam. “Los Angeles’ Grand Spring Arcade Coming Back to Life.” Architect’s Newspaper, August 15, 2014. https://www.archpaper. com/2014/08/los-angeles-grand-spring-arcade- coming-back-to-life/. Vincent, Roger. “Thousands of apartments set to take over empty office buildings with new L.A. ordinance.” Los Angeles Times, February 11, 2026. https:// www.latimes.com/business/story/2026-02-11/ thousands-of-apartments-set-to-sprout-in-old- office-buildings. Ward, Jason M., and Daniel Schwam. “Can Adaptive Reuse of Commercial Real Estate Address the Housing Crisis in Los Angeles?” Research Report. RAND Corporation, 2022.