How adaptive reuse can help reimagine, repurpose and revitalize cities

Adaptive reuse breathes new life into urban areas by transforming ageing and underutilized assets, including land and building infrastructure. It can offer innovative solutions to urbanization, climate change and social inclusion challenges.

Old factories can be transformed into vibrant residential and multi-purpose spaces, abandoned warehouses into marketplaces and historic buildings into areas of public and community engagement.

Some of the most highly regarded, well-loved places in the world are adaptive reuse projects.

The Tate Modern Gallery in London, United Kingdom, was converted from a former power station. The High Line in New York City, in the United States, was repurposed from an abandoned railway line into a public park and urban greenway. The Distillery District in Toronto, Canada, was a former industrial distillery converted into a vibrant pedestrian and commercial area.

Adaptive reuse projects can preserve the fabric of their cities, catalyze local economies – spurring job creation, tourism and cultural spaces – and promote well-being.

Adaptive reuse presents a crucial opportunity to tackle urban challenges and address social and economic needs – from creating affordable housing and essential community services to fostering economic resilience.

By repurposing vacant structures and other underutilized assets, cities can directly address disparities in access to housing, healthcare and cultural amenities.

Cities can cultivate vibrant places that can be sustainable and rooted in local identity, which empowers communities and stimulates long-term economic growth through repurposing.

Tapping into the value of our existing assets can unlock environmental benefits – according to a recent report, investing in existing buildings makes climate sense.

Repurposing an existing building emits 50-75% less carbon than constructing the same building new. When adaptive reuse is paired with sustainability efforts to lower embodied and operational carbon, one can bolster the clean energy economy, create greener jobs and enable new economies.

Adaptive reuse can also reduce waste compared to building new structures. Studies show that when buildings are reused instead of demolished and replaced, up to 90% of materials can be salvaged and diverted from landfills.

This is significant, considering construction and demolition waste accounts for an estimated 30% of total solid waste generation, making it one of the largest waste streams.

For example, a major adaptive reuse project in Chicago, which repositioned the Old Main Post Office, diverted 87% of construction waste from landfills through its transformation into a renewed public amenity. Before reuse, this property sat vacant for almost 50 years.

Despite some progress, over 75% of global construction waste is not being repurposed and annual construction waste is expected to reach 2.2 billion tons this year.

This presents significant opportunities for cities, industries and leaders to leverage adaptive reuse to reduce waste and cut emissions and enable the integration of projects that support the circular economy.

“Utilizing existing building and infrastructure assets is a growing opportunity for cities to simultaneously tackle climate and housing crises. It’s the first step in C40’s approach to supporting a clean construction transition,” said Cécile Faraud, head of the Clean Construction programme at C40 Cities.

“C40 is glad to see and support the rise of adaptive reuse policies to meet residents' needs, and we encourage more cities to reimagine and value existing built spaces equitably, via resources like the Forum’s policy model.”

With construction costs rising, adaptive reuse offers a compelling alternative: reusing built assets can deliver 12-15% in cost savings by avoiding the expenses associated with demolition and new construction.

Beyond cost savings, adaptive reuse seemingly provides a competitive advantage, from reducing emissions, mitigating climate risks, leading in the transition to circular economy and being a recognized global leader in building a better future.

For instance, the C40 Cities Clean Construction Accelerator showcases how signatory cities leverage economic incentives, targeted planning policies and spatial mapping to identify and repurpose vacant assets to advance net-zero goals while revitalizing underused spaces.

These coordinated efforts catalyze a broader market shift towards sustainable development practices, demonstrating adaptive reuse as a cost-effective solution and strategic lever for resilient, low-carbon urban growth.

“Repurposing historic buildings, especially in the cases of disused office and industrial typologies, into multifamily housing, hotel and retail or restaurant classes is a win-win-win strategy, translating to real value creation for all parties,” said Jake Chidester, vice president of Strategy and Innovation at Bedrock.

“Developers benefit from increased demand and absorption through unique product offerings in otherwise homogenous product landscape. Residents and visitors enjoy distinctive and authentic experiences rooted in history. Communities retain their essential heritage and character,” he added.

One major challenge for establishing and scaling adaptive reuse projects is the lack of consensus and accessibility of robust best practices.

To bridge this gap, the Centre for Urban Transformation at the World Economic Forum has released a collection of tools to support the transition to net-zero and environmental sustainability practices.

In collaboration with C40 Cities and Infosys, the G20 Global Smart Cities Alliance’s latest Model Policy on Adaptive Reuse of Assets provides a foundational and practical guide for developing city policies, ordinances or guidelines aimed at retaining and converting existing, underutilized or historically significant built assets.

Central to this policy are four principles: prioritizing existing assets over new construction, ensuring community benefits, maximizing the use of structural elements and low-carbon materials and completing a whole-life carbon assessment before any asset conversion.

Recognizing that “one size does not fit all,” city and industry leaders should consider their unique administrative, cultural, legal and financial context when repurposing built assets.

Jeff Kavanaugh, head of Infosys Knowledge Institute, said: “Scaling adaptive reuse through technology and cross-sector collaboration brings the Forum’s model policy to life – unlocking sustainable growth, lowering carbon and revitalizing communities, as nearly two-thirds of existing buildings will shape our cities through 2050.”

The recommendations were informed by expert consultation, consensus and an analysis of leading practices worldwide, including cities such as Vancouver, Los Angeles and London.

Notably, as part of its broader strategy to address housing and sustainability, the City of Los Angeles recently updated its Adaptive Reuse Ordinance to expand eligibility and streamline existing building conversion into housing, reinforcing its commitment to sustainable urban development.

“The City of Los Angeles is poised to enact an innovative suite of incentives that extend our successful Downtown adaptive reuse programme to the entire city as a key strategy to address the city’s housing crisis, high commercial vacancy rates, and the imperative for climate action,” said Ken Bernstein, principal city planner at Los Angeles City Planning’s Office of Historic Resources and Urban Design Studio.

This model policy is a strong foundation for cities seeking to harness the benefits of adaptive reuse, understand some best practices and determine where local action on adaptive reuse is being supported and led by cities. The policy also can be informed by emerging best practices and examples from around the world.

In summary, the adaptive reuse of assets is a transformative strategy for addressing the climate crisis and preserving cultural sites. By repurposing existing buildings, cities can dramatically reduce their carbon footprint and conserve valuable resources.

This approach promotes sustainability and fosters vibrant communities and thriving industries, breathing new life into urban areas.

As cities worldwide confront the escalating challenges of the climate crisis, the model policy provides a practical and effective roadmap.

It can empower urban leaders across industries to create resilient, dynamic cities that will flourish for generations. Embracing adaptive reuse is more than a strategic choice. It is an imperative for building resilient, sustainable, inclusive and prosperous cities of the future.