Since so many cities have business districts full of huge office buildings, I wonder if it’s possible to repurpose them. If not, corporations are likely to find a way to pass the costs of maintenance and demolition to those municipalities (and taxpayers who live there). This has been in the back of my mind since that Oprah special on AI:
Even though the “experts” claim mass job loss in multiple industries is at least 10 years away, articles like this show we need strategies ASAP. If they are truly unsuitable for housing, what could be done with those buildings that might benefit the public?
Office buildings are quite a bit of work to convert to residential housing. Even if you get the correct number of fire exits and staircases and air ventilation and emergency evacuation flow, the re-developer still has to deal with building codes requiring daylighting into residential spaces because people tend to go a bit crazy in housing with no windows to the outside, even if the windows are not operable. There are plenty of Youtube videos by architects, real estate developers, urban planners and more. This one is probably too succinct but fwiw:
In Austin, one got repurposed as an entire community college campus.
Even if such solutions boil down to “it just takes time and money,” there are excellent social justice arguments to be made re: unhoused people living rough and empty office buildings.
Unfortunately, most corporations and entities that own office buildings are driven by profit and money, so having their unoccupied assets stay unoccupied, depreciating quietly yet effectively, sometimes pays better than any other scenario.
I like the campus idea! The thought of having large groups of people living above the 7-story level makes me nervous. The models for a few live / work apartment plans in my area have common areas at the top (rooftop / outdoor space), indoor entertainment space below that, followed by flex office space. Shops are at ground level and the second floor. Apartments, child care, elder care, and healthcare are located in the middle.
With all the glass involved, some skyscrapers have me wondering about the potential for urban agriculture vertical farming or energy production:
