Urban Retrofitting to Advance Leaving Fossil Fuels Underground: Barriers, Opportunities, and Insights from Chicago, USA
Abstract: Retrofitting, defined as post-construction upgrades such as insulation; high-efficiency HVAC; and rooftop renewals, offers a cost-effective strategy to reduce residential energy use, decarbonise urban environments, and extend the life of existing housing stock. Despite the building sector accounting for 39% of global greenhouse gas emissions, retrofitting remains significantly under-implemented (UN, 2023). This thesis examines the barriers to and opportunities for retrofitting in urban communities by combining a global analysis with a case study of Chicago, USA. The findings of this study contribute to a broader understanding of how systemic constraints undermine equitable retrofitting in cities across both the Global North and South. Drawing on Socio-Technical Transitions theory (STT) and the Sustainable Urban Development framework (SUD), the study combines a literature and policy review, spatial analysis, and interviews to analyse institutional and equity dynamics. The results of these analyses will support three conclusions: (a) Retrofitting is hindered by five mutually enforcing barriers: structural/institutional (e.g. fragmented responsibility between city departments and utilities), economic/financial (e.g. limited access to upfront capital for low-income homeowners), knowledge-capacity (e.g. landlords and tenants lack information about retrofit benefits or programmes), social equity (e.g. renters risk displacement when landlords pass retrofit costs onto them), and physical/spatial (e.g. ageing multi-family buildings require costly, customised upgrades). These factors reduce the technical energy savings potential from 60% to roughly 25% (RMI, 2013). (b) Although technologies and policy instruments exist, these barriers result in programmes that are voluntary, underfunded, and poorly targeted. (c) Retrofitting homes is not only a climate imperative, but also a moral and social one, required to advance the goal of Leaving Fossil Fuels Underground. Without safeguards such as rent controls, targeted subsidies, and inclusive planning, sustainability measures risk reproducing spatial inequalities.