
“A hopeful anthology of solutions for our hot, crowded planet.”
– Renée Loth, AchitectureBoston magazine
“This book teaches us the possibilities of re-connecting cities and citizens through innovative solutions instigated by the people who best know the needs.” – Dr. Atsushi Deguchi, University of Tokyo
The need for adaptive reuse has never been more critical. Cities have long believed in abundance: more materials to use, more resources to consume, more land to develop—more of everything, available as needed. Abundance is an outdated belief, no longer sustainable nor realistic.
The new urban reality is one of limited resources. Whether spatial, financial, or material, the assets available to cities are finite. A sustainable future requires a new spirit of resourcefulness to shift attitudes from using more to doing more with the resources at hand. For while the content of cities may be finite, the context of how we use that content will transform cities from limited palettes of resources into platforms of possibility. Reprogramming the City reveals new contexts of use for existing urban content.
Here is what people have said about Reprogramming the City and its mission of adaptive reuse through repurposing and reimagining the function of urban assets:
“Anyone reading Scott Burnham’s essential book will emerge reassured by the transformative power of creativity in the world’s urban centers that is still within our grasp.” – Renée Loth, AchitectureBoston
About Reprogramming the City and Adaptive Reuse
Reprogramming the City reveals how cities around the world are employing adaptive reuse by reimagining and repurposing existing urban assets to benefit residents by doing more with what they already have.

From billboards in Lima, Peru repurposed to generate clean drinking water, to bus shelters in Umeå, Sweden that swapped their advertising lights for anti-SADD light therapy tubes. The new lights give commuters a mood boost during dark winter months, Reprogramming the City uncovers a new spirit of urban repurposing and reuse that is transforming cities around the world.

Reprogramming the City features over 40 richly-illustrated projects from numerous cities across 17 countries. The book offers an unparalleled collection of real-world examples of how existing urban elements are being reimagined to perform alternate functions, or assume entirely new roles in the city.
The book is organized into the thematic chapters of Food and Water, Housing and Shelter, Health and Wellbeing, Energy and Ecology and Renewal and Recovery, showing how the full range of human needs can be realized from the assets cities already have in place through adaptive reuse.

Reprogramming the City features:
- 44 projects from 17 countries
- 214 pages with over 300 color photographs and illustrations
- A new paradigm of resourceful urbanism that designs with the city, not for it.

Projects featured in Reprogramming the City include:
FOOD AND WATER
Water Billboard | Lima, Peru Repurposing a billboard to produce fresh drinking water for local residents
Air Orchard | Lima, Peru Growing pollution free produce with a water billboard-fed irrigation system
Borneo Project | Montreal, Canada Adaptive Reuse of fire hydrants into public drinking fountains
LA20 | Los Angeles, USA Repurposing concrete river viaducts into farming and desalinating water systems
BuzzBuilding | Stockholm, Sweden Reimagining traffic roundabouts as food production and growing areas
Growing Underground | London, UK Producing local food in abandoned subway tunnels beneath stores and restaurants
Fenway Farms | Boston, USA Converting disused areas of the iconic baseball park into an urban farm
T5 Farm | New York, USA Growing air-to-table food at JFK’s Depature Terminal
Kääntöpöytä | Helsinki, Finland Rejuvenating an abandoned train turntable into organic food hub
GroCycle Urban Mushroom Farm | Exeter, UK Converting abandoned office space and spent coffee grounds into a mushroom farming business
ENERGY AND ECOLOGY
Culture Urbaine | Geneva, Switzerland Repurposing a motorway bridge into a CO2-eating, fuel-producing unit
SolaRoad | Krommenie, NL Transforming roads and bike paths into energy-producing surfaces
Pavegen | London, UK Reducing the city’s energy footprint by generating power from pedestrian footsteps
LucidPipe | Portland, USA Generating hydro power from water flowing through under city streets
Open Air | Los Angeles, USA Cleaning and cooling urban air by replacing billboard advertising units with bamboo forests
Energy Column | Minneapolis, USA Using building height and waste energy to produce power onsite
Climate Tiles | Copenhagen, Denmark Increasing the functionality of sidewalk tiles to utilize water and prevent flooding
Kungsbrohuset | Stockholm, Sweden Harnessing the energy generated by commuters to heat buildings
HOUSING AND SHELTER
Grünerløkka Studenthus | Oslo, Norway Adaptive Reuse of industrial grain silos into student housing
HAWSE | London, UK Converting abandoned parking units into housing for recently homeless individuals
paraSITE | Cambridge, USA Using building HVAC vents inflate and warm pop-up homeless shelters
LIFT | Honolulu, USA Converting disused pubic transportation buses into homeless shelters and service units
LOL | London, UK Reimagining Victorian train viaducts as affordable housing units
Arcade Providence | Providence, USA Converting America’s first enclosed mall into a model for micro housing
SCADPad | Atlanta, USA Using underused parking garages as adaptive housing units
The Billboard House | Mexico City, Mexico Creating an agile housing unit from a billboard structure
HEALTH AND WELLBEING
Ljusterapi | Umeå, Sweden Improving commuter mental health by replacing bus stop lights with light therapy tubes
Lampbrella | Saint Petersburg, Russia Tactical urbanism, transforming street lights into rain-activated pop-up umbrellas
The Cascade | Hong Kong Increasing the functionality of an urban stairway with a micro park for relaxation and social gatherings
Lido Line | London, UK Proposing a commuter swimming line as future use for abandoned industrial canals
Soft Walks | New York, USA Bolt-on seating and dining areas to repurpose New York’s scaffolding sidewalk sheds
La Grande Cantine | Paris, France Tactical Urbanism that tranforms cement waterfront stairs into picnic areas and social spaces
Marsupial Bridge | Milwaukee, USA Reusing legacy infrastructure to support green transportation and community life
Lava Mae | San Francisco, USA Providing mobile sanitation services with repurposed city busses
RENEWAL AND RECOVERY
A1 Charging Booths | Vienna, Austria Adaptive Reuse of underused public payphone booths as electronic car charging stations
EV Charging Call Box | Baltimore, USA Converting old urban call boxes into Electric Vehicle charging stations
Under the Bridge | Stockholm, Sweden Finding opportunity for new pedestrian use and cultural spaces in an underused bridge
Goedzak | Amsterdam, NL Augmenting the city’s trash collection systems with a free cycling system for unwanted goods
City Tickets | Boston, USA Adaptive Reuse of multi-space parking pay machines into fault-reporting and public suggestion units
(IN)spires | London, UK Converting disused church spires into studios and creative industry incubators
Urban Mining | Norrköping, Sweden Recovering and recycling metals from outdated infrastructure beneath the city
The Park-Ing | Tokyo, Japan Designing studios, galleries and retail spaces into an underused parking garage
First Class Meal | Los Angeles, USA Adaptive Reuse of abandoned and underused postal facilities for community food services