Portland, Ore., bans demolition of century-old homes

Portland, Ore., is the first city in the country to ban the demolition of homes built in or before 1916.

Developers that want to replace homes with new ones must carefully deconstruct the buildings so that building materials can be salvaged. The city says that one-third of Portland homes demolished last year were 100 years old or older, and that about 20% of landfill waste is material from building construction and demolition.