Conversion instead of new construction: how to make housing affordable
Building land is expensive, interest rates are high, skilled workers are hard to come by. If new construction is so difficult, why not make better use of what is already there? The municipality of Steinhagen in North Rhine-Westphalia ensures that vacant houses and flats are bought by young families. The aim is to combat vacancies and prevent the town from becoming obsolete. The housing crisis is also affecting Ireland. As in Germany, rents are rising. The paradox: at the same time, more than 160,000 residential properties are vacant nationwide.
The North Rhine-Westphalian municipality of Steinhagen is making sure that vacant houses and flats are bought by young families. The aim is to combat vacancies and prevent the town from becoming obsolete.
The "Young buys old" programme has been in place in Steinhagen since 2011. The Männle-Büscher family, who just bought an old farmhouse there that needs to be renovated, is benefiting from this. The renovation will be expensive, but the municipality supports the project and is grateful for the rejuvenation: attracting young families with children to Steinhagen brings more tax revenue, more purchasing power and less rural exodus. "The families have spread out nicely in the streets and thus also support our local structures," says project manager Stefan Hellweg.
The housing crisis is also hitting Ireland. As in Germany, rents are rising. The paradox: at the same time, more than 160,000 residential properties are empty nationwide. The 69-year-old social worker Gerry Folan works for the non-profit foundation "Peter McVerry Trust", which creates affordable housing from vacant properties. The principle: the trust renovates dilapidated buildings according to modern and ecological standards and then rents the flats at low cost to people who hardly have a chance on the normal rental market in Ireland. For Gerry Folan, this is a matter of the heart: "Everyone deserves to have a home. Housing is a human right. And everyone should be supported to realise that right."
Keeping building materials in circulation: That's what architect Rebekka Steinlein and her colleagues at the company "Concular" in Berlin want to do. They specialise in cataloguing and recycling reusable building materials. To do this, they examine properties that are to be demolished and check which materials and parts of the buildings can be reused for new projects. If as many materials as possible are used again, this reduces CO2 gases and waste: the construction sector alone is responsible for almost 40 percent of global CO2 emissions.
Broadcasting on 11th of October 2023 at 06.00pm on Phoenix/ZDF
Music: POPVIRUS Library