Editing Cemetery (section)

===Re-use of graves===
{{see also|Desecration of graves}}
[[File:Madrid cemetery DSCN1581.jpg|thumb|Cemetery excavations, like this one in [[Madrid]], can alleviate overcrowding.]]
All of these issues tend to put pressure on the re-use of grave sites within cemeteries. The re-use of graves already used for burial can cause considerable upset to family members. Although the authorities might declare that the grave is sufficiently old that there will be no human remains still present, nonetheless many people regard the re-use of graves (particularly their family's graves) as a [[desecration]]. Also re-use of a used grave involves the removal of any monuments and headstones, which may cause further distress to families (although families will typically be allowed to take away the monuments and headstones if they wish).

On the other hand, cemetery authorities are well aware that many old graves are forgotten and not visited and that their re-use will not cause distress to anyone. However, there may be some older graves in a cemetery for whom there are local and vocal descendants who will mount a public campaign against re-use. One pragmatic strategy is to publicly announce plans to re-use older graves and invite families to respond if they are willing or not. Re-use then only occurs where there are no objections allowing the "forgotten" graves to be re-used. Sometimes the cemetery authorities request a further payment to avoid re-use of a grave, but often this backfires politically.

A practical problem with regard to contacting families is that the person who initially purchased the burial plot(s) may have subsequently died and locating living family members, if any, many decades later is virtually impossible (or at least prohibitively expensive). Public notice about the proposed re-use of graves may or may not reach family members living further afield who may object to such practices. Therefore, it is possible that re-use could occur without family awareness.

Some cemeteries did foresee the need for re-use and included in their original terms and conditions a limited tenure on a grave site and most new cemeteries follow this practice, having seen the problems faced by older cemeteries. Common practice in Europe is to place bones in an [[ossuary]] after the proscribed burial period is over.<ref name="Planet Money">{{cite web| url= https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xYDYDThuJe4| archive-url= https://ghostarchive.org/varchive/youtube/20211030/xYDYDThuJe4| archive-date= 2021-10-30|title=Can Your Cemetery Really Bury You Forever? | work= [[Planet Money]]| publisher=  NPR| date=April 18, 2018|via=YouTube| accessdate= }}{{cbignore}}</ref>

However, even when the cemetery has the legal right to re-use a grave, strong public opinion often forces the authorities to back down on that re-use. Also, even when cemeteries have a limited tenure provision in place, funding shortages can force them to contemplate re-use earlier than the original arrangements provided for.

Another type of grave site considered for re-use are empty plots purchased years ago but never used. In principle it would seem easier to "re-use" such grave sites as there can be no claims of desecration, but often this is made complicated by the legal rights to be buried obtained by the pre-purchase, as any limited tenure clause only takes effect after there has been a burial. Again, cemetery authorities suspect that in many cases the holders of these burial rights are probably dead and that nobody will exercise that burial right, but again some families are aware of the burial rights they possess and do intend to exercise them as and when family members die. Again the difficulty of being unable to locate the holders of these burial rights complicates the re-use of those graves.

As historic cemeteries begin to reach their capacity for full burials, alternative memorialization, such as collective memorials for cremated individuals, is becoming more common. Different cultures have different attitudes to destruction of cemeteries and use of the land for construction. In some countries it is considered normal to destroy the graves, while in others the graves are traditionally respected for a century or more. In many cases, after a suitable period of time has elapsed, the headstones are removed and the now former cemetery is converted to a recreational park or construction site. A more recent trend, particularly in [[South America]]n cities, involves constructing high-rise buildings to house graves.<ref>{{cite web | url =http://www.emporis.com/en/bu/nc/ne/?id=101659
 | title= New trend: Cemetery Skyscrapers| website= [[Emporis]] |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20061111140859/http://www.emporis.com/en/bu/nc/ne/?id=101659 |archive-date= November 11, 2006 | url-status =usurped
 | access-date= }}</ref>

Cemeteries in the US may be relocated if the land is required for other reasons. For instance, many cemeteries in the southeastern United States were relocated by the [[Tennessee Valley Authority]] from areas about to be flooded by dam construction.<ref>{{cite web | url= http://www.tva.gov/river/landandshore/culturalresources/cemeteries.htm | title= Cemeteries Relocated by TVA| website = TVA.org | publisher = Tennessee Valley Authority | archiveurl= https://web.archive.org/web/20090826114007/http://tva.gov/river/landandshore/culturalresources/cemeteries.htm |archivedate=August 26, 2009| accessdate= July 13, 2009}}</ref> Cemeteries may also be moved so that the land can be reused for transportation structures,<ref>{{cite news | url= https://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=5020426 | title= O'Hare Growth May Mean Moving a Cemetery| archiveurl= https://web.archive.org/web/20211207234456/https://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=5020426 |archivedate=December 7, 2021 | website= NPR.org| date=November 19, 2005| accessdate= July 13, 2009}}</ref><ref>[http://clgrabbit.blogspot.com/2009/05/st-johannes-cemetery-relocation.html St. Johannes Cemetery Relocation.] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110708031357/http://clgrabbit.blogspot.com/2009/05/st-johannes-cemetery-relocation.html |date=July 8, 2011 }} Accessed July 13, 2009.</ref> public buildings,<ref>[http://www.tucsoncitizen.com/daily/local/114640.php "Remains in 19th century graves downtown ID'd as soldiers".] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160531231402/http://tucsoncitizen.com/daily/local/114640.php |date=May 31, 2016 }} ''The Tucson Citizen'', April 17, 2009. Accessed July 13, 2009.</ref> or even private development.<ref>[http://www.plattecountycitizen.com/PDF/7-4-07_News_Articles.pdf "Cemetery Relocation Battle Ongoing".] {{webarchive |url= https://web.archive.org/web/20080509064851/http://www.plattecountycitizen.com/PDF/7-4-07_News_Articles.pdf |date=May 9, 2008 }} ''Platte County Citizen'', July 4, 2007. Accessed July 13, 2009.</ref> Cemetery relocation is not necessarily possible in other parts of the world; in [[Alberta]], Canada, for instance, the ''Cemetery Act'' expressly forbids the relocation of cemeteries or the mass exhumation of marked graves for any reason whatsoever.<ref>{{Cite web| url= https://www.alberta.ca/cemeteries-registration.aspx| title=Cemeteries registration| website= alberta.ca| access-date= January 5, 2022| archive-date= January 5, 2022|archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20220105092359/https://www.alberta.ca/cemeteries-registration.aspx|url-status= live}}</ref> This has caused significant problems in the provision of transportation services to the southern half of [[Calgary]], as the main southbound road connecting the south end of the city with downtown threads through a series of cemeteries founded in the 1930s. The [[C-Train|light rail transit]] line running to the south end eventually had to be built directly under the road.

In Singapore, burials are limited to 15 years before graves are exhumed. This has led to a preference of cremation over burial among Singaporeans.<ref name= 2018Stats>{{cite web| url= https://www.cremation.org.uk/Singapore-2018|title=Singapore Cremation Statistics 2018| website= cremation.org.uk| publisher= The Cremation Society of Great Britain |access-date= 2020-12-21|
archive-date= January 11, 2023| archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20230111091002/https://www.cremation.org.uk/Singapore-2018|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=Crypt Burial System |url= https://www.nea.gov.sg/our-services/after-death/crypt-burial-system |access-date=2023-01-11 |website= nea.gov.sg |language=en |quote= The New Burial Policy, introduced in 1998 to address the issue of land scarcity, limits burial to 15 years. After this period, graves will be exhumed and the remains cremated or re-interred, depending on one's religious requirements. |archive-date= January 11, 2023 |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20230111090959/https://www.nea.gov.sg/our-services/after-death/crypt-burial-system |url-status=live }}</ref>