Ecological case for revitalization – quantifying CO2 and construction waste savings in post-industrial urban regeneration

Authors

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.24425/ace.2025.156167

Keywords

adaptive reuse, carbon footprint, circular economy, post-industrial area, revitalization, life cycle assessment, sustainable construction

Abstract

The construction sector’s environmental footprint, accounting for 40% of global CO2 emissions and 30% of waste generation, necessitates rigorous evaluation of sustainable alternatives to demolition. This study quantitatively assesses the environmental advantages of industrial site revitalization versus demolition and new construction, focusing exclusively on material conservation and emission reduction. While existing research often combines environmental with socioeconomic metrics, this analysis isolates ecological impacts through a case study of Radex Park Marywilska in Warsaw, Poland – a representative post-industrial site in a coal-dependent economy. Using life cycle assessment (LCA) methodology for 2005-2010 data, we analyze material flows (22% concrete, 3% steel, 15% brick by volume) and calculate avoided emissions using region-specific factors (e.g., 1.8 t CO2/t steel). The results demonstrate that revitalization preserved 72,315 tons of materials and reduced CO2 emissions by 48,217 tons - resulting in significant environmental savings compared to demolition scenarios, and exceeding Central European benchmarks. These savings stem primarily from bypassed demolition waste (30-50% reduction) and avoided new material production, aligning with EU circular economy targets. Key findings include: (1) steel reuse delivers 61% of total emission savings, revealing material-specific leverage points for decarbonization; (2) Poland’s carbon-intensive industrial baseline amplifies the relative benefits of adaptive reuse; and (3) standardized “avoided cost” metrics can bridge policy gaps in sustainable urban planning. The study provides a replicable framework for environmental cost accounting in post-industrial contexts, emphasizing the need for regionally tailored LCA models. We conclude that revitalization is not merely an alternative but an ecological imperative for decarbonizing urban development. Policymakers should prioritize adaptive reuse in climate action plans, leveraging its dual benefits of emission reduction and resource conservation. Future research should expand this methodology to assess the scalability of observed benefits across diverse geographic and industrial contexts.

References

[1] L.C. Havinga, B.J.F. Colenbrander, and H.L. Schellen, “Relating sustainability indicators to the refurbishment of the existing building stock”, presented at 30th International PLEA Conference Sustainable Habitat for Developing Societies, Ahmabedad, India, 16-18 December 2014.

[2] M. Laraia, “Beyond Decommissioning: The Reuse and Redevelopment of Nuclear Installations”, in Beyond Decommissioning, Woodhead Publishing Series in Energy, M. Laraia, Ed. Cambridge, United Kingdom: Woodhead Publishing, 2019, pp. 15-58.

[3] Q. Wei, N. Utaberta, and N. Zainordin, “Adaptive Reuse of Industrial Heritage Sites for Sustainable Urban Development”, Journal of Ecohumanism, vol. 3, no. 8, pp. 12329-12347, 2024, doi: 10.62754/joe.v3i8.5839.

[4] M. Hu and J. Świerzawski, “Assessing the environmental benefits of adaptive reuse in historical buildings. A case study of a life cycle assessment approach”, Sustainable Environment, vol. 10, no. 1, art. no. 2375439, 2024, doi: 10.1080/27658511.2024.2375439.

[5] F. Pittau, D. Giacomel, G. Iannaccone, and L. Malighetti, “Environmental consequences of refurbishment versus demolition and reconstruction: A comparative life cycle assessment of an Italian case study”, Journal of Green Building, vol. 15, no. 4, pp. 155-172, 2020, doi: 10.3992/jgb.15.4.155.

[6] F. Pittau, C. Amato, S. Cuffari, G. Iannaccone, and L.E. Malighetti, “Environmental consequences of refurbishment vs. demolition and reconstruction: a comparative life cycle assessment of an Italian case study”, in Proceedings of the SBE19 Milan – Resilient Built Environment for Sustainable Mediterranean Countries, IOP Conference Series: Earth and Environmental Science, vol. 296, 2019, doi: 10.1088/1755-1315/296/1/012037.

[7] A. Maciejewska and A. Turek, „Rewitalizacja i jej znaczenie w kontekście realizacji polityki przestrzennej na terenie województwa mazowieckiego”, Mazowsze Studia Regionalne, vol. 25, pp. 71-89, 2018 (in Polish).

[8] Stowarzyszenie Producentów Cementu (SPC), “DEKLARACJA ŚRODOWISKOWA III TYPU – EPD CEMENTY CEM I, CEM II, CEM III, CEM IV, CEM V produkowane w Polsce”. Warszawa, Polska: SPC, 2020. [Online]. Available: https://www.polskicement.pl/content/uploads/2025/01/EPD-Deklaracja-srodowiskowa-8-stron.pdf.[Accessed: 10 Apr. 2025] (in Polish).

[9] Z. Gołaś, “The Driving Forces of Change in Energy-related CO2 Emissions in the Polish Iron and Steel Industry in 1990-2017”, International Journal of Energy Economics and Policy, vol. 10, no. 5, pp. 94-102, 2020, doi: 10.32479/ijeep.9444.

[10] PN-B-06250:2018 Concrete Structures – Design Requirements. Warsaw, Poland: PKN, 2018 (in Polish).

[11] EN 1992-1-1 Eurocode 2. Design of Concrete Structures – Part 1-1: General rules and rules for buildings. Brussels, Belgium: CEN, 2004.

[12] PN-EN 1993-1-1 Projektowanie konstrukcji stalowych. Warszawa, Polska: PKN, 2006 (in Polish).

[13] J. Sobieraj, Wpływ Polityki Gospodarczej, Środowiskowej i Prawnej na Zarządzanie Procesem Inwestycyjnym w Budownictwie Przemysłowym. Radom, Poland: ITE-PIB, 2019 (in Polish).

[14] World Steel Association, “World Steel in Figures 2024”, Worldsteel, 2024. [Online]. Available: https://worldsteel.org/wp-content/uploads/World-Steel-in-Figures-2024.pdf. [Accessed: 22 May 2025].

[15] A.Wojnarowska, „Inwestycje mieszkaniowe w ramach programów rewitalizacji centrum Łodzi”, Space-Society-Economy, vol. 15, no. 1, pp. 69-88, 2016, doi: 10.18778/1733-3180.15.06 (in Polish).

[16] S. Stanca, “Reuse of Construction Waste”, in Proceedings of the 17th International Conference Interdisciplinarity in Engineering. Inter-ENG 2023. Springer, 2024, pp. 198-209, doi: 10.1007/978-3-031-54664-8_19.

[17] Y. Schwartz, R.M. Raslan, and D. Mumovic, “Refurbish or Replace: Optimizing Refurbished and New Building Designs for Life Cycle Carbon Footprint and Life Cycle Cost Minimisation”, presented at 4th IBPSA-England Conference on Building Simulation and Optimization (BSO 2018), Emmanuel College, University of Cambridge, Cambridge, UK, 11-12 September 2018.

[18] E. Makhmudov, A. Zavaleeva, I. Zavaleev, and A. Berdimurodov, “Life Cycle Analysis of a Renovation Project for Old Housing in Tashkent to Reduce Greenhouse Gas Emissions”, in Proceedings of the 1st International Scientific Conference “Green Taxonomy for Sustainable Development: From Green Technologies to Green Economy” (CONGREENTAX-2024). E3S Web Conferences, vol. 574, 2024.

[19] S. Bansal and S.K. Singh, “A sustainable approach towards the construction and demolition waste”, International Journal of Innovative Research in Science, Engineering and Technology, vol. 3, no. 2, pp. 1262-1269, 2014.

[20] P.A. Erkelens, “Sustainable Renovation, the answer to extreme sustainability”, presented at Conference Beyond sustainable building: balancing between best practice and utopian concepts, Eindhoven, The Netherlands, 28-29 September 2000.

[21] I. Andriulaitytė and M. Valentukeviciene, “Circular economy in buildings”, Budownictwo o Zoptymalizowanym Potencjale Energetycznym, vol. 9, no. 2, pp. 23-29, 2020, doi: 10.17512/bozpe.2020.2.03.

[22] S. Zolotukhin, O. Kukina, E. Artemova, A. Eremin, V. Volokitin, and O. Volokitina, “New approaches to the development of construction technologies”, in Proceedings of the International Conference on Efficient Production and Processing (ICEPP-2021). E3S Web of Conferences, vol. 247, 2021.

[23] E. Fregonara, “Building upcycling or building reconstruction? The ‘Global Benefit’ perspective to support investment decisions for sustainable cities”, Frontiers in Sustainable Cities, vol. 5, art. no. 1282748, 2023, doi: 10.3389/frsc.2023.1282748.

[24] C. Dominguez, E. Kakkos, D. Gross, R. Hischier, and K. Orehounig, “Renovated or replaced? Finding the optimal solution for an existing building considering cumulative CO2 emissions, energy consumption and costs – A case study”, Energy and Buildings, vol. 303, art. no. 113767, 2024, doi: 10.1016/j.enbuild.2023.113767.

[25] A. Zaguła and T. Grzelakowski, “The revitalisation of old factories area on the chosen example from Łódź”, IOP Conference Series: Materials Science and Engineering, vol. 1203, art. no. 032112, 2021, doi: 10.1088/1757-899X/1203/3/032112.

[26] M. Almeida, R. Mateus, M. Ferreira, and A. Rodrigues, “Life-cycle costs and impacts on energy-related building renovation assessments”, International Journal of Sustainable Building Technology and Urban Development, vol. 7, no. 3-4, pp. 206-213, 2016, doi: 10.1080/2093761X.2017.1302837.

[27] M.E. Kondili, K.J. Kaldellis, A. Entmons, and N. Petrovits, “Buildings Sustainability on a Life Cycle Basis: Comparative evaluation between new construction and refurbishment of an existing building”, in Proceedings of the 18th International Conference on Environmental Science and Technology, Athens, Greece, 30 August - 2 September 2023.

[28] B.M. Walczak and A. Kepczynska-Walczak, “Adaptive Re-use of Industrial Heritage in Łodz, Poland”, International Journal of Conservation Science, vol. 15, no. 2, pp. 955-966, 2024, doi: 10.36868/IJCS.2024.02.13.

[29] M. Baborska-Narożny, „Rewitalizacja terenów poprzemysłowych-modele przekształceń na wybranych przykładach”, Czasopismo Techniczne. Architektura, vol. 109, no. 3-a, pp. 275-279, 2012 (in Polish).

[30] A. Tokajuk and E. Tokajuk, “New life of postindustrial factories in Bialystok – chosen aspects”, Teka Komisji Architektury, Urbanistyki i Studiów Krajobrazowych, vol. 15, no. 1, pp. 16-27, 2019, doi: 10.35784/teka.1488.

[31] R. Uberman and A. Ostręga, “Reclamation and revitalisation of lands after mining activities: Polish achievements and problems”, AGH Journal of Mining and Geoengineering, vol. 36, no. 2, pp. 285-297, 2012.

[32] A. Konior and W. Pokojska, “Management of postindustrial heritage in urban revitalization processes”, Sustainability, vol. 12, no. 12, art. no. 5034, 2020, doi: 10.3390/su12125034.

[33] K. Pozniak, “Reinventing a Model Socialist Steel Town in the Neoliberal Economy: The Case of Nowa Huta, Poland”, City & Society, vol. 25, no. 1, pp. 113-134, 2013, doi: 10.1111/ciso.12009.

[34] Agency for Industrial Development, Technical Inventory Report of 12 Industrial Facilities in Warsaw. Warsaw, Poland: ARP, 2019. [Dataset].

[35] Ministry of Transport and Construction, Technical Catalog for Industrial Buildings. Warsaw, Poland: MTB Archives, 1983 (in Polish).

[36] PN-EN 12390-7 Testing Hardened Concrete: Density. Warsaw, Poland: PKN, 2019 (in Polish).

[37] PN-EN 10020 Definition and Classification of Steel Grades. Warsaw, Poland: PKN, 2000 (in Polish).

[38] Ytong, Technical Datasheet for Aerated Concrete Blocks. Duisburg, Germany: Xella Group, 2005.

[39] WiseEuropa, The Steel Industry in Poland.Warsaw, Poland: WiseEuropa, 2024. [Online]. Available: https://wise-europa.eu/wp-content/uploads/2024/08/Przemysl_stalowy_w_Polsce_ENG.pdf. [Accessed: 22 May 2025].

[40] Główny Urząd Statystyczny (GUS), Rocznik Statystyczny Przemysłu 2024 [Statistical Yearbook of Industry – Poland 2024]. Warszawa, Poland: GUS, 2024. [Online]. Available: https://stat.gov.pl/download/gfx/portalinformacyjny/pl/ defaultaktualnosci/5515/5/18/1/ rocznik_statystyczny_przemyslu_2024.pdf. [Accessed: 15 Apr. 2025] (in Polish).

[41] Krajowy Ośrodek Bilansowania i Zarządzania Emisjami (KOBiZE), Raport do krajowej bazy za 2019 rok (Raport syntetyczny). Warsaw, Poland: Instytut Ochrony Środowiska. Państwowy Instytut Badawczy, 2019. [Online]. Available: https://www.kobize.pl/pl/article/2019/id/1578/raport-do-krajowej-bazy-za-2019-r. [Accessed: 20 May2025] (in Polish).

[42] V. Paccagnan, “The Re-use of Urban Brownfields in Europe: A Law and Economics Analysis”, Scienze Regionali: Italian Journal of Regional Science, vol. 10, no. 3, pp. 9-28, 2011.

[43] European Energy Exchange (EEE), European emission allowances (EUA) auction market data. https://www.eex.com/en/market-data/environmental-markets/auction-market/european-emission-allowances-auction. [Accessed: 25 Apr. 2025].

[44] GUS, Construction and Real Estate Market Statistics 2000-2010. Warsaw, Poland: Central Statistical Office of Poland, 2011 (in Polish).

[45] Stowarzyszenie Producentów Cementu, “Przemysł cementowy – rozwijamy polską gospodarkę”, Budownictwo, Technologie, Architektura, vol. 8, no. 4, pp. 36-41, 2018. [Online] (in Polish).

[46] PN-EN 1996-1-1:2005 Eurokod 6. Projektowanie konstrukcji murowych – Część 1-1: Reguły ogólne dla budynków. Warszawa, Poland: PKN, 2005 (in Polish).

[47] European Energy Exchange, “EU ETS Auction Market Data”. [Online]. Available: https://www.eex.com/en/market-data/environmental-markets/auction-market. [Accessed: 13 July 2025].

[48] S. Conejos, “Optimisation of future building adaptive reuse design criteria for urban sustainability”, Journal of Design Research, vol. 11, no. 3, pp. 225-242, 2013, doi: 10.1504/JDR.2013.056589.

[49] J. Fealy, “Adaptive Reuse for Multi-Use Facilities in an Urban Context: Making the City Home Again”, M.A. thesis, University of Cincinnati, Cincinnati, OH, USA, 2006.

[50] P.A. Bullen and P.E. Love, “The rhetoric of adaptive reuse or reality of demolition: Views from the field”, Cities, vol. 27, no. 4, pp. 215-224, 2010, doi: 10.1016/j.cities.2009.12.005.

[51] E. Masierek, “Urban regeneration programming in Poland in the years 2014-2020”, European Spatial Research and Policy, vol. 28, no. 1, pp. 223-245, 2021, doi: 10.18778/1231-1952.28.1.12.

[52] K. Ebbe, “Infrastructure and heritage conservation: opportunities for urban revitilization and economic development”. Washington, DC, United States: World Bank, 2009.

[53] I.V. Potseshkovskaya and A.N. Soroka, “Revitalization of urban industrial areas based on sustainable development principles”, E3S Web Conferences, vol. 266, art. no. 08012, p. 1-11, 2021.

[54] R.I. Mbata, “Urban revitalization: Enhancing quality of life through mixed-use developments”, International Journal of Science and Research Archive, vol. 11, no. 2, pp. 191-198, 2024, doi: 10.30574/ijsra.2024.11.2.0385.

[55] C. Hannigan, “Community, authenticity and newness: Obscuring financial motivations in transport and development projects through discourse at Battersea Power Station”, in Discourse Analysis in Transport and Urban Development, R. Hickman and C. Hannigan, Eds. Cheltenham, UK: Edward Elgar Publishing, 2023, pp. 199-211, doi: 10.4337/9781802207200.00023.

[56] M.J. Latkowska, “Post-industrial Parks-places of Protection and Revitalisation of Industrial Areas”, Architecture Series Editorial Board, vol. 6-a, pp. 205-218, 2014 (in Polish).

[57] T.C. Rodopoulou, “Heritage-led regeneration in the UK. Preserving historic values or masking commodification? A reflection on the case of King’s Cross, London”, International Planning History Society Proceedings, vol. 17, no. 4, 2016, doi: 10.7480/iphs.2016.4.1283.

[58] PN-B-02300:2010 Guidelines for Modernization of Existing Buildings. Warsaw, Poland: Polish Committee for Standardization, 2010 (in Polish).

[59] G.T. Cardozo, “Community development promoted by policies: an analysis from the perspective of gentrification”, Gentrification, vol. 1, no. 3, p. 3, 2023, doi: 10.62486/gen20233.

[60] C. Grodach and R. Ehrenfeucht, Urban Revitalization: Remaking cities in a changing world. London, United Kingdom: Routledge, 2015, doi: 10.4324/9781315850214.

[61] J. Coaffee, “Urban regeneration and renewal”, in Olympic cities, J. Gold and M. Gold, Eds. London, United Kingdom: Routledge, 2010, pp. 200-213, doi: 10.4324/9780203840740-18.

[62] “EUA price history: what are the drivers?”, HOMAIO. [Online]. Available: https://www.homaio.com/post/whatdrives-the-eu-ets-carbon-allowance-price. [Accessed: 15 July 2025].

[63] J. Sitarz, M. Pahle, S. Osorio, G. Luderer, and R. Pietzcker, “EU carbon prices signal high policy credibility and farsighted actors”, Nature Energy, vol. 9, no. 6, pp. 691-702, 2024, doi: 10.1038/s41560-024-01505-x.

[64] “EU ETS Market Outlook 1H 2024: Prices Valley Before Rally”, BloombergNEF. [Online]. Available: https://about.bnef.com/insights/commodities/eu-ets-market-outlook-1h-2024-prices-valley-before-rally/. [Accessed: 15 July 2025].

[65] Linking EU ETS with other carbon pricing. KOBiZE, IOŚ-PIB, 2024. [Online]. Available: https://climatecake. ios.edu.pl/wp-content/uploads/2024/11/LIFE_VIIEW2050_EUETS_Global-ETS_final-1.pdf. [Accessed: 15 July 2025].

[66] International Bank for Reconstruction and Development, State and Trends of Carbon Pricing 2023. Washington, DC, United States: The World Bank, 2024. [Online]. Available: https://ppp.worldbank.org/public-private-partnership/sites/default/files/2023-10/State%20and%20Trends%20of%20Carbon%20Pricing% 202023.pdf. [Accessed: 15 July 2025].

[67] M.C. Bustamante and F. Zucchi, “Dynamic carbon emission management”, SSRN Electronic Journal, no. 4140380, 2022, doi: 10.2139/ssrn.4140380.

Downloads

Published

2025-12-30

How to Cite

Sobieraj, Janusz, et al. “Ecological Case for Revitalization – Quantifying CO2 and Construction Waste Savings in Post-Industrial Urban Regeneration”. Archives of Civil Engineering, vol. 71, no. 4, Dec. 2025, pp. 239-54, doi:10.24425/ace.2025.156167.

Issue

Vol. 71 No. 4 (2025)

Section

Articles
Crossref
Scopus
Google Scholar
Europe PMC

Similar Articles

<< < 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 > >> 

You may also start an advanced similarity search for this article.