The Revaluation of Uninhabited Popular Patrimony under Environmental and Sustainability Parameters

Abstract

Abandoning rural areas requires promoting their repopulation. In Europe, wealth and life in these enclaves are valued. However, the current state of these houses does not meet actual needs and requires interventions to actualize current standards. Therefore, decisions in the design and execution of the works will generate a volume of construction and demolition waste (CDW), which must be managed sustainably out of respect towards its origin, the architecture, and the surrounding environment. This paper examines the prevention and management of CDW, providing control strategies and actions to monitor and plan them from the rehabilitation project itself. Some of the interventions carried out in recent years on this type of housing have been analyzed and the existing management protocols within the European Union have been reviewed, specifying their application in Mediterranean popular housing. As a result, we herein show a representative case that observes the existing reality regarding the destination of generated CDW and delves into their possibilities for use. We present these findings in order to reduce the energy cost resulting from manufacturing new materials and meeting the established sustainability and energy efficiency parameters.