A multidisciplinary Categorization of challenges of reuse of residential buildings

Lamiaa Abdelaziz Ghoz^1,2*

• ¹Leibniz Institute of Ecological Urban and Regional Development (LG), Dresden, Germany
• ²Technical University Dresden, Dresden, Lower Saxony, Germany

The reuse of buildings provides environmental, economic, and social benefits, offering a sustainable alternative to new construction and urban expansion. However, the multidisciplinary nature of reuse and the involvement of diverse, often conflicting interests during decision-making create significant challenges. This study aims to identify and categorize the challenges associated with the reuse of residential buildings from a multidisciplinary and global perspective. In Addition to mapping the relationships between these challenges and the scales at which they occur, addressing the research question: What are the challenges and conflicts of interest that hinder the decision-making process in the reuse of buildings? Using a semi-systematic literature review complemented by thematic analysis, this research identifies 75 sub-challenges grouped into 10 overarching themes: (1) economic viability and financial challenges, (2) building conditions, (3) design-technical challenges, (4) location challenges, (5) decision making, (6) policy and regulations, (7) knowledge, capacity, and skills, (8) culture, perception, and awareness, (9) surrounding community, and (10) timeline. The study highlights the strong interconnections between these themes, with economic and financial challenges emerging as a central factor influencing many others. Current research on building reuse often adopts a narrow disciplinary focus, lacks a global multidisciplinary perspective, and overlooks interdisciplinary connections, with limited focus on residential buildings. This paper's originality lies in addressing these gaps by categorizing the challenges of reuse of residential buildings from multiple disciplines into a comprehensive framework, , providing a resource for researchers, educators, policymakers, and practitioners to address the challenges of building reuse and informing the development of decision-support tools. construction sector has increased greenhouse gas emissions by 45% since 199045% since (Foster, 2020;;WEF, 2016). Reuse of buildings can reduce demolition waste, CO2-equivalent emissions by 34-48% and material usage by 72%, while conserving approximately 56% of embodied energy compared to constructing a new apartment building (Young, 2008;Cellucci, 2021). Similarly, a study suggests that reuse of an entire building can preserve up to 95% of embodied energy (Gursel et al., 2023). With embodied energy as a key driver, there is strong literature consensus on the environmental benefits of reuse (