Replacement Housing is a private sector revitalizing process that recycles land and in some cases structure, converting them into new homes compatible with present lifestyle requirements. Because of the significant costs involved, it changes the physical formula of the house to one that is comparable to other higher priced homes. The new home doesn't compete directly with existing neighborhood homes but with others in other areas sharing the same price category. The replacement home must be comparable to those in terms of size, square footage, number of bedrooms and baths as well as in floor plans, features and amenities. This means that it will likely be different and larger than the average home in its immediate vicinity. Neighborhoods differ significantly in size, scale and price of their average homes, even though most have been platted into relatively standardized lots. The size, scale and mass oftheir structures are the variable, not so much their lot size.

The change in scale, size and mass of Replacement Housing is not a dissing of neighborhood values but an economic factor driven by market realities. It is in fact nothing more than the addition of new levels of housing to existing neighborhood composites dating from earlier times, creating greater economic diversity and choice; ie: mixed income development – a stated goal of enlightened municipal housing policy.

This transition is accompanied by a corresponding change in the definition of ‘neighborhood’ by a growing segment of the buying public. Traditionally it has been interpreted geographically by the housing and inhabitants immediately adjacent to ones residence; describing these in terms of styles, shape and conformity of the built environment that tends to segregate people by income, social status, education, etc. Increasingly this definition has been altered by today's more progressive buyers. ‘Neighborhood’ is fast

becoming a broader, more ethereal concept as one’s connections to affinity groups, friends, family, social peers, and co-workers are increasingly linked by digital technologies – creating a virtual neighborhood that does not necessarily include those living next door.

This challenges the idea of neighborhood compatibility, as do these market realities themselves. It shifts emphasis from the neighborhood to the house itself, which is then evaluated in terms of its specific ability to best meet its purchaser’s requirements for personal lifestyle expression and fulfillment. This shift is occurring within a growing percentage of the buying public who want new housing options in an urban context.

Replacement Housing provides economic diversity and revitalization to urban neighborhoods that, without it, have no where to go but down as their structures age and atrophy. It provides substantial benefits for all stakeholders as well, through its function and role in strengthening neighborhoods, helping maintain their vitality – re-building 21st century communities one house at a time.