Description
The Italian territory is characterized by the presence of numerous degraded buildings, which consequently experience significant depreciation due to their age and obsolescence, resulting in a reduction in their attributed value. This phenomenon is observed in various areas of the country, both in large cities and small urban centers. Degraded properties pose a problem from an aesthetic perspective, as they contribute to a negative visual impact on the surrounding environment and can affect the quality of life of local communities. They also present socioeconomic challenges considering the costs required to restore degraded buildings to normal conditions of use. Indeed, there is a clear relationship between depreciation and the cost of intervention or maintenance of building structures. Well-maintained properties naturally experience much lower depreciation rates compared to properties that receive insufficient maintenance. The causes of property degradation can be multiple, with one of the main factors being the lack of maintenance, primarily due to inadequate property management by the owners, as well as the economic unsustainability of necessary redevelopment interventions. Degraded properties also pose an increasingly relevant challenge for local authorities and the entities responsible for land management. Similar to vehicles, aircraft, or ships, where salvage value can be a crucial element in the decision to replace them, it is essential to understand in the case of building structures when depreciation can be considered curable or incurable. The evaluation of whether depreciation is curable or not depends not only on the comparison between the cost of renovation/redevelopment and the cost of demolition and reconstruction but also on the urban rent, which is a determining factor. It is within this perspective that the authors attempt to define a threshold for demolition beyond which depreciation becomes irreversible.
