Zurich doesn’t have a housing problem; it has a system problem.

Instead of extending the building stock, existing houses get torn down and new ones get built in their place.

A building consists of one-half structure and one-half community that uses it.

If a building gets torn down, the structure and community get destroyed.

But Zurich’s regulation promotes the replacement of existing houses indirectly to create more and better isolated living space.

This needs to change. Instead of Demolishing one and adding one, we should add half to the existing one. We get more, spend less and the people can stay.

1-1+1 < 1+0.5

To achieve this, the article 8 (Arealüberbauungen) of the BZO Zürich gets an additional article 8a. This article grants a utilization rate bonus of 50%, if the developer of the plot is able to keep the existing housing, structure and people.