Why Are We Demolishing Homes During a Housing Crisis? | Olaf Grawert | TED (Level 1)

When Paris Hilton lost her house in a fire, many people felt sad for her. They understood that a home is more than just walls and a roof. It holds memories. However, people destroy homes every day, not by accident, but on purpose. Builders often tear down old houses to build new ones. They do this to make more money. This is a big problem for the planet. Building new houses creates a lot of waste and pollution. In fact, the building industry creates more pollution than airplanes. But there is a better way. We can fix old buildings instead of destroying them. In France, a team of architects showed how to do this. They took an old apartment building and added new parts to it. They added big windows and balconies called "winter gardens." This made the apartments bigger and brighter. It was much cheaper than building a new house. Also, the families did not have to move out during the work. This proves that the best house is the one that is already built.