Adaptive Reuse of Assets Model Policy

The World Economic Forum's Adaptive Reuse of Assets Model Policy outlines a framework for cities to repurpose existing structures to achieve net-zero goals. It establishes four guiding principles: prioritizing existing assets, ensuring community benefit, maximizing the use of existing structural elements and low-carbon materials, and conducting whole life carbon assessments. The policy suggests a mix of financial incentives, zoning reforms, and technology enablers—such as BIM and AI—to make adaptive reuse projects more feasible while warning against risks like gentrification and digital divides.

• Adaptive reuse projects (ARPs) provide significant environmental benefits by reducing embodied carbon—emissions from raw material extraction, manufacturing, construction, maintenance, demolition, transport, waste, and end-of-life impacts—and diverting demolition waste from landfills.
• The model policy recommends four guiding principles for cities: prioritizing existing assets (vacant, underutilized, or stranded) over new construction; ensuring ARPs benefit the community through equitable consultation and accessibility; maximizing the retention of existing structural elements and using low-carbon materials; and performing whole life carbon assessments (WLCA) to minimize emissions over a building's lifespan.
• To make adaptive reuse financially and regulatorily feasible, the document suggests a variety of incentives, including historic preservation tax credits, grants for economic development, low-interest green financing, fee waivers, and zoning variances such as reduced parking requirements or increased density.
• Digital technologies can act as enablers for ARPs; Building Information Modelling (BIM) helps assess structural integrity and plan for circular materials, while Augmented Reality (AR) and Virtual Reality (VR) allow stakeholders to visualize results for historically significant assets.
• The policy identifies critical community risks associated with redevelopment, specifically the potential for gentrification and displacement as property values and rents increase, as well as the risk that a focus on profitability may erode cultural heritage.
• Technological implementation in ARPs carries risks, including a 'digital divide' where only well-funded projects can afford advanced systems, potential cybersecurity risks, and the carbon footprint of the technology itself, such as the energy required for AI data centres.

APA

World Economic Forum (2024). Adaptive Reuse of Assets Model Policy. https://www3.weforum.org/docs/WEF_Adaptive_Reuse_Assets_Model_Policy_2024.pdf

Chicago

World Economic Forum. Adaptive Reuse of Assets Model Policy. 2024. https://www3.weforum.org/docs/WEF_Adaptive_Reuse_Assets_Model_Policy_2024.pdf.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |author=World Economic Forum |title=Adaptive Reuse of Assets Model Policy |date=2024 |url=https://www3.weforum.org/docs/WEF_Adaptive_Reuse_Assets_Model_Policy_2024.pdf |access-date=23 October 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{worldeconomicforum2024adaptive, author = {{World Economic Forum}}, title = {{Adaptive Reuse of Assets Model Policy}}, institution = {World Economic Forum}, year = {2024}, url = {https://www3.weforum.org/docs/WEF_Adaptive_Reuse_Assets_Model_Policy_2024.pdf}, urldate = {2026-10-23}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }