Powering the energy transition at the district level_Cities4PEDs_AWB_final

POWERING
THE ENERGY
TRANSITION AT
THE DISTRICT
LEVEL
A practical guide
for local
initiators

This resource book is part of a toolkit that
will equip you to co-design the sequence
of actions for an inclusive (re)development
of your neighbourhood. A series of Portraits
takes you on an inspiring journey along
districts across Europe that are maximizing
their energy efficiency and production.
We dissected their insights, tools and
breakthroughs on how to prepare, coordinate,
empower, finance and evaluate this co-creation
process. Eleven operational Keys and nine
fundamental Considerations structure
a practical method and a set of building
blocks for you to start working with.

Table of contents
INTRODUCTION
The district as driver of the energy transition
CHAPTER 1
Portraits of PED experiments
11 3
PORTRAIT 1. Northern Quarter, Brussels 15
PORTRAIT 2. aspern Seestadt, Vienna 31
PORTRAIT 3. Stockholm Royal Seaport, Stockholm 43
PORTRAIT 4. Bospolder-Tussendijken, Rotterdam 57
PORTRAIT 5. Lyon Confluence, Lyon 71
PORTRAIT 6. Georgian Quarter, Limerick 85
CHAPTER 2
Keys for realizing PEDs
99
KEY 1.
KEY 2.
KEY 3.
KEY 4.
KEY 5.
KEY 6.
KEY 7.
KEY 8.
KEY 9.
KEY 10.
KEY 11.
How to analyse the local context103
How to empower local stakeholders113
Which district targets do we set127
How to co-design the step-by-step strategy139
Who coordinates the multi-stakeholder process151
Which projects can become catalysts161
How to finance inclusive,
long-term development173
How to multiply skills and capacity185
How to activate city instruments193
How to monitor and evaluate progress203
Which enabling environment is needed215
CHAPTER 3
Considerations
227
Quick result vs Deep transformation231
Energy as a goal vs Energy as a means235
Urban renewal vs Gentrification239
Empowering vs Unburdening243
Energy infrastructure first vs Renovation first247
District-based vs Citywide approach251
Experimentation first vs Regulation first255
International standards vs Local culture and context259
Technical vs Social innovation263
EPILOGUE
For a wave of energy districts
267
Glossary273
List of practices277
Literature list283
On Cities4PEDs287
Colophon289

POWERING
THE ENERGY
TRANSITION AT
THE DISTRICT
LEVEL
A practical
guide
for local
initiators
October 2023
Authors
Hanne Mangelschots
Chiara Cicchianni
Joachim Declerck
Research consortium
Architecture Workroom Brussels
Urban Innovation Vienna GmbH
City of Stockholm
City of Brussels
City of Vienna
City Mine(d)
3E NV
FH Technikum Wien
Wien 3420 aspern Development AG
Vienna University of Business and Economics
Energy Cities
Publisher
Architecture Workroom Brussels,
independent innovation house for
transformation

2

INTRODUCTION
3
The district as driver
of the energy transition
This toolkit equips local initiators with
a method and a set of building blocks to realize
the energy transition at district level. It bundles
a multitude of urban experiments, tools and
testimonies that will inspire anyone with a morethan-average
interest in the transition of our cities
and energy systems. Accounting for 35% of all
energy-related greenhouse gas emissions, our
built environment is a crucial lever to decarbonize
our society by 2050. Its transformation is one
of the more complex and multidimensional
challenges society is facing in every city and
village in Europe. But today, the built environment
is lagging behind in the energy transition. All our
creative capacity must be oriented towards
INTRODUCTION
The district as driver of the energy transition

con ceiving and implementing strategies that
reduce the energy demand of our buildings by
40% while connecting them to 100% renewable
energy sources.
But why realize this major transition at the
district scale? As Europe’s energy transition affects
all households and organizations in every single
district, the transformation can only materialize
when they actively participate. We need a double
shift: a change in the energy use of citizens, companies
and institutions on the one hand, and a
fundamental transformation of the physical infrastructure
that makes up our energy systems,
buildings and public spaces on the other. Working
in and with the neighbourhood allows us to realize
these two transitions in an integrated, collective
and inclusive way. And it presents a unique
opportunity to embed the necessary technical
investments in energy efficiency and production
into a broader motivation: to achieve a more
qualitative and healthier living environment for all.
4
An approach to the energy transition at
district level is what cities, nation states and the
European Union are calling for. With the ambition
of realizing 100 Positive Energy Districts (PEDs) by
2025 as part of its Strategic Energy Technology
Plan, Europe gave a boost to experiments across
the continent. Rather than placing some of these
exemplary cases on a pedestal, this toolkit dissects
them. A series of Portraits reveals the importance

of a strong governance structure and co-creation
process, of the empowerment of local communities,
or of effective city instruments. This Resource
identifies a series of such operational Keys and
more fundamental Considerations that initiators
and partners face when setting up those
processes. It documents and structures the
practical methods and tools they tested for you
to start working with. This toolkit allows you to
stand on the shoulders of many experiences in
different parts of Europe. So that you can push
one step further when pursuing the energy
transition in the next district.
5
Empowering local initiators in
co-creation processes
This publication is written from the vantage point of the stakeholders that
come together around the table to co-create a district (re)development. It looks
through the eyes of the initiators that are guiding or listening in on the conversation.
They notice how contributions jump from good but vague intentions to
very concrete but anecdotal actions. The moderator has a hard time structuring
the conversation and finding common ground between so many voices. Very
practical questions are formulated. When and where would it be logical to
start with a first project? Should they first connect with existing neighbourhood
organizations and dynamics? Should they focus on energy matters in their
strategy or include other aspects that citizens find more important? Is what
they are imagining too ambitious or risky for banks to provide standard loans?
This group of stakeholders is looking for inspiration and a method to define a
sequence of concrete actions that add up to a Positive Energy District (PED).
At this co-creation table, it becomes clear that the success of
a district energy transition depends on the quality of the co-creative process.
In both existing districts and new neighbourhoods, a diversity of stakeholders
from different backgrounds and disciplines joins the conversation: urban
planners, energy experts, community organizations, developers, social housing
companies, energy providers, financiers, residents … Each of their viewpoints
is needed and each of their contributions must be integrated. When the people
around this table formulate targets, these will focus either on energy-technical,
socio-economic or purely economic aspects, on spatial quality or on climate
adaptation. One of the stakeholders wants to go quick, as they now have the
political backing and budgets, while the one sitting across the table needs
more time to align their planning with that of others. Each of the participants
realizes that they can’t move forward in isolation. They are part of one big
domino game. Opening the street to install a heat network, for example, is the
ideal moment to improve the quality and climate robustness of public spaces.
INTRODUCTION
The district as driver of the energy transition

This in turn affects the mobility system and parking spaces, which implies that
the mobility transition of this district needs to be taken into account in the
redesign of its public spaces. And the heat network can only be connected to
houses that have been renovated to be sufficiently energy-efficient. A systemic
approach and integrated projects aren’t a luxury: they’re a condition for a
successful district (re)development.
If you participate once in such a stakeholder meeting, you’ll
share the conviction that the energy transition at district level is a multi-actor,
multidisciplinary, multi-target and multi-annual endeavour. The fact that no
single measure or procedure will suffice to get the job done is frightening. But
when different stakeholders and investments reinforce each other in a creative
process, this is extremely rewarding and leads to powerful results. The better
we are able to structure and guide a co-creative process, the more we can
activate the chain reactions needed.
Pooling insights from a diversity of
experiments
This flywheel effect is not as far away as it may seem. The ongoing experiments
in European cities already show us the catalytic dynamics that can be achieved
by connecting sectors, actors and targets. In one case, a city authority pushes
developers to go beyond building standards and reach for maximum energy
efficiency. In another district, the empowerment of local stakeholders leads to
an unexpectedly high sense of co-ownership around an inventive solar energy
project. In yet another city, an innovative rolling fund enables residents with
insufficient financial means to participate in a district renovation scheme.
None of these districts is successful on all fronts. A contemporary map of
Europe’s district energy transition would show a confetti-like sprinkling of
diverse breakthroughs. To move from these scattered singular experiments to
a consolidated practice, the multitude of lessons learned requires pooling and
structuring. With this toolkit, we want to contribute to the incremental development
of an increasingly mature practice and to push the energy transition at
district scale to a next phase of targeted experimentation.
The groundwork for this toolkit was realized within the
European action research project ‘Cities4PEDs’ that ran from early 2021
until the spring of 2023. A multidisciplinary coalition of city authorities,
energy experts, developers, designers, neighbourhood workers and innovation
organizations from Vienna, Stockholm and Brussels joined forces to advance
the implementation strategies for PEDs. The project combined three work
methods: in-depth research on different dimensions of the district energy
transition; recurrent intervisioning and exchange with researchers, local
initiators and parallel research projects; and test-running practical methods
to co-design a strategy and actions in three local district labs. Cities4PEDs
made it possible to harvest, unravel and combine lessons learned from diverse
ongoing experiments throughout Europe. These learnings were further explored
and developed into a series of topical research reports, each of which was
written by one of the project’s lead partners, each with their own expertise.
At the end of this Resource, you will find an overview of these reports and
a link that allows you to explore them further.
As coordinators of Cities4PEDs, we combined the accumulated
learnings and reports in this practical guide for local initiators. We
complemented them with our own ‘learnings by doing’ from our involvement
in district experiments in Belgium and the Netherlands. Moderating co-creation
tables with initial coalitions of the willing or engaging diverse stakeholders in
the co-design of a step-by-step process: these are the situations, role plays and
exchanges we kept in mind when editing this toolkit for Positive Energy Districts.
6

Can all districts become a
‘Positive Energy District’?
7
Yes. We are convinced this should be the aim. We propose a definition of
Positive Energy Districts that can mobilize all districts in Europe, new and
existing, to become drivers of the energy transition. While PEDs are often
described more narrowly, as districts that produce more renewable energy than
they consume, in this toolkit, we use the term to refer to all (re)development
projects that incorporate the following five dimensions:
1. A high ambition for energy efficiency and the overall
energy balance
A PED is as ambitious in lowering the energy demand and
energy losses as it is in maximizing the system efficiency and
local energy production. The target is to reach the maximum
energy balance possible in the specific district.
2. A focus and targets on more liveable, qualitative
and sustainable districts
A PED also targets quality of life, socio-economic aspects and
sustainability. The upgrading of homes and neighbourhoods,
employment opportunities and social cohesion are considered
essential dimensions of PEDs. Inclusivity also means equal
opportunities for all different groups and minorities in the
local (re)development process.
3. The delineation of a district as a socio-spatial entity that
transcends the project level
A neighbourhood is a part of the urban fabric that is larger
than a single project or large plot of land. It is both a physical
and a social entity, defined by communities with different
forms of belonging to this urban fabric. Since energy targets
can only be achieved by changing the demand and supply of
renewable energy, a PED always touches on the spatial and
social dimensions of the district.
4. An incremental process of (re)development
The (re)development of a district is more than the implementation
of a master plan drawn at the start of a project. A PED is
a step-by-step process that includes building up partnerships,
setting up actions that empower local stakeholders, initiating
first integrated pilot projects, monitoring consistently and
mainstreaming the implementation. To ensure that the actions
and projects add up to the shared targets, flexibility and regular
adaptation of the process on the basis of progressive insights
are needed.
5. An approach to build, mobilize and connect capacities
The need for the right (and sufficient) skills and competences
is an often forgotten but crucial dimension for the (re)development
of PEDs. From citizens to energy providers, developers,
contractors, neighbourhood organizations and different policy
departments: capacities need to be strengthened and linked.
These five dimensions pay equal attention to the ambitious outcome that
should be achieved as they do to the road to get there. The energy performance,
the broader benefits, the activation of district characteristics, a step-by-step
process and the needed capacity-building: they are all part of the PED practice.
All district projects that address these five dimensions are considered Positive
Energy Districts in the making.
INTRODUCTION
The district as driver of the energy transition

Portraits, Keys and Considerations
We call the volume that you are now holding in your hands the Resource. It is
a collection of inspiring experiences, tools and insights from as many energy
districts. It structures the key questions local initiators face. As a local initiator,
researcher or energy aficionado, you can read this Resource as a book,
from beginning to end. Or you can browse through it and first dive into those
parts that interest you most. You can also use it in combination with the other
elements of the toolkit and put the building blocks into practice in your
ongoing PED processes.
The Resource consists of three chapters. In ‘Chapter 1:
Portraits of PED experiments’, we dissect six experimental projects in Sweden,
Belgium, Austria, the Netherlands, France and Ireland. The Portraits invite
you to dive deep into a mix of new and existing urban districts. You’ll discover
the specific local contexts and fabrics, which types of analysis were carried
out, and which targets were set in terms of energy efficiency and balance. What
are the organizational and social dynamics, and which methods and tools have
been tested? In each Portrait, we unravel a number of specific experiments,
innovations and breakthroughs.
‘Chapter 2: Keys for realizing PEDs’ forms the heart of the
Resource. It structures the insights and learnings from a multitude of district
experiments under eleven key operational dimensions of PED developments:
how to empower local stakeholders; which district targets need to be set; how
to finance inclusive, long-term development; etc. Each of the Keys starts with
an outline that introduces why this operational dimension is important and
what its specific challenges and opportunities are. The second part of each Key
presents a selection of relevant and complementary ‘building blocks’: concrete
methods, tools or actions that will inspire your work. Each of these blocks is
rooted in concrete experiences and is documented with a best practice. The
toolkit provides a playing card for each building block: you can use them to
co-design a sequence of actions pertinent for your district.
Every PED process is a sequence of steps and choices that
stakeholders make together. When weighing the potential directions you have
on the table, you inevitably and sometimes unconsciously face conflicting
logics. ‘Chapter 3: Considerations’ offers you a series of nine tensions we identified.
How do you deal with the unwanted gentrification that is often directly
linked to the revitalization of neighbourhoods? Do you opt for quick results
first or go for a deep transformation immediately? Is energy the main focus
in your narrative or is it a lever for other challenges in the neighbourhood?
This chapter helps you to voice and discuss these underlying questions with
your coalition of stakeholders. The idea is not to solve these tensions, but to
position your own district strategy in relation to each of the Considerations.
‘For a Wave of Energy Districts’. With this title, the epilogue
places an exclamation mark at the end of this Resource. Where do we want to
be by 2030? We formulate three calls for action that we believe are necessary
to get there. When heard and implemented, these will ensure that today’s
sprinkling of experiments will evolve towards a structured practice.
8

CHAPTER 1
Portraits of
PED experiments
11
What do actual PEDs look like? This
chapter illustrates the directions that PEDs can
take, through six illustrated Portraits of very
different neighbourhoods in as many countries.
They are a sample of the first generation of districts
across Europe that aim to become Positive
Energy Districts. The selected neighbourhoods
may have similarities, but they mostly provide
complementary insights and breakthroughs on
initiating a PED. These six experiments exemplify
the five dimensions of PEDs we elaborated in
the general introduction of this resource.
CHAPTER 1. Portraits of PED experiments

First, each of the cases maximizes its
energy performance and local production. While
none of them produce more energy locally than
they consume, they do explore how they can
reach the maximum possible energy balance.
The efforts involved to install PV panels on all
roofs, provide individual heat pumps or a central
heat grid, build highly energy-efficient buildings or
go through deep renovations in existing buildings
are titanic.
Second, all of them combine energy
targets with ambitions in terms of climate
adaptation, local employment or living quality.
Some experi ments go even further: they explicitly
position investments in the energy transition as
a means to realize other local benefits. In the
Northern Quarter of Brussels (BE), for example,
experiments by local communities test how the
energy transition can become a lever to improve
housing quality, public safety and the socioeconomic
position of residents in the area.
12
Third, the six districts show how a ‘neighbourhood’
transcends the scale of an individual
plot. They are of a significant scale. But there are
still large differences in how these districts are
delineated: the historical Georgian Quarter in
Limerick (IE), for example, is ‘only’ 0.35 km2 large
and has 3,000 inhabitants, while aspern Seestadt
in Vienna (AT) covers 2.40 km2 and will be home
to 20,000 residents once finished. These geo-

graphical delineations are always linked to social
dynamics and movements, and vice versa. For
each of them, we recognize how specificities of
the local context and historic developments play a
role in the analysis of the neighbourhood potential
and in the choice for the strategic actions.
13
Fourth, all these districts are going
through a step-by-step development process.
We see districts in different stages of the process,
from very early explorations to more mature, stepby-step
implementations. Lyon Confluence (FR),
a mixed new and existing district, started its
(re)development process in 1999. Lessons are
learned throughout the sequence of actions
and projects, for example on the affordability of
housing. These are taken into account in the next
phases of development.
And fifth, all of the neighbourhoods focus
on building local capacity, each in their own way.
In Bospolder-Tussendijken in Rotterdam (NL),
local residents become the ones installing the
new energy infrastructure via a social employment
programme. The urgent need for more job opportunities
is taken into account in the district strategy.
But also in the Stockholm Royal Seaport (SE),
a newly built district, it appeared necessary
to increase the capacity and know ledge of
developers and contractors to implement the
PED strategy.
CHAPTER 1. Portraits of PED experiments

14
In conclusion, there is more to Positive
Energy Districts than technical challenges alone.
PEDs deal just as much with activating different
stakeholders, communicating about goals, building
local capacity, ensuring continuity, financing
‘unprofitable’ aspects of district development and
much more. The six experiments in this chapter
show different approaches to this co-creative
process. The Portraits allow us to learn from
the diversity of insights and tools.

PORTRAIT 1
15
Northern Quarter,
Brussels
Northern Quarter
covers 150 ha
16,000 inhabitants
Pentagon
covers 461 ha
51,566 inhabitants

A district in continuous transformation
The Northern Quarter in Brussels has
gone through major transformations. In the 1960s, some
10,000 residents of this popular area were evicted to make way
for what was set to become a new business district at the heart
of Europe. The residential area was abruptly altered into a
fragmented neighbourhood where individual terraced houses
and cafés existed alongside the new office towers and small
industrial activities benefiting from proximity to the canal.
Today, several urban development projects are under way
that will significantly change the area’s character again.
1. Driven by modernization
ambitions, the so-called Manhattan
Plan involved the demolition of a
large part of the former residential
area with the aim of attracting
investors to the city. By 1976
the World Trade Center (WTC)
towers 1 and 2 had already been
built. But for several decades, the
rest of the master plan remained
unfinished and left a physical and
social vacuum in the area.
1.1 World Trade Center (WTC)
towers 1 and 2, Manhattan Plan
© CIVA Collections, Brussels
1.1
16

2. The district is composed
of contrasting spatial and social
realities as a result of these transformations.
The density of the
area increased at the end of the
nineteenth century with the development
of industrial activity along
the canal. Many of the remaining
terraced houses and their groundfloor
workshops predate the 1960s,
while the office towers and apartment
blocks were built from the
late twentieth century onward.
2.1 Aerial view of the Northern
Quarter, showing the very
heterogeneous nature of
the district
© Filip Dujardin
2.2 Foyer Laekenois social
housing block with office
building in the background
© Bob van Mol
2.3 Typical local shop in the
Northern Quarter, on the
ground floor of a densely
populated apartment block
© Architecture Workroom
Brussels
17
2.1
2.2
2.3
CHAPTER 1. Portraits of PED experiments
PORTRAIT 1 – Northern Quarter, Brussels

3. The legacy of urban renewal
continues to this day. The former
bed of the river Zenne is being
reconfigured as a linear park
through the inner areas of the
district’s blocks. The WTC towers
that once stood alone in a desolate
landscape are being dismantled
and rebuilt according to new
circular principles. Similarly, the
construc tion of new apartments,
a sports tower, the conversion of
the fire station and a cultural hub
around the former car factory aim
to glue together the patches of this
dispersed district. The transformation
of the ‘Manhattan’ area into a
more mixed neighbourhood is still
receiving a lot of attention today.
Will the residential areas behind
it be more than an afterthought in
this next development phase?
3.1 Parc de la Senne in
the Masui area
© Contrat de Quartier Masui
3.2 Project for the renovation
of Kanal Centre Pompidou
(former car factory) in
the Northern Quarter
© Secchi Smith for Atelier
Kanal (noArchitecten,
Sergison Bates architects,
EM2N)
3.3 Construction site of the
new ZIN tower, former World
Trade Center towers 1 and 2
© Bob van Mol
3.1 3.2
3.3
18

Energy potential in local,
collective projects
Like most of the built fabric in Belgium,
the Northern Quarter runs mainly on individual gas boilers
and electricity generated by nuclear power. With the goal
of becoming climate-neutral by 2050, the City of Brussels
decided to explore how this district could become exemplary
as a PED. The analyses and simulations highlight the importance
of energy sharing and collective projects. Behavioural
change among all users in the area is also crucial.
4. In its Majority Agreement
2018-24, as well as in the most
recent Smart City Strategy 2023,
the City of Brussels declared its
ambition to implement a first PED
in the Northern Quarter. Energy
targets are linked to biodiversity
and smart city ambitions. To this
end, the municipality has defined
two lines of action that seek to
combine technological ambitions
and a participatory approach:
improving local energy efficiency
through the renovation of existing
buildings and the development of
new high-performance buildings;
and increasing the use of renewable
energy through the installation
of new energy infrastructures
such as electrical storage units
in the district.
4.1 Majority Agreement 2018-2024
© City of Brussels
4.2 Smart City Strategy 2023
© City of Brussels
19
4.1
4.2
CHAPTER 1. Portraits of PED experiments
PORTRAIT 1 – Northern Quarter, Brussels

5. An energy analysis by 3E
shows that the potential for local
renewable energy in the Northern
Quarter lies mainly in solar, geothermal
and riothermal energy.
While there is a lot of potential in
absolute terms (e.g. for PV panels),
the self-sufficiency of most buildings
does not exceed 30% due to
a mismatch between production
and consumption times. Sharing
energy among actors with different
consumption patterns has been put
forward as a decisive element in the
district’s energy strategy.
5.1 Map illustrating
the PV potential in
the Northern Quarter
© 3E, Architecture Workroom
Brussels, Coordination
Platform Brussels
Self-consumption (%)
70%
60%
50%
40%
30%
20%
10%
5.2 Regarding the district’s
consumption patterns, the
analysis shows that even if
the production/consumption
ratio were to increase, the
self-sufficiency rate would
stabilize at a level of 30%
for the entire district
© 3E, Coordination Platform
Brussels
Self-consumption
Self-sufficiency
5.2
0%
0 0.5 1 1.5 2 2.5 3 3.5 4 4.5
5.1
PV potential [kWh/year]
1 - 2500
2500 - 4500
4500 - 7000
7000 - 10000
10000 <
20
Production/consumption ratio

6. Different scenarios for
the energy performance of the
Northern Quarter were simulated
by FH Technikum Wien and 3E.
In the most ambitious simulation,
about half of the energy consumed
can be produced locally. This
scenario entails the renovation
of 92% of the building stock
(50% collective renovations and
42% individual renovations), a
combination of district heating
and low-temperature heat pumps,
the installation of PV on 80% of
the roof area, an 8% reduction
in energy consumption through
behavioural changes, and a further
17% reduction in consumption by
lowering the indoor temperature
to 19°.
6.1 Table and graph illustrating
the simulated scenarios for
the Northern Quarter
© 3E, FH Technikum Wien,
Cities4PEDs
7. These suggestions and
reflections have been taken up
by the City of Brussels in a Vision
Document for the district. The
document provides an overview of
the relevant aspects of PED implementation
in the area, defines local
ambitions, and shapes priorities
and next steps. A key next step for
the Northern Quarter is to link
and integrate the process towards
a PED with other ongoing plans
and interventions in the district.
21
Specific final energy [kWh/m 2 GFA *a]
140
120
100
80
60
40
20
Electricity
Gas SH
Gas DHW
District Heating SH
District Heating DHW
PV yield
Density context factor
0
Demand
Supply
Demand
Supply
Demand
Supply
Demand
Supply
Demand
Supply
Demand
Supply
Demand
Supply
1
Baseline
2
Generic Policy
3
AI Floor Heating
4
AI Radiators
5
AC BC
6
AC no BC
7
Excellence
Renovation RE production Behavioural change
# Scenarios
Renovation
rate
U-values Heating PV rate
Desired
comfort
DHW
reduction
1 Baseline 0% Based on Tabula
research 2 Gas heating Currently installed 21°C 0%
2 Generic policy 1%/year roof/walls/floors =
0.24
windows = 1.5
glazing = 1.1
doors = 2
Heat pumps
(SH)
0.8%/year
(22.5% in 2050)
21°C 5%
3 Ambitious individual –
floor heating
3%/year “ Lowtemperature
heat pumps
(SH & DHW)
1.43%/year
(40% in 2050)
19°C 15%
4 Ambitious individual –
radiator heating
3%/year “ Hightemperature
heat pumps
(SH & DHW)
1.43%/year
(40% in 2050)
19°C 15%
5 Ambitious collective –
behavioural change
10%/2 years
until 50%
“ District
heating
70% per step (35%
in 2050)
19°C 15%
6.1
6 Ambitious collective –
no behavioural change
1.5%/year
10%/2 years
until 50%
1.5%/year
Hightemperature
heat pumps
(SH & DHW)
“ District
heating
Hightemperature
heat pumps
(SH & DHW)
7 Excellence 3.7% “ Lowtemperature
heat pumps
(SH & DHW)
SH = Space Heating, DHW = Domestic Hot Water
0.9%/year
(25% in 2050)
70% per step (35%
in 2050)
0.9%/year
(25% in 2050)
2.85 %/year (80%
in 2050)
21°C 5%
19°C 25%
CHAPTER 1. Portraits of PED experiments
PORTRAIT 1 – Northern Quarter, Brussels

Involving local communities in a shared
energy transition
The residential areas of the Northern Quarter
are home to diverse communities and a combination of
long-established and immigrant families, many of who live
in precarious socio-economic situations. Due to historical
tensions with urban development and an ongoing feeling
of neglect, distrust of formal, top-down organizations and
transformation plans is strong. A cluster of six social housing
blocks, managed by the Foyer Laekenois, was proposed as
a test bed for reversing this narrative. By building trust and
setting up a process of co-creation, residents are encouraged
to take on an active role in the transformation process of their
homes and the district as a whole.
8.1
8. The six social housing estates
of the Foyer Laekenois are due for
major refurbishment over the next
decade. The unclear time frame of
the renovation process is one of the
main concerns of residents today.
Some of the houses are in such an
unsafe and unhealthy condition that
they can’t wait any longer for the
refurbishment to take place, while
others are worried that they will be
evicted during the refurbishment
process. The mismatch between
top-down decisions and bottom-up
realities fuels mistrust of (new)
public and private actors.
8.1 Surroundings of
the Foyer Laekenois
© Daniel Parnitzke
8.2 City Mine(d) in the Northern
Quarter with their Energy
Trailer, opening discussions
with residents about energy
and local issues
© Daniel Parnitzke
8.3 Energy Trailer in
the Northern Quarter
© Daniel Parnitzke
8.3
8.2
22

9. In this context, City Mine(d),
a local non-profit organization,
initiated a four-year process to
co-design an urban windmill with
residents of the Foyer Laekenois,
They integrated energy into the
daily lives of the residents by
thinking and discussing together
how to build this common object.
They spent several months slowly
building up trust through informal
chats over coffee, children’s workshops
and co-design sessions.
Can the windmill become a
symbol strong enough to create
a productive environment
amidst the uncertainty of the
redevelopment process?
9.1 Foyer Laekenois socialhousing
apartments during
the ‘Quartier d’éte’ project
© Daniel Parnitzke
23
9.1
CHAPTER 1. Portraits of PED experiments
PORTRAIT 1 – Northern Quarter, Brussels

10. The joint creation of the
windmill refers to a citizen art
initiative from the 1970s. A local
entrepreneur had built a small
windmill that became an important
landmark for the area, alongside
a series of graffiti murals that
popped up during the turbulent
transformations of the area at the
time. The windmill shows how
energy has always been there and
could become part of the narrative
in the district once again.
10.1 Historical views of
10.2 the Northern Quarter
10.3 with the local windmill
and graffiti murals
© Joris Sleebus &
Brukselbinnenstebuiten,
Lueur d’espoir
11. In 2022, photographs of
the windmill and murals were
displayed in an exhibition titled
Fleurs électriques held at the
local sports centre. By reviving
the social energy of the years
following the implementation of
the Manhattan Plan, the exhibition
showed how an artistic and cocreative
process can enhance a
neighbourhood in transformation.
City Mine(d) organized the expo
to provide a space for citizens
and actors to come together, the
start of an ‘electric collaboration’
in the district. The rediscovery
of this local history triggered a
dialogue on new possibilities for
a collective project.
11.1 Opening of the exhibition
Fleurs électriques
© Lachlan Mackenzie
10.1
10.2
24

10.3
25
11.1
CHAPTER 1. Portraits of PED experiments
PORTRAIT 1 – Northern Quarter, Brussels

Experimenting with an open
organizational model
How to guide the transformation of a district
as diverse and socially complex as the Northern Quarter into
a PED? The process will be gradual and will depend on the
commitment of many local and supralocal partners, such as
the various municipalities involved, the Brussels Region, the
(association of) property developers and landowners, as well
as civil and social organizations. The creation of a coordination
platform in 2021 has provided a testing ground for an open
organizational model in which different actors built a shared
framework and a common ambition for the energy transition
in the Northern Quarter.
12. In 2021 Architecture
Workroom Brussels and 3E,
commissioned by the City of
Brussels, set up the Coordination
Platform as an informal table
gathering the different stakeholders
involved in the development of
a PED in the Northern Quarter.
Through a series of workshops,
webinars and local walks through
the area, these stakeholders
got to know each other’s work
methods and ambitions, laying
the foundations for a long-term
strategy and a framework for
concrete pilot projects.
12.1 Promenade Atelier with
12.2 diverse local actors to
imagine local opportunities
for energy projects
© Bob van Mol
12.1

13. After a year of experimentation,
the ownership of the
Coordination Platform needs to
be further developed. How do the
city’s vision documents fit in with
sociocultural programmes such as
the one initiated by City Mine(d)
and with the investments already
planned by other municipalities and
the region? The final report of the
Coordination Platform sets out a
roadmap for the development of a
long-term strategy, including a local
energy matchmaker, a collective
sociocultural programme and a
district dashboard.
13.1 Diagram illustrating
the roadmap for a
long-term strategy in
the Northern Quarter
© Architecture Workroom
Brussels, 3E, Coordination
Platform Brussels
12.2
27
!
...
1C
Local Energy Matchmaker
3A
Local Energy
3C
Knowledge exchange and coalition building - Coordination Platform
?
Public Buildings
Community Pilot(s)
Strategy
1A
LEAP
Local Energy Action Plan
3B
Collective Renovation
13.1
District Dashboard
2B
2A
Sociocultural Programme
Citizen engagement
Building local trust
Pilot
1B
LET
Local Energy Table
Organization of local workshops, seminar, debates, exhibition
CHAPTER 1. Portraits of PED experiments
PORTRAIT 1 – Northern Quarter, Brussels

14. Three promising directions
for pilot projects in the Northern
Quarter emerged from the discussions
in the Coordination Platform:
(a) forming local energy communities
to share locally produced
energy, (b) developing collective
renovation strategies to accelerate
the refurbishment of existing buildings,
and (c) using public buildings
as catalysts for private investment.
An integrated mapping exercise
identified nine priority areas where
these pilot projects could be implemented.
These are the places where
steps towards concrete projects can
now be taken through fieldwork and
coalition building.
14.1 Map of opportunities –
nine priority areas as
result of the integrated
mapping excercise
© Architecture Workroom
Brussels
14.1
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
28

29
Clusters for building
potential coalitions of
actors for energy projects
Clusters for potential
collective renovation
projects
Productive activities
& manufacturing /
industrial actors in
the nine priority areas
Civil society and
social organizations
in public buildings in
the nine priority areas
Civil society and
local organizations in
the nine priority areas
Existing PV installation
in the nine priority areas
1 School environment as local
lever for energy projects
1
1
2
2
3
3
2 Integrating productive
activities and public building
as potential for energy
exchange
3 Productive environment
potential for collective
renovation strategies
4 Existing PV installation as
lever for potential energy
sharing
4
4
5 Planned urban transformations
as lever for energy-integrated
projects
5
5
6 Local education organizations
potential for energy-activation
projects
6
6
7
7
8
8
7 School as local lever for
collective renovation
8 Resident mobilization using
energy as a lever for improving
local quality of life
9 Public building as catalyst for
energy project
9
9
CHAPTER 1. Portraits of PED experiments
PORTRAIT 1 – Northern Quarter, Brussels

30

PORTRAIT 2
31
aspern Seestadt,
Vienna
aspern Seestadt
covers 240 ha
20,000 inhabitants
20,000 workplaces
Innere Stadt
covers 288 ha
16,409 inhabitants

A peri-urban satellite city in response to
demographic growth
At the beginning of the twenty-first century,
the growing demand for residential and commercial space
in Vienna led to the decision to develop a former airfield in
the 22nd district into a new urban area: aspern Seestadt.
The development process is now halfway. It is defined
by a mix of multistorey residential buildings, office and
commercial buildings, and production facilities, all bound
together by large public and open spaces. By the end of the
development, this city within the city will be home to more
than 25,000 residents and offer some 20,000 new workplaces.
1. This new urban centre is
being developed on the site of a
former airfield that declined after
World War II and was shut down in
the late 1970s. The area is part of
the Donaustadt district, Vienna’s
largest in terms of surface, located
on the city’s north-eastern outskirts.
In 1982 General Motors/
Opel Wien moved part of its
production to the former airfield,
kick-starting the reuse of the area.
In the early 2000s, a political
decision was taken to redevelop the
airfield into a new urban area with
focus on residential and business
usage as an extension of Vienna’s
inner city. The former owners of the
area and the City of Vienna agreed
on developing a district with high
climate and energy ambitions.
1.1 Initial development of the
site at the former airfield
© Luftbild-redl.at
1.2 aspern Seestadt today
© Wien 3420 AG
1.1
1.2
32

2. The process of drawing
up the master plan for aspern
Seestadt started between 2005
and 2007. After a combined
competition and tender process,
Tovatt Architects & Planners
and N+ Objektmanagement were
commissioned to develop the
master plan for the area, while
Gehl Architects focused on the
guidelines for the development
of public spaces. The master plan
design is based on the principle
of the 15-minute-city, with a
central open area with an artificial
lake and a vast park as the
structuring elements.
2.1 Draft of the aspern
Seestadt master plan
© Johannes Tovatt
33
2.1
CHAPTER 1. Portraits of PED experiments
PORTRAIT 2 – aspern Seestadt, Vienna

3. In aspern Seestadt, many
of the plots are being developed
individually by private developers.
However, as part of the urban
development of the district, land
has been made available specifically
for Vienna’s ‘Baugruppen’ (building
cooperatives made up of residents
and local organizations) through
zoning plans. By organizing themselves
autonomously and acting
as developers, these cooperatives
set up six co-housing and mixeduse
projects in both Seepark and
‘Pioneer Quarter’. The projects
are required to meet the same high
ambitions and standards as private
developers, with energy efficiency
as a priority value for these communities.
They demonstrate a diverse
model of land development, an
alternative to today’s business-asusual
where residents are solely the
end buyers of the developed units.
3.1 Inauguration and work day
at the LiSA co-housing
© LiSA/Horst Kargl
3.2 LiSA co-housing in
aspern Seestadt
© LiSA/Hansjörg Schwab
3.2
3.1
34

Central district heating for
energy sustainability
At the time of the district’s development
planning, there was no explicit mandate to become an energy
district. Instead, the development goal focused on liveability.
The 2014 Smart City Vienna framework strategy provided a
strong impulse for energy efficiency. Today, aspern Seestadt is
a gas-free district. The connection and expansion of the city’s
district heating system laid the groundwork for the exclusive
use of renewable energy. In addition, this newly built environment
offered the opportunity to test decentralized renewable
energy technologies such as heat pumps as well as thermal and
electrical storage. A monitoring model optimizes consumption
patterns and the exchange of data between buildings.
4. In 2014 the City of Vienna
committed to reduce greenhouse
gas emissions by 50% by 2030
and by 85% by 2050 compared to
the base year 2005, as stated in
its Smart City Wien Framework
Strategy with concrete actions to
achieve these goals. Today, the
new Smart Climate City Strategy
sets an even higher target: to
become carbon-neutral by 2040.
In both these documents, aspern
Seestadt is mentioned as a test bed
for Smart City research where the
City of Vienna and Siemens AG are
implementing sustainable solutions
based on real buildings.
4.1 Smart City Wien Framework
Strategy 2014
© Stadt Wien
4.2 Decarbonization trajectory
broken down by sector
© Vienna City Administration,
Vienna Climate Guide
35
4.1
Pathway of Vienna’s greenhouse gas emissions to the 2040 target
4.2
Greenhouse gas emissions in million tonnes of CO equivalents
2
6
5
4
3
2
1
0
Buildings (heat)
Transport
Waste management
Others
Vienna’s greenhouse gas budget 2021–2040:
60 million tonnes of
CO 2
equivalents
2005 2010 2015 2020 2025 2030 2035 2040
CHAPTER 1. Portraits of PED experiments
PORTRAIT 2 – aspern Seestadt, Vienna

5. The recently developed
aspern Klimafit criteria refer to
the individual CO2 footprint of
future occupants or users and
translate the overall goals of
the Smart City Wien Framework
Strategy to the level of individual
properties. The criteria have the
ultimate goal of reducing the CO2
footprint of the district. They are
formulated per building plot and
consist of a set of six stan dards.
They are tied to the sale of the land
and transferred to the developer
along with the development rights.
Developers are contractually oblig
ed to demonstrate compliance
by submitting implementation
plans and certifications.
5.1 Scheme illustrating the
translation of the Smart
City Wien Framework Strategy
to singular uses
© FH Technikum Wien,
Institute of Building
Research & Innovation ZT Gmbh,
Urban Innovation Vienna
5.2 Synthesis table of the six
aspern Klimafit criteria
5.3 Aerial view of the
still-to-be-developed areas
in aspern Seestadt
© Wien 3420 AG
5.2
aspern Klimafit
Criteria
Ambition
5.1
Energy efficiency
Renewable supply
Energy flexibility
and smart
readiness
Summer thermal
comfort
GHG reduced
construction
GHG reduced
mobility
Lowest possible energy consumption for
residual thermal energy
Highest possible use of on-site renewable
energy sources (PV and waste heat,
groundwater and geothermal)
High degree of self-sufficiency in operating
electricity through PV installation
Avoidance of overheating in summer through
optimized façade design or external solar
shading
Use of sustainable construction methods
and materials
Promotion of eco-mobility and e-mobility in
the district beyond the building plot
5.3
36

6. The part of aspern Seestadt
developed already was assessed
using a simulation model by FH
Technikum Wien. Due to the very
high density in the district (with
an average floor area ratio of 2.7),
it seems difficult to produce all
the energy needed locally. The
most ambitious possible scenarios
include 100% of the gross roof area
covered with PV (or the equivalent
of combined façade and roof PV),
or alternatively 70% of the gross
roof area covered with PV, balanced
with flexible grid use by storing
regional wind peaks to compensate
for energy produced outside the
district. This would allow around
62% of the energy required to be
produced in aspern Seestadt itself.
6.1 Primary Energy Balance
(demand and supply) resulting
from the simulation model
© FH Technikum Wien,
Cities4PEDs
37
PEQ Alpha context factor
PV surplus
Flexible grid use
Batteries
PV own consumption
Evs
User plug loads and lights
Building operation
90
80
70
Primary Energy [kWhPE/m 2 NFA/a]
60
50
40
30
32
32
43.9 43.9 43.9 43.9 43.9 43.9 32
43.9
32
32 32
3.0
0.6
1.7
3.5
12.4
4.1
14.4
8.0
32
13.2
20
10
35.0 35.5
0.0
30.1
35.5 35.8 36.1 35.9 34.6 36.1
30.1 29.6
29.0
36.4
11.8
0
Demand
Supply
Demand
Supply
Demand
Supply
Demand
Supply
Demand
Supply
Demand
Supply
Demand
Supply
Baseline PV
25% Roof
PV 70% Roof +
thermFlex
PV.7, tf.5°C +
0.3 kWh/kWp
PV 70% Roof +
0.5°C +
PV 70% Roof +
2°C + WPS
PV 90% Roof +
thermFlex
PV 105% Roof +
thermFlex
6.1
CHAPTER 1. Portraits of PED experiments
PORTRAIT 2 – aspern Seestadt, Vienna

Public-private cooperation for
district development
A central development organization is
at the heart of the district’s evolution and management.
Wien 3420 aspern Development AG, an independent development
company, is responsible for the construction of
infrastructure, the sale of land to developers, and the overall
project coordination until completion. The company was
founded in 2004 by the federal real-estate company BIG
(‘Bundesimmobiliengesellschaft’) and the municipal Vienna
Business Agency (‘Wirtschaftsagentur’). After 2010, two
private companies took over some of the shares and it
became a public-private partnership.
7.2
7. The independent development
company Wien 3420 AG is
the central point of coordination
in the area. This organization
brings together the capacities of
the city administration and
local stakeholders focusing on
housing, mobility, energy and
urban development to coordinate
the development of the district.
In addition, a project coordination
unit was established in 2011 within
the city administration. As a private
company, Wien 3420 AG has
been able to establish subsidiaries
(e.g. for construction logistics and
central purchasing management),
participate in research projects (such
as the energy research ‘Aspern Smart
City Research’), and co-finance
and cooperate with innovation
labs on mobility, digitization
or public health. These actions
led to the transfer of knowledge
into concrete interventions in the
district and to the implementation
of research insights into concrete
developments.
7.1 Organigram of the independent
development company Wien 3420 AG
© Wien 3420 AG
7.2 Urban design sketch of Seebogen
illustrating the different
levels of accessibility of
the various public streets
© Johannes Tovatt
7.1
33,33%
sBau Holding GmbH
The building society of the Austrian savings bank group
österreichische Sparkassen AG
Public-Private-
Partnership
33,33%
WSV Immoholding GmbH
Vienna Insurance Group
The Austrian federal
property administration
33,33%
WA Wien Immobilien GmbH
Vienna Business Agency.
A fund of the City of Vienna.
100%
Gelup GmbH
ARE Austrian Real Estate
Development GmbH
73,4% 26,6%
100%
Wien 3420 Holding GmbH
49%
1,29%
38
aspern Seestadt
Einkaufsstraßen GmbH
100%
Wien 3420 Umwelt und Baulog GmbH
Aspern Smart City
Research GmbH & Co KG

8. Wien 3420 AG is also responsible
for the implementation of the
district’s high energy and climate
adaptation targets. The company
owns the land until it is sold to
developers and the targets and the
application of the aspern Klimafit
criteria are transferred via sale
contracts. Wien 3420 AG reinvests
profits from these land sales in local
infrastructure and public spaces.
Also, the use of commercial and
open-space land is managed by the
development company to ensure the
right mix of activities and quality
of space for residents. Public spaces
are handed over to public maintenance
once they’ve been completed.
8.1 Elinor Ostrom Park
© Luiza Puiu
8.2 Final land-use plan
for aspern Seestadt
© Wien 3420 AG
8.1
39
8.2
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NUTZUNGEN UND FREIFLÄCHEN
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Stand 10.01.2018
© Wien 3420 Aspern Development AG
CHAPTER 1. Portraits of PED experiments
PORTRAIT 2 – aspern Seestadt, Vienna

Community-building in a developing
neighbourhood
As part of its support for neighbourhood
development, aspern Seestadt Neighbourhood Management,
commissioned by Wien 3420 AG, focuses on local communitybuilding.
A team of nine people is responsible for setting up a
programme to support and empower citizens. By responding
to local issues, supporting bottom-up initiatives and informing
citizens about the development process, the organization aims
to build bridges between residents and local businesses and
institutions, to create new spaces for meeting and exchange
and the development of a lively community in the district.
9. How to build local communities
in new development projects?
How to foster a sense of belonging
in a new neighbourhood and promote
cultural exchange? In aspern
Seestadt, under the motto ‘Seestadt
is what we all make of it together’,
the Neighbourhood Management
team works with local residents,
businesses and other parties to
develop local neighbourhood
dynamics. Through their mobile
office, they work closely with district
stakeholders on projects such
as cooking classes, interactive maps
of the district, information sessions
and conferences to build up sociocultural
dynamics in the district.
9.1 Hannah Arendt Park in
the ‘Pioneer Quarter’
© Daniel Hawelka
9.2 Neighbourhood Management team
in the district with the mobile
neighbourhood point
© IBA_Wien-J.Fetz
9.1
9.2
40

10. Since 2018 a neighbourhood
budget has been allocated to fund
citizen initiatives. The ‘Ich. Du.
Wir. Nachbarschaftsbudget’ (Me,
you, we, neighbourhood budget) is
an annual programme open to all
actors in the district. Following the
submission of project proposals,
a jury of citizens selects projects
such as cooking classes for children,
bricolage workshops or a shared
wheelchair bicycle for the neighbourhood.
In recent years, selected
projects have received an average
grant of € 300 each, with a maximum
annual budget of € 3,000.
10.1 Neighbourhood fair
© NikoHavranek
10.2 Cooking classes organized
with local citizens and the
Neighbourhood Management team
© Luiza Puiu
10.3 Simone de Beauvoir Square
© Luiza Puiu
10.2
10.3
41
10.1

42

PORTRAIT 3
43
Stockholm
Royal Seaport,
Stockholm
Stockholm Royal Seaport
covers 236 ha
22,000 inhabitants
35,000 workplaces
Gamla Stan
covers 36 ha
3,000 inhabitants

Brownfield redevelopment offers
opportunities for new sustainable living
At the beginning of the new millennium,
the City of Stockholm started planning the modernization of
the former harbour area. With the relocation of the container
terminal and the closure of the oil depot, the Stockholm Royal
Seaport went from one of the most important gateways to
the Baltic Sea to an unused brownfield. In 2009 the City of
Stockholm decided that the Stockholm Royal Seaport should
become the city’s next environmentally profiled district and a
model for sustainable urban planning in Europe. This set the
machinery in motion to build a fossil-free district with a high
level of local renewable energy production.
1. The Stockholm Royal Seaport
(‘Norra Djurgårdsstaden’) was one
of Stockholm’s largest industrial
and port areas. Its direct connection
to the Baltic Sea contributed
to making it one of the largest
coal ports. Through time, the port
development enlarged and in 1927
the Loudden oil depot was the
last industrial development in the
area. In the early 1950s, container
traffic moved to a new and deeper
harbour, reducing the activity here
to mainly cruise and ferry traffic.
But the legacy of the industrial
activity remains a challenge: soil
remediation has been a key factor
in the redevelopment of the area.
1.1 Historical picture of
the former oil depot
1.2 Historical map showing
the Stockholm Royal Seaport
1.1
1.2
44

2. In the heart of the district,
several historic industrial buildings
have been preserved and converted
into prominent public buildings.
Where gas was once produced for
the entire city, the Gasverket area is
now a central cultural and community
hub for the Stockholm Royal
Seaport. The heritage buildings
reconnect the area with its former
identity and the energy production
of the past.
2.1 Aerial view of the
Stockholm Royal Seaport
© Stockholm Royal Seaport
2.2 Redevelopment of the local
Heritage Building
© Stockholm Royal Seaport
2.3 Refurbishment of the gasometer
in the Stockholm Royal Seaport
© Stockholm Royal Seaport
45
2.1
2.3
2.2
CHAPTER 1. Portraits of PED experiments
PORTRAIT 3 – Stockholm Royal Seaport, Stockholm

3. Today, the first phase of
the Stockholm Royal Seaport
development is complete. Three
thousand apartments have been
built and are occupied (these come
on top of the existing 1,600). Soil
remediation has been a key step in
making this the neighbourhood it
is today. Instead of transporting
the soil to a treatment facility, it
is remediated on site. Using new
technology that stabilizes the soil
during treatment, the clay has
been remediated and strengthened
through chemical oxidation.
These complex treatments
come at a cost and, combined
with the attractive location of
the development and highly
innovative construction methods,
lead to relatively high land and
building prices.
3.1 Stockholm Royal Seaport oil
dock in the 1970s
© Stockholm Royal Seaport
3.2 Workers in the oil dock
during the 1970s
© Stockholm Royal Seaport
4. The next phase of the development
is located in the Loudden
area, the former oil depot and
container terminal. It will house
around 4,000 new homes mixed
with commercial premises. This
new development brings new opportunities
to test and implement a
range of appropriate and integrated
technical solutions, contributing
to increased sustainability for the
whole Stockholm Royal Seaport
development. But how can highly
ambitious (and therefore expensive)
redevelopments like this one
be reconciled with ambitions of
housing affordability?
4.1 Aerial view of the Stockholm
Royal Seaport and the Loudden
area still to be developed
© Stockholm Royal Seaport
4.1
3.1 3.2
46

High energy targets as a driver for
district transformation
Stockholm has a long history of integrating
environmental considerations into urban management in a
structured and targeted way. Following the Environmental
Programme and the Climate Action Plan, the City of
Stockholm decided to set even higher sustainability and
energy efficiency targets for the Stockholm Royal Seaport.
Under the slogan ‘A world-class environmental urban district’,
the district aims to be fossil-free by 2030 (compared to the
citywide target of 2040) by focusing, among other things,
on energy use and efficiency.
5. The Climate Action Plan
provides a step-by-step process to
make the city fossil-free by 2040.
The strategy and the plan include
a climate budget that limits the
maximum level of CO2 emissions,
implying a reduction of 19 million
tonnes of emissions from energy
production and use and from the
transport sector. The development
of the Stockholm Royal Seaport
aims to be an exemplary district
in which all these measures are
implemented in the most ambitious
way, with even stricter local targets.
5.1 Climate Action Plan 2020-2023
© Stockholms Stad
5.2 Environmental Programme
2020-2023
© Stockholms Stad
5.3 Climate Budget 2022-2024
© Stockholms Stad
47
5.1
5.2
5.3
CHAPTER 1. Portraits of PED experiments
PORTRAIT 3 – Stockholm Royal Seaport, Stockholm

6. The high sustainability
targets of the Stockholm Royal
Seaport are reached by reducing,
controlling and recovering energy,
material and waste streams in a
circular way. The maximum amount
of waste is limited to 1.5 kg per
person per week and the maximum
amount of construction waste
to 20 kg/m 2 . Waste streams in
the district are reused as much
as possible. Sixty-five per cent of
excavated material is reused in
the Mass Consolidation Centre, a
local facility for the management
of excavated material, where it
is sorted for local use and sold
to external projects. The centre
was established at the start of the
development project to manage
and coordinate on-site soil
decontamination. In addition, grey
water is recycled for irrigation,
heat recovery is increased, and
biogas production from waste
water is optimized.
6.1 Mass Consolidation Centre
© Stockholm Royal Seaport
6.2 Waste sorting and recovery
system in the neighbourhood
© Charlotte Sandberg
6.2
6.1
48

7. The City of Stockholm has
implemented a centralized energy
infrastructure system, both for
energy production and distribution
and for material flow management.
The central district heating system
is connected to the citywide
system which is powered by waste
incineration and residual heat and
energy. It provides energy to 72% of
the district. The rest is supplied by
decentralized technical solutions,
such as geothermal heating systems
for multistorey buildings together
with PV installations on façades
and roofs.
7.1 Circular cycle of energy,
water and materials for
the Stockholm Royal Seaport
© Stockholms Stad
7.2 PV installations on
roofs and façades
© Stockholm Royal Seaport
7.1
49
7.2
CHAPTER 1. Portraits of PED experiments
PORTRAIT 3 – Stockholm Royal Seaport, Stockholm

8. FH Technikum Wien simulated
potential positive energy
configurations in the Loudden
area prior to its development.
The aim is to provide guidance
for future interventions and
technological solutions to be
implemented in the Stockholm
Royal Seaport. The most ambitious
scenario envisaged 90% of
the gross roof area covered with
PV, combined with the use of the
building core as a flexible thermal
storage, assuming a maximum
in indoor temperature shift of
0.5°C. As a result, almost 57%
of the energy required can be
produced in the district. Though
the local climate allows for lower
solar yields and the heating demand
in Stockholm is higher than in other
European cities, it is especially the
density of the district that forms
a key challenge in achieving a
Positive Energy Balance.
8.1 Primary Energy Balance
(demand and supply) resulting
from the simulation model
© FH Technikum Wien,
Cities4PEDs
8.2 PV installation of local roofs
© Stockholms Stad
Primary Energy [kWhPE/m 2 NFA/a]
80
70
60
50
40
30
20
43.3 43.3 43.3
43.3
32.3 32.3 32.3
9.9
7.8 7.9
32.3
43.3
32.3
14.8
PEQ Alpha context factor
PV surplus
Flexible grid use
Batteries
PV own consumption
Evs
User plug loads and lights
Building operation
10
30.8 30.8
0.0
23.5
31.7
29.3
25.6 25.4
31.7
28.0
11.9
0
Demand
Supply
Demand
Supply
Demand
Supply
Demand
Supply
Demand
Supply
Baseline PV 25%
Roof
PV 70% Roof PV 70% Roof +
thermFlex 0.5°C
PV.7, tF.5°C +
wastewater
recup 50%
PV 90% Roof +
thermFlex 0.5°C
8.1
8.2
50

Engagement of private developers and
capacity-building in public administration
In order to meet the high energy targets, the
local authorities set up a capacity-building programme with
private developers and their consultants in the first phase
of the district’s development. This made it possible to test
different sustainable building strategies in the first 600 homes
developed. The ambitious nature of this urban development
also requires new capacities within the public administration,
the leading organization for transforming the whole district,
including civil servants and consultants. By setting up an
interdepartmental process and exchange, an overarching
vision and common strategy could be developed, coordinated
by the city’s development administration.
9. Since the allocation of the
first plots to developers, the city has
been running a capacity-building
programme, a series of seminars for
developers and their consultants
to transfer knowledge about sustainability
targets such as energy
requirements for the new buildings.
By illustrating best practices,
technical solutions, the latest
pilot projects and research results,
developers have been given the
tools to build up new sustainable
strategies. Monitoring progress is
key to this process. At the end of
the first two years, initial results
showed that the first homes hadn’t
fully met their targets: consumption
was still too high (though lower
than national requirements in the
Swedish Building Code), while local
energy production was higher than
originally anticipated.
51
9.1
9.2
CHAPTER 1. Portraits of PED experiments
PORTRAIT 3 – Stockholm Royal Seaport, Stockholm

The monitoring and web-based
reporting tool supports the transparency
of the process and allows
the programme to make adjustments
based on preliminary results.
The impact of user behaviour plays
a key role in the actual performance
of the district. Which strategies
can activate behavioural change
among future residents of new
developments?
9.1 Seminar in the framework
of the capacity-building
programme
© Stockholm Royal Seaport
9.2 Capacity-building programme,
on-site visit
© Stockholm Royal Seaport
9.3 Process developed for the
capacity-building programme
© Stockholm Royal Seaport
10. The capacity-building programme
also targeted the city’s
administrations and departments.
The city’s development, planning,
transport, environment and health
departments, as well as contracted
consultants, were involved in the
process to create an overarching
and shared vision for the Stockholm
Royal Seaport and to avoid working
in isolation. As this urban development
touches on many policy
aspects, with energy targets and
sustainability as key drivers, the
capacity-building programme
aimed to bring the multiple departments
involved on board and to
facilitate knowledge-sharing and
the collective decision-making
process. As a result of the programme,
the Stockholm Royal
Seaport is now seen as a joint
urban development project.
11. Urban development projects
in Stockholm are often planned
and implemented by the City. For
the development of the Stockholm
Royal Seaport, a core group was
formed within the City’s urban
development department with sustainability
strategists. This separate
development unit is responsible for
coordinating the whole process and
mandates specific departments to
act in the different phases of the
project. The urban development
unit also led and supported interdepartmental
work groups, made
up of experts from the municipality
and municipal companies, to
address specific issues within
the urban development process.
Public land
Resident survey
and follow-up
Selection of
materials
Social inclusion
(multi generations
and gender
equality)
Seminar 1
Seminar 2 Seminar 4 Seminar 6
2021
Seminar 3 Seminar 5
2020
Jan Apr July Oct Jan Apr July Oct
2022
Mobility
Selection of
materials
Test phase
(daylight, energy,
GYF and mobility)
Humidity and indoor
environment
Construction
and logistics
Start-up phase
Energy
Sustainable
means of
transport
Testing phase/parallel pilots
Climate adaptation
and green structure
LCA and
climate-smart
materials
Developers working in:
Södra Värtan area
Kolkajen area
Loudden area
9.3
52

Integrated urban design
Efficient energy technologies and solutions
are incorporated into the Stockholm Royal Seaport
through an integrated urban design. Attention is paid to
the quality of public spaces and collectivity, and measures
to manage and support sustainable public transport are
included. Architectural qualities and landscape design are
important components to turn this energy district into an
attractive neighbourhood.
12.1
12. Can sustainability goals
lead to the development of new
architectural typologies, rethinking
and redesigning not only the forms
of our buildings but also the ways
in which they are used? In 2014 a
special land-allocation competition
was held for plus-energy buildings
in the Stockholm Royal Seaport.
The competition required high
energy performance for the building,
but also very high architectural
qualities, both inside and out,
resulting in a clear architectural
language for this specific type
of building: straight outer wall,
rotated roof ridges to create more
surface for PV installations, with
a 30-degree angle for optimal sun
exposure, and green roofs.
12.1 Residential buildings where
the architectural qualities
have been tested to meet
sustainable objectives
© Stockholm Royal Seaport
12.2 Plus-energy houses
resulting from the landallocation
competition
© Stockholm Royal Seaport
53
12.2
CHAPTER 1. Portraits of PED experiments
PORTRAIT 3 – Stockholm Royal Seaport, Stockholm

13. Plant beds, open spaces and
street designs are incorporated to
create a climate-resilient neighbourhood.
Energy sustainability
is a key priority here, but it is
envisaged alongside climateadap
tation measures, resulting in
a diversified spatial design. Stormwater
management, recreation and
biodiversity define the design and
implementation of the district’s
open spaces. This also leads to a
different way of inhabiting spaces
and new design features tailored to
their sustainable purpose and use.
13.1 Plant beds for
storm-water storage
© Lennart Johansson
13.2 Children taking care of
the local beehives
© Stockholm Royal Seaport
13.3 Public spaces and street
design for water management
© Kasper Dudzic
13.1
13.2
13.3
54

14. The neighbourhood as a
whole is designed to limit private
car use, with few central car parks
to encourage walking and cycling.
Public transport is the backbone
of the neighbourhood, with ample
street space for buses and trams,
and a reduction in car-based design.
How can our street design encourage
different modes of mobility?
Can new urban development be a
lever to change behaviour and push
for a shared, sustainable way of
moving around the city?
14.1 Street design for sustainable
and public transport
© Eric Cung
14.2 Illustration of the planned
centralized parking area at
the edge of the district
© Stockholm Parkering AB
14.3 Biking in Stockholm Royal
Seaport area
© Jansin & Hammarling
55
14.1 14.2
14.3
CHAPTER 1. Portraits of PED experiments
PORTRAIT 3 – Stockholm Royal Seaport, Stockholm

56

PORTRAIT 4
57
Bospolder-
Tussendijken,
Rotterdam
Bospolder- Tussendijken
covers 78 ha
13,180 inhabitants
Stadsdriehoek district
covers 172 ha
12,060 inhabitants

A solidary neighbourhood rising out of
an accidental Allied bombing
After being accidentally bombed by
Allied forces during World War II, the Bospolder-Tussendijken
(BoTu) district underwent extensive reconstruction.
The district was almost completely rebuilt and a new neighbourhood
with high-density social housing emerged. The
quality of the housing and architectural renovation received
comparatively less attention and budget than the city centre
and was therefore referred to as the ‘forgotten reconstruction’.
This resulted in poor housing quality and small housing
units. Today, the district is home to many less privileged
Rotterdammers. At the same time, people of different na tionalities
are closely involved in the daily life of the district and
a sense of community is a key value in the area.
1. The area’s proximity to the
port turned out to be a disadvantage
on 31 March 1943, when a
hundred bombs were dropped
on Rotterdam West. The target
was a series of dockyard factories
that were part of the German war
machine. The entire area had to be
completely rebuilt. In Bospolder-
Tussendijken, this was done with
a number of high-density social
housing blocks alongside so-called
maisonettes and several perimeter
housing blocks. The development
of the large public space in front
of the towers only followed in the
1980s. The architectural quality of
the buildings was not particularly
remarkable, especially when compared
to the attention paid to the
city centre and the level of experimentation
at work there.
1.1 Rotterdam West after
the bombing of 1943
© Municipal Archive Rotterdam
1.2 Aerial view of Rotterdam
West after the reconstruction,
April 1984
© Municipal Archive Rotterdam
1.2
1.1
58

2. Public life in the neighbourhood
is very visible: people meet and
interact on the streets or in communal
spaces. This is rooted in the
neighbourhood’s DNA and history.
As Rotterdammers began to move
to the outskirts after reconstruction,
many neighbourhoods became
available for newcomers to settle in,
including Bospolder-Tussendijken.
At the time, the district had a high
vacancy rate and many retail spaces
were abandoned. It was the beginning
of a strong civic movement
around the appropriation of empty
spaces for collective activities. This
movement still characterizes the
neighbourhood today. In the 1980s
and 1990s, when a market-oriented
perspective predominated, several
residential buildings were demolished
to be rebuilt in the context
of urban renewal. This mobilized
residents to take action, strengthening
the grassroots movements
and giving rise to self-organized
groups of citizens caring for the
neighbourhood. For the mostly
underprivileged and diverse communities
in the district, collectivity
was a response to the challenges
they faced. This is still the case
today: communities continue to
raise issues such as the lack of jobs
and decent incomes as well as the
need for good local services and
a safe neighbourhood.
2.1 High-density residential area
in Bospolder-Tussendijken
© Frank Hanswijk
2.2 Market square in
Bospolder-Tussendijken
© Florian Braakman
2.3 Self-managed district house for
local residents, facilitated by
Delfshaven Coöperatie
© Frank Hanswijk
59
2.1
2.2 2.3
CHAPTER 1. Portraits of PED experiments
PORTRAIT 4 – Bospolder-Tussendijken, Rotterdam

Energy as a lever to respond to
local challenges
Most of Bospolder-Tussendijken is powered
by individual gas boilers and centrally generated electricity.
As part of the New Energy for Rotterdam programme, the
area was selected as one of the first five pilot districts to
go gas-free. Centralized district heating is being installed,
ushering in a new wave of urban transformation. This technical
solution was met with resistance from local residents, who once
again felt excluded from the decisions about the changes taking
place in their district. The Resilient BoTu 2028 neighbourhood
plan, co-designed by a range of local stakeholders, provides
a shared strategy to address local socio-economic challenges
and link them to the forthcoming transformation of the
neighbourhood in light of the energy transition. Energy is
used as a lever for a socially inclusive neighbourhood.
3.1
3. The Netherlands wants to be
gas-free by 2050. To achieve this
goal for more than eight million
households, a national programme
has been set up with sixty-four local
test beds to draw collective lessons
and establish a national multiplication
strategy for gas-free districts.
Supported by this framework, the
City of Rotterdam initiated the New
Energy for Rotterdam programme,
which identified Bospolder-Tussendijken
as one of the city’s six test
beds. Here, a path is being explored
towards a collective solution for
energy sharing and production,
for both heat and electricity. In
BoTu, this was translated into a
centralized district heating system
by Eneco, the local private energy
distributor, through a concession
awarded in 2006. Responsibility
for bringing citizens on board and
mobilizing them to connect to this
centralized solution lies with the
city administration.
3.1 Map illustrating the
64 pilot districts for the
Gas-free District programme
© Ministry of Economic
Affairs and Climate Policy,
the Netherlands
3.2 Illustration of the different
phases for the implementation
of the centralized district
heating in BoTu, as part
of the New Energy for
Rotterdam programme
© City of Rotterdam
3.2
1
Gijsinglaanbuurt
2
Korfmakersbuurt
3
Gijsingstraatbuurt
Mathenesserweg
Park 1943
Grote Visserijstraat
2 2022 - 2023
Rösener Manzstraat
3
2024 - 2026
2021 - 2022
1
Schiedamseweg
Jan Kruijffstraat
60

4. To bridge the gap between
the planned urban transformations
and local needs and dynamics, a
ten-year local strategy was drawn
up to improve overall quality of life
in the district. This strategy was
developed by the local coalition
between the City of Rotterdam,
Delfshaven Coöperatie, the local
housing company Havensteder, the
International Architecture Biennale
Rotterdam (IABR) in co-creation
with local residents. The first year
delivered a cooperation agreement,
the basis of an open programme
for the district. This programme,
called Resilient BoTu 2028, is based
on a 3x3 strategy: three topics (i.e.
health, young people and parenting;
work, language and debt; energy,
housing and open space), three
methodologies, starting from three
locations in the district. Resilient
BoTu 2028 combines local capacities
and links them with environmental
ambitions, empowering
local communities to prepare for
a different future. Becoming an
energy district is a key component
of this district plan.
4.1 The 3x3 strategy
Resilient BoTu 2028
© City of Rotterdam
4.2 Illustration showing the
vision of Resilient BoTu 2028
© Yvet Elisabeth Ellenkamp
4.1
3x WHERE
A RESILIENT BOTU IN 2028
BoTu at the urban social average in 10 years’ time
3x WHAT
61
Schans-Watergeus
Work, Language
and Debt
Healthcare,
Young People and
Parenting
Energy, Housing
and Outdoor Space
The Heart of BoTu
Call for Action
Resilient schools
and public squares
Community Building
Professionals
3x HOW
Safety as a precondition
4.2
CHAPTER 1. Portraits of PED experiments
PORTRAIT 4 – Bospolder-Tussendijken, Rotterdam

Combining energy technical potential
and social sustainability goals
In the context of the BoTu 2028 partnership,
the IABR launched a design atelier to create new imaginaries
for the district in which residents play a greater role. The
result is a Local Energy Action Plan (LEAP), a step-by-step
and integrated district approach based on both an anthropological
analysis and an energy technical analysis. The narrative
and scenarios in the LEAP were shaped together with local
actors to create opportunities and collaborations within
energy-related pilot projects for residents and organizations
already working locally.
5.1
5. The IABR has played a key
role as a cultural institution in
guiding the development of the
neighbourhood approach. It moved
from the city centre to a former
warehouse in the port area near
BoTu a few years ago, taking on the
opportunity to become an active
player in the transformation of the
neighbourhood itself. The IABR
commissioned a four-year (ongoing)
research-by-design Atelier in collaboration
with the City of Rotterdam
to bring in new ideas and creative
design scenarios to this vulnerable
neighbourhood. The focus of the
Atelier has been to build a strong
community around energy questions
and to show how the energy
transition can be a lever for a
socially inclusive neighbourhood.
5.1 Diagram illustrating the
two parallel studies that
were carried out, forming
the basis for the LEAP
© OOZE/IABR 2020-21
5.2 IABR–Atelier Rotterdam,
Citizen workshop on energy
© Frank Hanswijk
5.2
62

6. First, a mapping was made of
the potential for energy production,
saving, storage and exchange in
the district by PosadMaxwan &
Generation.Energy. They concluded
that 60% of CO2 emissions could be
saved and 45% of electricity could
be produced in the area. In parallel,
Transformers, Beekhuizen Bindt,
Eliza Works and Steps2Inspiration
carried out an anthropological
exploration of social networks and
key actors. They recognized many
different (known and unknown)
networks in the area, but also saw
that they do not relate to each other
due to the high level of cultural,
ethnic and religious diversity.
One of the highlights was the
importance of local organizations
working with residents. Could they
become facilitators of the energy
transition?
6.1 Potential heat source in BoTu
© IABR–Atelier Rotterdam –
PosadMaxwan & Generation.
Energy
6.2 (In)visible social networks
in BoTu
© IABR–Atelier Rotterdam –
Transformers, Beekhuizen Bindt,
Eliza Works, Steps2Inspiration
63
6.1
Supermarkt
1,84 GWh (30-45 °C)
POTENTIE WARMTEBRONNEN
GFT (biogas, HT)
12 kg/inwoners (85 kg) , 169,86 ton = 56 dagen (3 ton/dag) 0,4 GWh/jaar
500-1000 m Afstand tussen water en woningen
TEO/TEA/TED (LT)
4,2 + 1,1 + 0,86 GWh/jaar
Restwarmte (MT)
Chocoladefabriek
5,7 GWh (30-45 °C)
17,0 GWh/jaar
1.5 km Afstand tussen boring
Supermarkt
7,87 GWh (30-45 °C)
Geothermie (HT)
1 ha ‘covered area’
De ingeschatte potentie voor een
geothermie doublet (op basis van 4.000 vollast uren):
in de Delftzandsteen is 40.000 MWht
in de reservoirs in de Rijnland groep is 24.000 MWht
Bakkerij
1,58 GWh (30-45 °C)
Woning
typen:
V
IV
II - III
I
Legenda
Warmte temperatuur per brom
en gebruikers
Lage temperatuur
Lage - Midden temperatuur
Midden temperatuur
Hoge temperatuur
ENERGIEWIJK BOSPOLDER-TUSSENDIJKEN | 25 JULI 2019
35
6.2
KOP MATHENESSERWEG
MIDDEN MATHENESSERWEG
POLITIEBUREAU
MATHENESSERWEG
MARCONIPLEIN
PARK 1943
GROTE VISSERIJSTRAAT
DRIEHOEKSPLEIN
MATHENESSERDIJK
INITIATIEVEN
BUURTHUISKAMERS
SOCIAAL
CULTUREEL
RELIGIEUS
SCHOLEN
SPEELTUINEN
SPORT
...
SCHIEDAMSEWEG
3. BOUWKEET
LE MEDI
DAKPARK HUDSONS
VISSERIJPLEIN
SCHIEDAMSEWEG
2. MIDDEN
BOSPOLDERPLEIN
DAKPARK STAART
VALENTIJN
SCHOOL
2E SCHANSSTRAAT
HUDSONPLEIN
SPANJAARDSTRAAT
SCHIEDAMSEWEG
1. HISTORISCH
SCHANS /
WATERGEUS
(-PLEIN)
MOLENSTOMP /
MIDDENKOUS
DE FABRIEK
HISTORISCH
DELFSHAVEN
CHAPTER 1. Portraits of PED experiments
PORTRAIT 4 – Bospolder-Tussendijken, Rotterdam

7. In a next step, these two
parallel analyses were combined by
OOZE, a design practice working
at the intersection between artistic
intervention, architecture and
urbanism. They asked themselves:
how can we build an integrated
district approach, co-owned by
local residents and communities,
that combines climate adaptation
ambitions and energy interventions?
This strategy shouldn’t
disrupt the local reality but
improve the quality of life and
respond to local needs. The LEAP
they developed gathers existing
socio-spatial qualities (such as the
existing green open spaces or the
different housing typologies in the
district) and uses them as a basis
for designing four different types
of energy projects. These combine
social, financial, legal and technical
aspects of the energy transition.
Together, these pilots pave the way
for a gradual transformation of the
entire district. The LEAP proposes
in-between milestones, such as the
development of low-temperature
micro-grids, which are then integrated
into a locally owned district
network. The result is an integrated
plan towards 2030, centred on the
interaction between social dynamics
(‘coalitions’), technical solutions
(‘energy transition’) and climate
adaptation measures (‘green blue’).
7.1 LEAP process and illustration
of the different milestones –
Countdown to 2030
© OOZE/IABR 2020-21
7.1
64

8. Together with technical and
financial experts and in exchange
with local residents and organizations,
OOZE drew up four energy
pilot projects in four specific
environments: Schie, low-density
apartment blocks along the waterway;
Gijsing, a series of multi-storey
apartment blocks; Zelfregiehuis, a
community house that serves as an
energy hub; and Dakparkschool, a
school and its communal courtyard.
The four pilots were selected for
their energy and social potential
and for their potential to be replicated
in other parts of the district.
Dakparkschool, for example,
illustrates how a typical district
school can create social, energy and
climate adaptation opportunities.
The projects started with a shared
PV installation, which is owned by a
local neighbourhood fund initiated
by Delfshaven Coöperatie, a local
organization that defines itself as
‘the glue between the joints’, striving
for more cooperation between
private, public parties and local
residents to build local entrepreneurship
and a more sustainable
neighbourhood. Together with the
sharing of locally produced energy
with the surrounding housing and
the re-greening of the courtyard,
these can all be seen as replicable
elements that contribute to a more
resilient BoTu.
8.1 The four energy pilot projects
in Bospolder-Tussendijken
© OOZE/IABR 2020-21
8.2 Dakparkschool energy pilot
© OOZE/IABR 2020-21
65
8.1
Zelfregiehuis
community house
Schie, low-density
apartment blocks
Gijsing flats
Dakparkschool
8.2
CHAPTER 1. Portraits of PED experiments
PORTRAIT 4 – Bospolder-Tussendijken, Rotterdam

Sociocultural programme to build
local capacity
Next to strategic trajectories, Bospolder-
Tussendijken also runs a sociocultural programme to build
local capacity for the energy transition. Several local organizations
have included energy issues in their agendas, and
new programmes have been initiated focusing on energy and
citizen empowerment, behavioural change, ownership and
awareness. However, engaging the diverse communities in the
district is challenging, especially when language is a barrier
and energy is not perceived as a primary concern. Promising
approaches can be identified that bring energy closer to everyday
life in the district, embedding it in the cultures, values and
ways of living and working in the neighbourhood.
9. The Rotterdam Environmental
Centre has been training
environmental coaches since
2009. Local residents were trained
to provide information to their
neighbours about energy saving
and sustainability in their homes
and communities. This paid role
involves going door-to-door and
providing information and useful
tips on how to save energy and
money and how to make their
own homes more sustainable and
more comfortable. In BoTu, the
coaches play a key role in reaching
out to communities in the energy
transition whose mother tongue
is not Dutch.
9.1 Environmental coach
illustrating diverse
energy-saving measures
© Stichting Pauw
11.1
9.1
10.1
11.2
66

10. WijkEnergieWerkt (District
Energy Works) is an organization
that trains local residents to
work for their construction and
installation company. Together
with De Beroepentuin (The
Career Garden), they train
residents struggling to enter the
regular labour market to become
electricians. In the same way,
younger generations are involved
in the renovation of apartments
in Gijsinglaan to gain experience
before entering the labour market.
In this way, the skills programme
in BoTu simultaneously addresses
sustainable transitions and local
socio-economic challenges.
10.1 Participants in
the ‘De Beroepentuin’
training programme
© De Beroepentuin
11. ‘Huis van de Toekomst’
(House of the Future) ‘practises
living together without gas or
petrol’. Workshops are organized
to make and mend clothes, there
is an annual energy agora, vegan
meals are cooked, and the oven
is lit to bake flat Turkish bread.
Their programme aims to give
local residents the tools to take
ownership of the energy transition.
For the renovation of the Prof.
Oud housing block, residents were
involved in a co-creation process
to define how they want to take
action to improve the quality of
their environment in light of the
energy transition. With the support
of experts through workshops and
discussions, different pathways
were identified, with citizens as
the main drivers of the process.
11.1 Javad Shiamizadeh,
local resident with
the communal oven
© Huis van de Toekomst
11.2 Local resident during a baking
day at Huis van de Toekomst
© Florian Braakman
11.3 Energy agora with
Ayse Yalcinkaya
© Huis van de Toekomst
11.4 Energy agora
© Huis van de Toekomst
67
11.3
11.4
CHAPTER 1. Portraits of PED experiments
PORTRAIT 4 – Bospolder-Tussendijken, Rotterdam

12. In 2020-2021, the IABR’s
two-yearly exhibition focused
on Bospolder-Tussendijken, its
residents and its transition towards
an energy district. The show was
titled Down to Earth: Whose Energy
Is It, Anyway? When entering the
exhibition space, the visitors were
welcomed by the voices of the
residents who actively participated
in the development of this local
district approach. The exhibition
then showcased the design research
developed by OOZE, explaining
the LEAP and its pilot projects,
and challenged the visitors in a
game in which they become players
in the transformation of BoTu. The
space became a place of encounter
and was appropriated by the local
community to further discuss their
district’s future.
12.1 The exhibition Down to Earth:
Whose Energy Is It, Anyway?
© Aad Hoogendoorn, IABR
12.2 Portraits of BoTu residents
in Down to Earth: Whose
Energy Is It, Anyway?
© Aad Hoogendoorn, IABR
12.1
12.2
68

Energy District Table guiding formal
and informal processes
The vibrant reality of the district – with its
many citizen initiatives working on energy and its multiple
sustainability programmes, its public officials and communities
– provides a fertile breeding ground for urban innovation
and transformation. To manage the collaboration and
exchange between the different actors involved, an Energy
District Table was established. Monthly meetings made it
possible to bridge the formal and informal processes in the
district and to connect the public, private and civic partners
working on the energy transition to each other and to the
municipal tools that support them.
13. Many formal and informal
processes and coalitions are working
towards the development of
an energy district, so structural
exchange is needed. With the
establishment of the Energy
District Table and the definition of
a cooperation agreement between
the City of Rotterdam, the housing
company Havensteder, Delfshaven
Coöperatie and the IABR, a flexible
governance model was defined to
steer the complex local process
in Bospolder-Tussendijken. The
City of Rotterdam funds part
of this exchange, and together
with Eneco and the national
gas-free programme, the annual
budget is € 150,000. This budget
is exclusively used to develop the
organizational structure, to manage
cooperation between the different
organizations, and to finance small
energy implementations.
13.1 Organizational model
and collaboration among
actors in BoTu
© Delfshaven Coöperatie
69
13.1
CHAPTER 1. Portraits of PED experiments
PORTRAIT 4 – Bospolder-Tussendijken, Rotterdam

70

PORTRAIT 5
71
Lyon Confluence,
Lyon
1 er Arrondissement
Lyon Confluence
covers 151 ha
29,303 inhabitants
covers 150 ha
12,000 inhabitants

Formerly an industrial area,
today an extension of the city centre
Taking its name from the junction of the
Rhône and Saône rivers, the Lyon Confluence lost its role as
Lyon’s wholesale and industrial area in the twentieth century.
But with its existing infrastructure, residential area and links
to the city centre, the district held out a promise of a different
future. When the last industries closed in 1995, the municipalities
of Greater Lyon began to imagine how the area could be
transformed into a new smart district.
1.1
1. The location of the Confluence
has always been strategic. Plans to
exploit this strip of land surrounded
by water began in the eighteenth
century with the Perrache project
that would connect the island to the
mainland. When the ambitious plan
failed, the king at the time decided
to buy the land to build an imperial
palace. However, the fall of the
Empire put an end to that project.
Then, in the nineteenth century, the
mayor of Lyon decided to devote
the land to industrial use. This led
to the construction of a railway
station and the establishment of
metallurgical, chemical and gas
industries. Over time, two prisons
were also built.
1.1 Project by M. Perrache for
the southern part of Lyon, 1760
© City of Lyon, Municipal
Archives
1.2 Historical picture of
the Lyon Confluence
© City of Lyon, Municipal
Archives, 505WP/21
1.2
72

2. The bridge between the twentieth
and twenty-first centuries has
witnessed both the decline of the
district and the hope that it would
rise again. In the mid 1990s, industrial
activity officially ceased. As
the city’s population grew, the main
purpose of the area’s redevelopment
was to accommodate new residents.
The fact that the land was almost
entirely publicly owned accelerated
the process. By the late 1990s an
initial redevelopment concept was
already in place. Climate adaptation
objectives were part of the project
from the outset, as was the ambition
to create an area where new
and contemporary architecture
meets heritage.
2.1 The Bohigas-Melot-Mosbach
project, the winning master
plan for the Confluence area
© Thierry Melot, Ama
Architecture, Paris, team
leader architect and town
planner; Oriol Bohigas, MBM
Studio, Barcelona, architect
partner; Catherine Mosbach,
Paris, landscape architect;
SETEC TPI, Engineering studies
2.2 The former prison, now
the university campus
© Laurence Danière/
SPL Lyon Confluence – 2015
2.3 Quai Rambaud, redevelopment of
former industrial buildings
© Michel Denancé
2.1
73
2.2
2.3
CHAPTER 1. Portraits of PED experiments
PORTRAIT 5 – Lyon Confluence, Lyon

Combining centralized and decentralized
energy solutions
The Lyon Confluence is now a mixed area
of new and existing buildings. The redevelopment was seen
as an opportunity to test new climate adaptation and energy
solutions. By connecting to the existing district heating network
(powered by biomass and waste incineration), a number
of passive buildings and a Positive Energy Block (PEB) could
be realized. In parallel, decentralized energy solutions have
been tested, such as a local energy community that exchanges
energy between the local concert hall and the surrounding
buildings. In the existing part of the district, a programme
is under way to renovate and reduce energy consumption
by 25 to 50%.
3.1
3. Since 2016, the Confluence
has been heated by a collective
district heating system that runs
on biogas from forest waste and
general waste incineration. New
developments in the area are legally
obliged to connect to the central
district heating system as part of
the land-sale contracts. However,
the same obligation doesn’t apply
to renovated existing buildings.
The district heating is combined
with 7,000 m² of solar panels on
roofs and façades, a number that
is expected to triple in the coming
years. In the parts of the district
that already exist, a small number
of houses have switched already
from individual gas boilers to
heat pumps. Although one of the
district’s main ambitions is to
produce as much renewable energy
locally as feasible, it is not yet
possible to estimate the current
balance between locally produced
and consumed energy due to lack
of access to data.
3.1 Ground work of the district
heating in Rue Seguin
© Jérémy Mathieu/SPL Lyon
Confluence – 2018
3.2 Focus on PV panels at
the Confluence
© Aerofilms/Lyon
Confluence – 2019
3.2
74

4. The Lyon Confluence has
become a test bed for passive and
even positive energy buildings,
starting with the Amplia Residence
in 2013. In addition, Positive
Energy Blocks are experimenting
with collective self-consumption,
such as the Hikari project. The
three buildings together use around
60% less energy than traditional
buildings. The different consumption
patterns in the district could
encourage much more energy
exchange of this kind. Over time,
self-consumption experiments have
led to the creation of local energy
communities: the first energy
community in the Confluence
produces electricity on the roof
of the renovated Marché Gare,
a concert hall and artist-in-residence
centre, and exchanges energy with
the surrounding public and office
buildings. In 2023, as part of the
European Ascend project, two new
buildings in the district will start
sharing energy as part of a new
energy community, with the aim
of gradually including residential
units as well.
4.1 Amplia, a positive
energy building
© Aurélie Pétrel/
SPL Lyon Confluence – 2014
4.2 Hikari, a Positive
Energy Block
© Jérôme Boucherat/
SPL Lyon Confluence – 2015
4.3 Marché Gare after renovation
© Laurence Danière/
SPL Lyon Confluence – 2022
75
4.2 4.3
4.1
CHAPTER 1. Portraits of PED experiments
PORTRAIT 5 – Lyon Confluence, Lyon

5. However, half of the area
is still a historic neighbourhood,
mostly made up of early-twentieth-century
social and working-class
housing: standardized,
dense, multistorey blocks with
small, enclosed communal spaces.
Given the heritage value of the
existing buildings in the district, an
energy renovation programme was
launched to preserve them while
improving their energy efficiency.
To reduce the primary energy
consumption/m²/year to 96 kWh
(compared to the French national
average of 250 kWh for existing
buildings), the works are adapted to
the needs of each building. To date,
70,000 m² of office and residential
space have been renovated. The
SPL Lyon Confluence, the initiator
of this renovation programme,
has a threefold strategy to support
building retrofitting. First, they
sell part of the public land they
own, including buildings that need
to be renovated, to private developers
through a land sale contract.
Second, they establish a close
collaboration with social housing
operators to accompany them with
technical and financial support
at each stage of the renovation
process, from obtaining the
building permit to finding the best
technical solution for listed buildings.
Third, they participate in
European projects to test different
renovation strategies. The next
steps: How to involve individual
owners, tenants and groups
of citizens in this renovation
programme? Are more collective
solutions or diversified models
needed to support the renovation of
households, so that more financially
vulnerable families can also stay in
the district?
5.1 City of Lyon, social housing.
Rue Ravat, Rue Delandine,
Rue Quivogne
© City of Lyon, Municipal
Archives/L.Lambert & fils,
Architectes, 15/12/1922
5.2 Renovation of the social
housing block La Cité Perrache
© Stéphane Boitat/
SPL Lyon Confluence – 2021
5.3 Building renovation Cité Mignot
© Jérémy Mathieu/
Lyon Confluence – 2019
5.1 5.2
5.3
76

A semi-public company to lead the way
towards a sustainable district
In 1999 a development concession agreement
was signed that established the semi-public company
Lyon Confluence. With a team of twenty-four multi-skilled
professionals, this organization has been responsible for the
redevelopment of the district these past twenty years. With
the Métropole de Lyon becoming its majority shareholder, it
turned into a local public company in 2012, enabling the SPL
Lyon Confluence to fully take charge of the different aspects
of the district’s development.
6. The mission of the Lyon
Confluence independent local
public organization has grown over
time due to its transformation into a
100% public development company,
with the Métropole de Lyon and the
City of Lyon as its shareholders.
The Métropole de Lyon has made
this organization fully responsible
for the development of the area.
Over the past twenty years, the SPL
Lyon Confluence has drawn up and
implemented the district’s master
plan, designed public spaces,
carried out studies, communicated
with stakeholders, sold plots to
developers and helped them to meet
high standards of climate-proofing
and social sustainability. The
gradual integration of ever-higher
ambitions for the district, from
a smart district to a sustainable,
energy-positive one, has been a key
aspect of the work carried out by
this development company.
6.1 Organizational structure
of Lyon Confluence public
organization
© SPL Lyon Confluence
77
6.1
CHAPTER 1. Portraits of PED experiments
PORTRAIT 5 – Lyon Confluence, Lyon

7. Energy and climate adaptation
are not the only driving principles
for the urban transformation of
the Confluence. The redevelopment
has a high social sustainability
target as well. To improve inclusion
and address the professional integration
of people far from the labour
market, the local development company
signed a framework agreement
that provides guidance to contractors
and developers on how to
achieve climate adaptation clauses
and social sustainability objectives.
In collaboration with the Lyon
Métropole Centre for Integration
and Employment, the SPL Lyon
Confluence has developed a stepby-step
process to raise awareness
among companies to improve ‘local
employability’. Although developers
didn’t fully embrace this initiative
initially, it is now becoming the
norm, boosted by the French Public
Procurement Code, which has made
these social clauses mandatory.
7.1 Workers on the heat network
in the Lyon Confluence
© Laurence Danière/
SPL Lyon Confluence – 2021
8. Having the political level on
board is key for the continuation of
the redevelopment of the district.
The Lyon Confluence steering
group is made up of representatives
of the public shareholders and the
(non-elected) top management of
each of the municipalities in Lyon
Métropole. The group meets three
or four times a year to discuss,
monitor and validate changes
to the Confluence development
plan. In this way, continuity in the
district is ensured, but the different
decision-making levels and
public authorities are also actively
involved in the process. The process
was kickstarted by the presence of
the former Mayor of Lyon, who, at
the start of the Confluence urban
development process, presided
both Lyon Métropole and SPL
Lyon Confluence.
In this way, the independent public
organization SPL Lyon Confluence
retains its autonomy, but always
has the political level and the public
authorities on board.
8.1 Launch of a European project
with the participation of
the steering group
© Laurence Danière/SPL Lyon
Confluence – 2023
8.1
7.1
78

Citizen engagement for the co-design of
neighbourhood transformation
Since the beginning of the redevelopment
process, engagement, information and knowledge have been
shared with citizens and local actors through a series of public
exhibitions and the creation of the neighbourhood centre
Maison de La Confluence. Dialogue, exchange and monitoring
of the process have taken place in this neighbourhood centre
with interested citizens. This has helped to create a shared
framework in which new qualities and values for the district
are now flourishing.
9. Located in a former wholesale
building in the district, the Maison
de la Confluence is now the central
point in the district for citizens,
stakeholders and interested parties
to learn about the Lyon Confluence
development projects. It is also
the headquarters of the SPL Lyon
Confluence and the place where
public consultation, workshops and
debates take place. The neighbourhood
centre has been active since
1999, moving from one location to
another until finding a permanent
home in 2013.
9.1 European heritage day at
the Maison de la Confluence
© Laurence Danière/SPL Lyon
Confluence – 2014
9.2 Maison de la Confluence,
Rue Delandine
© Laurence Daniere/SPL Lyon
Confluence – 2023
79
9.1
9.2
CHAPTER 1. Portraits of PED experiments
PORTRAIT 5 – Lyon Confluence, Lyon

10. The Maison de la Confluence
is also the venue for public exhibitions.
These have been used as
a key tool in the development
process. In 1998 the exhibition Lyon
Confluence, an Urban Project opened
a public consultation on the possible
future of the area. In the early
2000s, the three-month exhibition
Urban Dialogue presented the
results of the consultation phase
and a first master plan for the area.
In 2008-2009, My City Tomorrow
presented the experience of the first
phase of the project and illustrated
the next.
Today, Cultivating the City with
Intelligence illustrates the last
twenty years of work in the area and
highlights the integrated approach
of this urban transformation.
10.1 First exhibition at the Maison
de la Confluence new site, 2013
© bureau 205
10.2 Visitors at the ‘Fabrique
de la Ville’ exhibition at
the Maison de la Confluence
© Laurence Daniere/
SPL Lyon Confluence – 2023
10.1
10.2
80

11. Three times a year since 2006,
the Maison de la Confluence has
hosted the so-called Participatory
Monitoring Committee. Local
socio-economic, cultural and
governmental actors come together
to discuss the transformation of the
district, share different points of
view and inform each other about
the development of the project.
New residents are welcomed
and invited to take part in these
moments so as to get involved in the
life of the district. But how to reach
the group of district residents who
aren’t yet part of this process? New
spaces have been made available
in the area for this purpose. The
Eurêka Club is an incubator of civic
activities which, through a series
of calls for projects, encourages
citizens to take concrete actions,
such as urban agriculture initiatives.
Station Mue is an urban
laboratory for co-construction and
experimentation, where workshops
and events are organized to raise
awareness and empower diverse
groups of citizens to co-create
the sustainable and resilient city
of tomorrow.
11.1 Atelier des Nouveaux Designs,
upcycling and sewing
workshop for social inclusion
© Laurence Danière/SPL Lyon
Confluence – 2021
11.2 Public meeting ‘Ouvrons
Perrache’
© Laurence Daniere/SPL Lyon
Confluence – 2016
11.3 Citizens and children from
the district at the Festival
of Wooden Games at Station Mue
© Laurence Danière/SPL Lyon
Confluence – 2023
81
11.1
11.2
11.3
CHAPTER 1. Portraits of PED experiments
PORTRAIT 5 – Lyon Confluence, Lyon

A new architectural language for
a new type of district
The redevelopment of Lyon Confluence has
not only provided an opportunity to test new models of urban
transformation and energy technology, it has also triggered
new architectural languages that integrate existing and newly
built environments and respond to multiple sustainability
challenges. Lyon Confluence has therefore been the test bed
for many ‘starchitects’ to challenge the traditional ways of
building and designing housing and public spaces, living and
working. The result is a new identity for the district.
12. Today, the district speaks
an abundance of architectural
languages across a range of experimental
buildings and high-quality
public spaces. Many ‘starchitects’
have contributed to the district,
resulting in the construction of
several iconic buildings. The Musée
des Confluences, for example,
designed by Austrian architectural
collective Coop Himmelb(l)au, is
the emblematic entrance to the
neighbourhood. Made of crystal
glass, concrete and steel, it formed
the starting point for the urban
development. The emblematic
architecture that characterizes the
new buildings on the peninsula has
been a tool to change and improve
the perception of the area. It has
highlighted the Confluence as a
laboratory for both sustainability
and innovative architectural language.
Open architecture competitions
made it possible to select the
right design proposals to meet the
spatial, sustainability and energy
targets set independently by SPL
12.1 12.3
12.2
82

Lyon Confluence. From the outset,
the public tenders have been a key
tool to set high standards for the
materials, energy performance
and use of the new buildings. The
land-sale contracts and the close
cooperation between the SPL, the
town planning department, the
contractor and the designer have
made it possible to achieve highly
sustainable constructions.
12.1 Musée des Confluences
© Raimund Koch
12.2 Monolite, MVRDV, part of the
development of an urban block
© MVRDV Winy Maas, Jacob van
Rijs, Nathalie de Vries
12.3 The A3 pilot block for the
second phase of the Lyon
Confluence master plan
© Julien Lanoo
13. How can sustainable and
energy-efficient developments
become affordable for everyone
in the city, not just for the happy
few? The SPL Lyon Confluence
is trying to tackle this question
by implementing new strategies
and collaborations. For example,
new developments are subject to
precise construction guidelines
that determine the percentage of
social housing to be built within
the project, depending on the size
of the development. This helps to
balance the target groups for the
project, combining both market-rate
and social housing. In the same way,
by supporting the renovation of
existing social housing blocks in the
district, the development company
aims to keep existing residents in
the city centre, improving their
housing quality and preventing
them from being displaced by urban
development dynamics. On the
other hand, the Lyon Confluence
offers very few affordable solutions
for medium- to lower-income
households that cannot access
social housing because they don’t
meet the requirements. Through
a collaboration with the Land
Solidarity Organization, which is
based on community land-trust
business models, they now attempt
to implement more affordable
housing in the newest developments
of the district, accessible to a wider
population group.
13.1 The Sollys projects will
enable the deployment of selfconsumption
on a larger scale
of 12 multifunctional buildings
© Virtual Building/Bouygues
Immobilier
13.2 Aerial view of the redeveloped
area of Lyon Confluence
© Guillaume Perret, Ateliers
Jean Nouvel
13.3 Renovation of the social
housing block Cité Perrache
© Vladimir de Mollerat du Jeu/
SPL Lyon Confluence
83
13.1 13.2
13.3
CHAPTER 1. Portraits of PED experiments
PORTRAIT 5 – Lyon Confluence, Lyon

84

PORTRAIT 6
85
Georgian Quarter,
Limerick
Georgian Quarter
covers 35 ha
3,000 inhabitants
Administrative
boundary of
Limerick city centre

Reinhabiting a historic city centre
The historic city centre of Limerick is
characterized by distinctive Georgian architecture but has
experienced a slow but steady decline over the last century.
Suburbanization, economic crises and stagnation in the
nineteenth century left the Georgian Quarter with very few
inhabitants. This decline is manifested in both the physical
architecture and the social fabric. In recent decades, the City
of Limerick, in collaboration with the National Government,
embarked on a programme of regeneration in the historic
city centre.
1. Built between 1760 and 1840,
the Newtown Pery area – known
as the Georgian Quarter for its
distinctive Georgian architecture –
was historically one of the most
important city ports in Ireland
due to its proximity to the river
Shannon. After the city walls were
razed, this new district was developed
with an orthogonal grid plan
of rectangular blocks of equal size,
with a mix of residential blocks and
small industries and factories. In
the second half of the nineteenth
century, with the end of the
1.1 1.2
1.3
86

Georgian era and due to economic
decline and lack of subsequent
investment, life in the district began
to fade. Coupled with the trend
towards suburban living, this has
led to the deterioration of the whole
area in recent years.
1.1 Georgian industry
© Patrick Comerford
1.2 Vacant house in the district
© William Murphy
1.3 Historical map of Limerick
city centre, 1837
© Limerick City Library
2. Over the past decade, the
City of Limerick and the Irish
national government have been
pursuing a programme to regenerate
the Georgian Quarter. The Living
City Initiative is a programme
which offers income tax relief to
owners-occupiers who undertake
the refurbishment of residential,
commercial and retail premises in
the Georgian Quarter built before
1915. The tax deduction provides
a tax relief for the full cost of the
renovation for individual interventions,
deductible over a seven-year
period. This has already triggered a
wave of renovations in the district.
Sufficiently high income earners,
who are in a tax bracket allowing
larger amounts to be deducted,
can benefit greatly by contributing
to the improvement of
the neighbourhood.
2.1 Street in the Georgian Quarter
with many houses for sale
© William Murphy
2.2 Pery Square, Georgian Quarter
© William Murphy
2.3 O’Connell Street,
Georgian Quarter
© William Murphy
87
2.1
2.2
2.3
CHAPTER 1. Portraits of PED experiments
PORTRAIT 6 – Georgian Quarter, Limerick

A long-standing history of
energy sustainability
Ireland has been a pioneer in energy sustainability.
In the early twentieth century, the Ardnacrusha hydroelectric
power station near Limerick was the first of its kind,
supplying clean energy to the whole country via a national
grid. Today, however, the Georgian Quarter is mainly served
by individual gas boilers, with only a small proportion of its
electricity coming from the hydro plant. Thanks to the City
of Limerick’s incentivized renovation wave and the National
Government’s decarbonization zoning, the Georgian Quarter
had all the makings of a potential Positive Energy District
test bed.
3. In 1915 the first hydroelectric
power station was built on the
river Shannon, six kilometres from
Limerick, providing clean electricity
to the whole of Ireland. Today,
the plant provides only 2% of the
country’s electricity. As part of the
European project +CityxChange,
the City of Limerick worked with
a team of experts and engineers
to investigate how a tidal turbine
could power its historic centre.
3.1 Ardnacrusha hydro power plant
© ESB Archives
3.2 Water pipe at the Ardnacrusha
hydro power plant
© ESB Archives
3.1
3.2
88

4. The City of Limerick
participated in the European
Union’s Horizon 2020 research
and innovation programme
+CityxChange as a lighthouse city
for the implementation of the PED.
The Georgian Quarter was used as
a test case for the transformation
of historic districts, providing
lessons for many other city centres
in terms of renovation, energysaving
measures and local energy
production and exchange. Limerick
has initiated ten experiments, such
as co-creating a shared city vision
and integrating e-mobility into the
district energy system. The project
explored the concept of the Positive
Energy Block (PEB) as a minimum
component for PED development.
In this sense, a PED is conceived
as a district consisting of many
interconnected PEBs.
4.1 Co-creation of Positive
Energy Blocks
© Dirk Ahlers, Patrick
Driscoll, Håvard Wibe,
Annemie Wyckmans
5. GKinetic, the turbine technology
company involved in the
+CityxChange consortium, initiated
a series of open consultations with
local citizens and organizations to
shape the tidal turbine project in
Limerick. In particular, concerns
about noise, size, environment and
transportability of the turbines
were raised during these public
consultations. The meetings helped
to define the testing phase and
the realization of the final model
for the tidal turbine, resulting in a
relatively small and light device of
two tonnes, capable of producing
12 kWh through the use of slow
turning turbines that follow the
flow of water and do not harm local
wildlife. With the approval of the
planning department for the installation
of three devices, this will be
the first renewable energy-sharing
project implemented in Limerick.
The energy produced by the
turbines will be used to power a
community building and local
e-charging stations. The energy
will partly be sold to the local city
council. To date, thirty residents
are interested in joining the energy
community, along with a local
museum and art gallery. The longterm
aim is to install fifteen units
along the river to help transform
Limerick’s energy supply.
5.1 Installation of one of the
tidal turbines in Limerick
© GKinetic
89
4.1
5.1
CHAPTER 1. Portraits of PED experiments
PORTRAIT 6 – Georgian Quarter, Limerick

6. In line with the National
Climate Action Plan 2019, the
City of Limerick was required to
establish ‘decarbonization zoning’
by identifying areas where CO2
emissions must be reduced by 51%
by 2030. With the support of the
+CityxChange project, the City
identified the historic centre as the
core decarbonization zone. This
paved the way for new experiments
around energy sustainability in
the district.
6.1 Climate Action Plan 2019
© Government of Ireland
6.2 Map illustrating the
Decarbonization zone
in Limerick
© Limerick City and
County Council
6.1
6.2
90

A sustainable historic city centre
The redevelopment of the Georgian Quarter
won’t take place at once, a step-by-step strategy is needed.
The City of Limerick has started to implement PEBs, selfsufficient
groups of buildings that produce more energy
than they consume. By using public buildings as catalysts for
renovation, a block-by-block multiplication strategy has been
put in place to achieve climate and social sustainability.
7.1
7. The City of Limerick initiated
a first test PEB in the core of the
Georgian Quarter. The building of
Limerick 2030, a Special Purpose
Vehicle working for the city’s
Development Council, served as
an anchor building. One-to-one
discussions and meetings were held
with the owners of the surrounding
buildings to engage them in the
process of refurbishment and
energy sharing. As of today, five
Georgian buildings with similar
renovation challenges within the
same block are taking part in the
process of becoming a PEB.
7.1 Typical Georgian Quarter block
© William Murphy
7.2 Pilot project for a PEB,
Garden International
© Limerick Twenty Thirty
91
7.2
CHAPTER 1. Portraits of PED experiments
PORTRAIT 6 – Georgian Quarter, Limerick

8. The first PEB experiment
showed the potential to accelerate
the transformation of the Georgian
Quarter by tackling one block at a
time. The City has initiated a wider
survey of residents and owners in
the area to assess and understand
general interest in and readiness
for renovation. This input will
help to identify the next blocks
to be renovated, with the aim of
mobilizing at least twenty owners
in the neighbourhood to carry
out renovations and build shared
energy infrastructure.
8.1 Anchor buildings for
PEB experimentation
© +CityxChange project
consortium
9. The process was supported
by a digital twin of the district.
This simulation model collects
data from the district, such as an
estimation of CO2 production or
actual energy bills. It then uses
them to build scenarios by means of
a machine-learning algorithm. The
digital twin is part of a set of digital
tools, including an intelligent community
design and an intelligent
community information model, to
engage citizens, property owners,
planners and community leaders.
9.1
They get access to operational
dashboards and portfolio management
to support their own actions.
The dashboards are available online
and in the Innovation Lab, an
interactive laboratory where these
platforms can be used to observe
the changes in the neighbourhood.
9.1 Digital twin investing PEB
© Integrated Environmental
Solutions (IES)
8.1
92

Capacity-building with citizens and
local authorities
In light of the transformation of the Georgian
Quarter, the city has created a dedicated new unit. Urban
Innovation Limerick is the new city department managing
the district’s transformation strategy. It is leading the energy
transition one block at a time. To achieve this, everyone has
to be on board. The infrastructure and tools for community
empowerment and local capacity-building are at the heart
of the process.
10.1
10. The city has set up a new
unit to guide the transformation
of the Georgian Quarter: Urban
Innovation Limerick. Located in a
former shopping centre in the heart
of the city, the unit’s primary aim
is to lead the cross-departmental
energy transition and to align the
various local programmes and tools
to manage the transformation. It
provides a one-stop shop to support
refurbishment projects, linking
available property owners with
developers to bring financial viability
to the refurbishment of the district’s
housing stock. They review
and develop support programmes
and incentives, such as the Living
Cities Initiative programme.
10.1 Engagement hub, part of
Urban Innovation Limerick
© Citizens Innovation
Lab Limerick
10.2 Community design workshop
with energy game
© Citizens Innovation
Lab Limerick
93
10.2
CHAPTER 1. Portraits of PED experiments
PORTRAIT 6 – Georgian Quarter, Limerick

11. One of the priorities in
Limerick is to engage local citizens
to participate and take ownership
of the sustainable transformation
of the district. Urban Innovation
Limerick has opened the Citizens
Innovation Lab, which provides
a physical and digital space for
citizens and other stakeholders
to get involved. With a FabLab,
a Citizens’ Observatory and a
Community Engagement Hub, a
programme of public consultations,
workshops and events, they aim
to build knowledge together with
citizens and activate local dynamics
and action.
11.1 Community design workshop
with energy game
© Citizens Innovation
Lab Limerick
11.1 12.2
12.1
94

12. One of the initiatives
recently launched by the Citizens
Innovation Lab is the Academy of
the Near Future. This educational
programme provides students with
the skills, knowledge and knowhow
to rethink the future of our
cities. With a focus on technology,
it organizes hands-on activities
to raise awareness and empower
students to tackle the challenges
of the future. Similarly, the Smart
Building Living Lab explores
new ways to make buildings more
sustainable and intelligent. Around
one hundred residents in Limerick
are installing sensors to monitor
their buildings.
This form of citizen science enables
residents to become more aware
of the actual energy performance
and to use this knowledge to reduce
their energy consumption and start
planning possible interventions
to make their homes more
future-proof.
12.1 Academy of the Near Future
© Citizens Innovation Lab
Limerick
12.2 Smart Lab, sensor to be
installed, to monitor
local buildings
© Smart Lab Limerick
12.3 Smart Building living lab,
retrieving information from
the local sensor
© Smart Lab Limerick
95
12.3
CHAPTER 1. Portraits of PED experiments
PORTRAIT 6 – Georgian Quarter, Limerick

96

CHAPTER 2
Keys for
realizing
PEDs
99
How do PEDs evolve from an ambitious
idea to a logical sequence of concrete actions?
In this chapter, eleven key dimensions structure
a working method and a set of building blocks
for the energy transition at district level. From the
PED experiments in the previous chapter, we
learn that initiators and participants are confronted
with similar, recurring questions. Who do you build
the district strategy with? When and where do
you start? How do you connect to existing neighbourhood
dynamics? Which city instruments can
help to implement a PED? What are your targets
CHAPTER 2. Keys for realizing PEDs

and how do you assess whether you’re reaching
them? However, despite the fact that the same
questions are asked again and again, there is no
single answer or quick fix. Initiating and coordinating
a Positive Energy District will always remain
a creative and district-specific endeavour. Instead
of a recipe, the eleven Keys provide you with a
framework. They are the partitioned dimensions
of a multilayered development process, each of
which you and your coalition will need to find
answers for.
Each Key begins with a short story. The
protagonist takes you through a fictional situation
that highlights one of the challenges that PED
initiators and processes face. To answer those,
the Key first elaborates a reasoning that arms you
for the conversations with your colleagues or
partners. It argues why you’d need a higher involvement
of local stakeholders, for example, what the
benefits are and which levels of involvement can
be recognized. Subsequently, the Key provides
you with a set of practical, inspirational building
blocks to get started. Each of those is illustrated
with an exemplary initiative, method or project.
The building blocks allow you to start exploring
possibilities. They become the pieces of a puzzle.
100
With these building blocks in mind, you
can co-design your own action plan. There is a
playing card for each building block in the deck
that is part of this toolkit. We invite you to start

using them, either to frame and inspire an open
conversation with colleagues, citizens and partners,
or in Workshop B, described in the Instructions
booklet. You’ll become the moderator of a
step-by-step working session and challenge your
stakeholders to position different cards on a
long-term timeline until they add up to a coherent
action plan. The deck of cards is a starter set.
You may want to add or change a card, or combine
two cards, to better suit your ideas or
your neighbourhood.
101
CHAPTER 2. Keys for realizing PEDs

102

KEY 1
103
How to analyse
the local
context

104
As a private energy provider, we are in
discussion with an ambitious local authority about
how to implement a heat network in an existing
pilot district. The technical study shows a high
potential for switching to a low-temperature heat
network based on geothermal energy. But we need
to solve a number of issues before we can submit a
full proposal for the implementation phase of the
project: we don’t know the exact location of the
underground sewer system, which was built in the
1960s, nor the extent of the root systems of the
old trees in the area’s main streets. We need this
information before we start digging. Otherwise
we run the risk of hitting a pipe or getting too
close to the tree roots and damaging or altering
the temperature of the underground ecosystems.
At the same time, the local authority wants to
have a clear idea of the residents’ willingness and
readiness to connect to the heat network. They
won’t let us proceed with the final dossier before
then. As a private company, we aim to be at the
forefront of the sustainability transition. That’s
why my team and I have proposed to our board
that we extend the analysis phase of this project
by several months. This will allow us to gather the
necessary information on the existing sewerage
systems, root networks and residents’ willingness,
and also to avoid future financial risks to the
project. We’ll fill in the gaps in our maps and try
to grasp the dynamics of the neighbourhood
before embarking on this intervention.

Each district has its own spatial, social
and energy constitution and dynamic. To ensure
that the PED process meets a district’s specific
needs and taps into its potential, a district analysis
on different levels is a necessary starting point.
105
Implementing a fixed template of actions and investments in a neighbourhood
doesn’t equal becoming a PED. Rather than start from a standard set of interventions
or projects, we first need to understand the specificities of the
district(s) we are working in. Strategies that work in one neighbourhood,
city or country may not be the best solution in another. A telling example is
the experience of City Mine(d), a Brussels-based non-profit organization
whose mission is ‘to make urban development everyone’s business’. After
successfully carrying out a community-driven energy project in the Brussels
Southern Quarter, they realized that their approach had to be completely
rethought for the Northern Quarter. The inhabitants of the latter district are
deeply sceptical about the public authorities, their intentions and projects.
This is due to the massive destruction and relocation of more than half the
neighbourhood in the 1970s and 1980s to allow for the construction of a
central business district [see Chapter 1, p. 16]. It is only after City Mine(d)
spent a considerable amount of time among the inhabitants that they were
no longer distrusted as agents of private or public actors who had come to
present their latest plans for the district’s future. They gained trust as people
who were genuinely interested in the needs and aspirations of citizens. This
enabled them to launch several actions together. Although both the Southern
and Northern Quarters are deprived areas situated around important railway
stations and with high levels of (energy) poverty, their specificities require
different approaches, actions and, ultimately, investments.
A lack of knowledge or misreading of the local specificities with
regard to technical, physical and social aspects can easily lead to lock-ins and
resistance. Conversely, a more profound understanding of your neighbourhood
will allow you to make the smartest, most effective and most interesting choices.
In Limerick’s Georgian Quarter, for example, a decentralized hydroelectric plant
was chosen because of the proximity to water, but also because of the specific
nature of the historic buildings, which can’t be adequately insulated and will
therefore continue to have a higher energy demand. The usual solutions such as
a heating network or individual solutions such as heat pumps and solar panels
wouldn’t suffice [see Chapter 1, p. 85].
The experiments in Chapter 1 teach us that a strong awareness
and understanding of the local characteristics of a neighbourhood are a precondition
for a targeted approach to neighbourhood (re)development. As the
energy transition of a district touches on social, economic and environmental
dimensions of the living environment and people’s lives, a multidimensional
analysis is needed. In this Key we look at those different levels of neighbourhood
analysis. As a general principle, it makes sense for this analysis to be carried
out at the start of the PED process. But this doesn’t mean that concrete actions
in the district can only start once this analysis has been completed. Some analy
ses will take longer and will run parallel to (and draw on) early empowering
actions, pilot projects or capacity-building [see Keys 2, 6 and 8]. The need for a
particular analysis may also become clear in the course of the process and only
be carried out between two and five years after the start of the process. As an
initiator, you are invited to use this Key at different moments in your process.
CHAPTER 2. Keys for realizing PEDs
KEY 1 – How to analyse the local context

Different levels of analysis
We have already touched upon several types of contextual differences that
must be analysed for the development of a PED (the social dynamics in Brussels,
the technical potential in Limerick). Each development process involves
specific energy infrastructures that need to arrive at specific physical locations.
Each process is about people and their current and future energy use, their
motivation and (financial) capacities. It requires investment and a return
on that investment. While it is not a must (or not even possible) to realize a
complete analysis of a district, we do advocate devoting sufficient time and
resources to a multilayered analysis.
But how are we to make such an analysis? Some information
can be gathered through desk research while other dimensions will require
you to go out into the streets and reach out to stakeholders and users. Some
factors are obvious and visible: they include physical characteristics such as
building morphology, current energy consumption pattern, availability of
residual heat or space for PV panels. Other factors are non-physical: existing
neighbourhood dynamics, relations between tenants and landlords, or political
trust and planning culture. Some analyses are easier for architects or energy
experts to carry out, while others are the domain of anthropologists and
neighbourhood managers. You need a multidisciplinary team to perform
a multifaceted analysis.
1.A Geographical analysis
Maps can be a powerful tool for reading
a neighbourhood and discussing it with colleagues and
stakeholders. Looking at physical places makes clear that
setting up a PED is an integrated challenge. A heat network,
a water-buffering wadi, a new cycle path, trees and charging
points: these should all end up in the same street with certain
dimensions and current qualities. The creation of a basic
cartography showing the physical features of the environment
is a logical step at the beginning of a PED process. Relevant
map layers include existing infrastructures, greenery, asphalted
vs soft areas, density of the built environment, use of buildings
and spaces, ownership structure and age of the building stock.
Many non-physical data are also linked to a geolocation
and can therefore be visualized on a map, such as average
household income and energy consumption.
Bicycle parking
Park & Ride
Car park
Disabled parking
Resident parking
A complete geographical area
analysis was carried out for
the 2nd and 20th districts of
Vienna (AT) as part of the WieNeu+
urban renewal programme. The
Urban Renewal Office of the City
of Vienna examined the built
environment, the energy potential
and the socio-economic dynamics
of the two districts. Both publicly
available and non-public data were
collected. A design office also
conducted a field analysis to obtain
more specific information, such as
the use of ground-floor space or the
condition of the inner courtyards
of the residential blocks. All the
information gathered through field
observation and data analysis was
compiled to produce a cartography,
making it possible to define twentyfive
urban regeneration interventions
to be developed in the two districts.
For example, one of the maps
showed that the number of parking
spaces in the 2nd and 20th districts
is much higher than the number of
cars owned by local residents. This
map helped to identify the potential
in the district to use parking spaces
in more climate-resilient ways.
Similarly, based on a micro-mapping
simulation of street temperatures in
summer, a series of ‘cooling zones’
were defined, dedicated to combating
the climate heat-island effect in
the district.
© Based on WieNeu+, Vienna (AT)
106

1.B Energy potential analysis
The context determines the potential for local
production of heat and electricity, on the one hand, and for the
reduction of the energy demand, on the other. The share of
well-oriented roofs or façades affects the potential for solar
energy. The presence of residual heat close to the district,
the suitability of the subsoil for boreholes and the future heat
demand are some of the factors that will determine what type
of heat network can be implemented or not. Proximity to water
can provide opportunities for aquathermics. Buildings that
consume a lot of hot water, like hospitals, are perfect to deliver
sewage heat. The morphology of the buildings will determine
how much efficiency increase can be achieved through
renovation. It helps to visualize and calculate these and other
scenarios at the start of a PED process. This will allow you to
identify the opportunities that are specific to your district and
that might require first actions or become a first project. It is
also a necessary step to establish your neighbourhood-specific
target in terms of energy balance [more about this in Key 3].
To find out if Loudden, a subdistrict
of the Stockholm Royal
Seaport (SE), could become a
fossil-free area, the city’s development
administration asked a team
of energy consultants to carry
out an energy system analysis. In
addition to electricity and cooling,
the demand for heating is particularly
high in Sweden due to the
cold winters. By comparing the
two scenarios that were studied,
we can understand the importance
of an energy potential analysis.
Both assume a low-temperature
local heat network and (exchange
between) highly energy-efficient
buildings, which is almost a given
for a new development. However,
the scenarios differ in the source of
the heat network, which is heated
either by local heat pumps or by
using residual heat from the return
flow of the city’s existing central
heating network. In the first scenario,
a lot of electricity is needed
to run the heat pumps. Given
Stockholm’s climatic conditions
(lack of sunlight) and the proposed
density of the district, it will be
very difficult, if not impossible, to
produce the necessary amount of
electricity within the district itself.
This is why the second scenario is
being further investigated, together
with the energy utility Stockholm
Exergi. Of course, open questions
remain in this scenario as well: How
to determine the costs to be paid
for the excess heat from the return
flow? And is this energy considered
‘locally produced’?
© Stockholm Royal Seaport,
Stockholm (SE)
107
1.C Neighbourhood dynamics analysis
Beyond its physical characteristics, a neighbourhood
is also a web of social interactions and behaviour.
It is essential to comprehend the lifestyles of residents,
land lords, workers or passers-by, and the formal and
informal bonds and networks they form. These dynamics
are often closely linked to culture, history, discourses,
shared beliefs, values, perspectives, paradigms, habits and
practices. Therefore, talking to inhabitants and to people and
organizations that work daily in or on the neighbourhood is
a way to map these (often implicit) dynamics. While some
aspects might have a direct impact on energy consumption
(ventilation or heating habits), others are crucial because they
can be picked up in the PED strategy (important initiatives
as a lever, local aspirations as part of the integrated target,
or relations between landlords and renters).
In Bospolder-Tussendijken in
Rotterdam (NL), two anthropologists,
a social entrepreneur and
a social architect (two of them
residents themselves) mapped the
networks, needs and opportunities
of the neighbourhood as a starting
point for the development of
a transformation strategy that
connects the energy transition
to other needs and ambitions
of the neighbourhood (Knoop
et al., 2019). The anthropological
research involved interactions
with different residents and users,
taking part in different segments of
neighbourhood life: conversations
on a park bench, during a meeting
of a women’s network or before
prayers in the mosque, and meetings
with formal organizations. Partly
based on the oral histories and the
mapping, the formal and informal
networks and initiatives that make
↧
CHAPTER 2. Keys for realizing PEDs
KEY 1 – How to analyse the local context

up the social fabric of BoTu were
indexed and mapped. This mapping
of the social dynamics was carried
out in parallel with an energy
engineering study that looked at
the potential for production and
reduction. Together, these two
mappings provided a solid basis
for a co-created roadmap or Local
Energy Action Plan (LEAP): the
social networks around a school,
for example, became the basis
for the construction of the first
pilot action. For the International
Architecture Biennale Rotterdam
(IABR 2022), artist Jan Rothuizen
visualized some of these dynamics
in a subjective cartography of the
neighbourhood: his hand-drawn
map shows buildings and places
that are significant to the users of
the neighbourhood.
© Jan Rothuizen, IABR,
Rotterdam (NL)
108

CHAPTER 2. Keys for realizing PEDs
KEY 1 – How to analyse the local context
109

Institutional actors
Facilitator
Civil society
Private actors
Operators
1.D Stakeholder analysis
To better understand local dynamics, it is
important to know more about the local actors and the relations
between them: how power is distributed, where there is
cooperation (or not), where there are tensions, which actors
have a major stake in the PED and which can make a major
contribution. A stakeholder analysis or mapping identifies the
groups of actors that have an interest in, and an influence on,
the development of PEDs in a particular neighbourhood. A
distinction can be made between the end users of the neighbourhood
(residents, shop owners, office workers) and the
drivers of PED development (energy consultants, financiers,
PV suppliers, sociocultural organizations, regulators) (Cheng
et al., 2021). As PEDs are dynamic processes, the roles of
different stakeholders also change over time. The PED
stakeholder analysis is a dynamic map.
Energy
Different
The exploratory phase of the
PED development in the Northern
Quarter in Brussels (BE) involved a
series of interviews with potential
stakeholders: the three municipalities
where the district is administratively
located, the regional planning
service, the regional environmental
service, the energy utility company,
a Brussels social organization
for citizen participation with
experience in energy districts, the
hospital located in the district, the
social housing service, the owners
of the office buildings, the national
railway company that manages an
important station in the district,
and the port coordinator, who
considers the canal a strategic area
(Architecture Workroom Brussels
and Engie, 2020). On the basis of
these initial discussions, the wishes
and needs of each of these actors were identified and
the question of how they could be linked was explored.
As part of the establishment of a coordination platform
[see Key 5, p. 155], the evolving involvement of
different stakeholders was then mapped out step
by step. The willingness to play a driving role in the
development of the PED was assessed and the outlines
of an initial operational governance model were defined
(3E and Architecture Workroom Brussels, 2021).
© Based on Architecture Workroom Brussels, Brussels (BE)
Cabinet
Hellings
Cabinet
Maron
BE
Sus. Dev.
BE
WS
Brugel
Northern Quarter
Infrabel
Engie
Immob
AG RE
Bef
U4N
Sibelga
TN
SAU
u.B
Coordination Platform Energy
BMA
CB Urban
Planning
p.B
BE
Renolution
CB Urban
Renovation
City Tools
PlusOffice
P of B
M of SJ
BUUR
1010au
M of S
BE
Energy
FL
CB E 3E
CB SC AWB
CPAS
CM(d)
BRAT
APERe
Maison
DQM
Maison
DQ
Maison
DQ
CLT
Proposal
LEC
CDQD
CSJ
K4
Ferme
DPM
BRAVVO
ZNK
ABC
110
AGE

1.E Planned investments analysis
There is no district where nothing is
happening: whether investments in people or businesses, in
constructing or in refurbishing buildings. Both public and private
organizations are constantly adding to the neighbourhood or
renewing parts of it. If you can partner with those ongoing
investments, your PED strategy will be more closely embedded
in ongoing dynamics rather than be (seen as) an operation
outside the real dynamic of the district. For example, the
ideal time to install a heat network is when the road has been
opened to replace a sewer or to implement climate adaptation
measures. When a school is being renovated, perhaps
the square in front of it could also use a makeover and its
connection to the neighbourhood’s soft cycling and walking
network could be improved. Looking at interventions together
will not only make them better because they serve multiple
goals at once. Some costs, such as opening up the street or
coordinating the construction team, can also be shared.
This requires only one co-creation process and residents will
only be affected once by the construction works. By mapping
out the investments already planned, opportunities to link
different projects can be identified.
A
B
C
Sewerage
N+60 years
Roads concrete
N+50 years
Roads cobbles
N+80 years
0 years 50 years 100 years
The municipality of Leiden (NL)
has mapped all the neighbourhoods
where the public space will be
redone between 2020 and 2050.
They did this based on the estimated
lifespan of the city’s assets:
sewers last on average sixty years,
the concrete in roads needs to be
replaced after about fifty years,
lighting infrastructure goes out
after forty years (Architecture
Workroom Brussels, 2020). Much
of the infrastructure in post-war
neighbourhoods will soon reach the
end of their lifespan. By synchronizing
the necessary investments in
a certain district (implementing
some earlier, others a little later),
the synergies between different
interventions can be maximized
and costs reduced. The City of
Leiden has calculated that, for the
South-West district, combining the
sewer replacement with climate
adaptation measures would save
them around 30% (Architecture
Workroom Brussels, 2020). This
way, the City of Leiden was able
to draw up a complete neighbourhood
transformation timeline for
neighbourhoods from the 1950s,
1960s and 1970s. The redesign
will integrate climate adaptation,
energy transition and circularity.
Other actors, such as housing
companies, are encouraged to
take advantage of the momentum
generated by public investment
to become part of an integrated
neighbourhood renewal.
© Based on City of Leiden,
Leiden (NL)
111
D
Lighting
N+40 years
Before installing our heat grid, we carried
out an additional analysis of the neighbourhood.
We hired a bioengineer and a botanist to study
the age and species of the trees. They found that
some of the oaks in the main street are more than
a hundred years old and their root systems, which
are close to the surface, stretch very far. This led
us to revise our original plan to put one of the
main pipes for the heat network there. We also
asked an urban planner with expertise in historical
CHAPTER 2. Keys for realizing PEDs
KEY 1 – How to analyse the local context

112
mapping to research the city’s sewerage system
in the city archives. She drew up a new map of the
existing underground pipes, which was crucial
in determining the final layout of the grid. The
team’s anthropologist carried out the community
consultation. Apparently, most people living in
the area were interested in connecting to the heat
network, but many weren’t aware of the incentives
and subsidies available. The anthropologist helped
us to set up a sociocultural programme about
renovation support tools and public subsidies.
This in turn enabled us to convince many more
people to consider connecting to the heat grid.
In our meeting with the board next week, we’ll
present the results of the extended study phase
and the new proposal for the grid. Thanks to its
success, we’ll recommend permanently integrating
a multidisciplinary team within the company to
carry out the necessary neighbourhood analysis
in the next areas we’ll be working on.

KEY 2
113
How to empower
local stakeholders

114
Three months ago, at a neighbourhood
meeting, I heard that the municipality had plans
to turn my neighbourhood into a PED. At first,
I didn’t even know what a PED was. But after
asking around, I understood that it had to do
with energy and reducing CO2 emissions. The
representative of the municipality told us that
everyone has to start using less energy and that
they’re going to launch a lot of energy projects in
the area to produce energy locally. To be honest,
I’m a bit frustrated with this PED. I really don’t
know how much further I can reduce my energy
consumption. I mean, I already do everything I
can to save on my energy bill: I postpone turning
the heating on as much as possible, I always wear
an extra jumper when at home and I unplug all
electronic devices so they don’t use energy when
I’m out. What else can I do? My landlord, on the
other hand, has said over and over that he’s going
to do something about the humidity problems in
my flat, which still has single-glazed windows.
That would probably make a huge difference to
how much energy I use! But so far nothing has
been done. Why don’t they get the landlords
involved instead of asking me to do more? A lot
of houses in the district are in the same condition
as mine. They really need to get their priorities
straight when it comes to this PED. I heard that
there were many empty chairs at last week’s
neighbourhood meeting, which the municipality
set up monthly to keep us updated on the PED,
and I’m not surprised.

The development of a PED requires
the active participation and commitment of the
local community. The stronger the local sense
of ownership and pride, the more inclusive and
sustainable the PED will be.
115
A PED is not a technical device that you buy, install and operate. A district
is a living ecosystem where people, their behaviour and social networks have
a huge impact on the choice, implementation and ultimately performance of
energy measures and systems. For example, support for a heating network
may be far lower if it requires razing an old grove of trees cherished by the
local community. Or a high-tech passive house won’t perform as planned
if the controlled ventilation is tampered with by its users. A district with a
strong community organization will be a more fertile ground for setting up
a local energy community. But this interrelation also works in the opposite
direction: energy measures and systems come with logics and consequences
that condition the behavioural patterns and social networks in the district.
For example, households will have to schedule energy-consuming activities
when the sun is shining and get used to cooking on induction rather than gas.
Or the geothermal heat installation under the gardens of a housing block can
lead to a change in relations between neighbours: from individual consumers
paying a bill to an (inter)national energy provider, they become cooperants
that co-own and operate a local heat company.
This reciprocal impact between behaviour and social networks,
on the one hand, and between energy measures and systems, on the other,
is a core dimension of a PED process and strategy. The more we succeed in
establishing synergies between the social and technical dimensions, the more
successful a PED will be. Adherence and enthusiasm will be much bigger when
the investments in energy measures and systems are conceived, preferably
via co-creation, as a flywheel for the district’s social dynamism, inclusion
and quality of life. The transition will be more profound when the changes
in technical installations and in behaviour are aligned and are mutually
reinforcing. This is more than a nice extra: we won’t reach the ambitious
energy targets for our built environment [see also Key 3] if we don’t maximize
those synergies, adherence to (and a sense of co-ownership over) the decisionmaking
of the PED process.
The importance of local empowerment is amplified by a dimension
that is as basic as it is crucial: money. To drastically increase the energy
efficiency of our houses and neighbourhoods, to construct renewable energy
sources and systems, and to do this in each existing and new district, we need
considerable and sustained investments. As Key 7 reveals, these investments
are significantly higher than the ones families, companies and public authorities
are used to making for fossil energy systems and provisions. When asking
residents to take part in a PED development, it will inevitably affect their financial
means and situation. It requires financial choices and commitments by
homeowners, renters, organizations and companies. For some, actively taking
part in the energy transition will be an investment opportunity or a lever for
social and personal growth. For others, it risks turning out the other way:
people who miss the boat will fall further and further behind in a widening
social divide.
The above illustrates that the only way to address the energy
transition as a truly systemic transformation is to seriously engage users,
communities and social networks (early) in the process. While this is true for
CHAPTER 2. Keys for realizing PEDs
KEY 2 – How to empower local stakeholders

oth existing and newly built districts, this will be of far greater importance
when working with communities of residents in our already existing urban
fabric. An inclusive approach is faster, allows interlinked social issues to
be addressed, is both more effective and more democratic, and it leads to
innovation (Energy Cities, 2020).
In this Key, we therefore focus primarily on ‘local stakeholders’,
a notion that refers to the end users of the neighbourhood. These are the
residents, landlords, shopkeepers, local public services (such as schools, the
library or the neighbourhood manager), and people who work there or come
there for leisure. In what follows, we sketch a perspective on an increased level
of stakeholder empowerment in which local actors move towards a sense of
co-ownership over the decision-making and implementation process of the
PED. We then collect several tactics and formats for stakeholder engagement
as alternatives to the traditional ones we know well by now, each with their
own objectives and methods. They are meant to inspire you and show that
thinking out of the box about stakeholder engagement can lead to fun, creative
and more effective approaches.
Increasing the level of empowerment
Before diving into strategies to empower stakeholders, we need to be aware
of ‘who’ they are and ‘how deeply’ they can or want to engage. Neither is
uniform: both the different types of stakeholder groups and the different levels
of intensity of their engagement are important parameters when devising an
empowering strategy. A retired couple might be very interested in changes in
their neighbourhood, but mightn’t always understand them. They have a very
different relation with the PED than a young family that plans to invest all their
savings in a deep renovation and wants to know which investments are the
smartest and most cost-effective. A social housing tenant who doesn’t seem to
have many options other than to choose the cheapest energy supplier again has
another position. There is a need for mapping this diversity [see Key 1, p. 106]
and for a diversified approach tailored to the different constituencies in a specific
district. While building that approach, we should accept that not all of these
local stakeholders can be involved with the same intensity. In neighbourhoods
with hundreds of families, some people will want to stand up and co-lead, others
will want to contribute to the design, still others will be actively involved in the
implementation of a sub-project, some will want to be consulted, and still others
will mainly want to receive regular and reliable information.
What is important is that the opportunity is there for each
stakeholder group to get involved with the intensity they desire or can handle.
To discuss this ‘capacity to engage’ in a PED (or ‘agency’, as it’s referred to in
sociology), we use the spectrum of levels of ownership over neighbourhood
transformation, as developed by City Mine(d), a Brussels-based not-for-profit
organization (City Mine(d), 2022). On the far left is the minimum level of
engagement needed to get people on board: information. Via several intermediate
levels of engagement, it builds up towards co-ownership at the right. This
implies greater inclusion, participation and democratic control of different
audiences and communities in the energy system. The spectrum is based
on the conviction that the greater the ownership of the objectives, the decision-making
process and the sub-projects by the local communities, the greater
the chances of success of the PED, and the greater the local added value. The
‘capacity to engage’ doesn’t exist when only the first levels of the spectrum
are addressed. It exists when those stakeholders that want to can become real
co-owners of the PED development.
116
The value of shared ownership can take many forms. If social
tenants are involved in a solar panel project and they reap the financial benefits,
this directly creates socio-economic growth opportunities. But also, when
newcomers with a migrant background are challenged to use their technical

skills to build a local wind turbine through energy workshops or an energy
training course, their pride and social network grow visibly. But it can also
mean that residents or local organizations are part of the coordination unit that
plans and steers the district’s development. Co-ownership is about capacitating
local communities through education, information, exchange and cooperation
so that neighbourhood transformation becomes community-owned.
117
1 2 3 4 5
6
Information Understanding Representation Discussion/
Consultationi
Co-definition
of the problem
Co-ownership
For each of the increasing levels of empowerment leading to co-ownership, we
sketch what it consists of and what its limitations are:
1. Information: The minimum commitment of PED initiators is to
disseminate information. This form of engagement requires the
least effort from local stakeholders. However, if the information
isn’t tailored to different stakeholder groups, the message will
be difficult to understand: the complex story of a PED can’t
be captured in short messages; language is often a barrier; the
information can be too technical for a non-expert audience.
2. Understanding: The message is made accessible and targeted
to the diverse audience. The intentions, analyses, ambitions
and proposals are communicated in such a way that different
local stakeholders can understand. The audience is invited to
react. But this often happens late in the process, when many
things have already been decided. This leads to a situation
where there is little margin for adaptation, as the hope is that
everyone will simply agree with what has been communicated.
3. Representation: A selection of stakeholders is asked to represent
the interests of the neighbourhood in resolving a set of
previously defined questions. They provide input that is valuable
to the project and that ensures that communication around
it resonates better with the neighbourhood. But it remains
difficult to drastically change the course of the project at this
point: the main steps in the process have already been defined.
4. Discussion / Consultation: Stakeholders are given the
opportunity to influence the project within predetermined
frameworks. Their opinions, ideas and reactions are harvest
ed through consultation and discussion. That happens
throughout the lifetime of the project so that the inputs can
be incorporated in time. But their ideas compete with the
wishes and logics of those who have been sitting at the decisionmaking
table from the outset: the politicians, the developers
involved, the energy company, etc. Input from stakeholders
is taken into account as long as it doesn’t undermine the
ambitions and interests of those decision-makers.
5. Co-definition of the problem: In the very early stages of
PED development, stakeholders are invited to co-define what
the key challenges and opportunities are. This ensures that
their priorities are weighed in the same way as the interests of
others. The project takes these needs and aspirations of local
stakeholders as its starting point.
CHAPTER 2. Keys for realizing PEDs
KEY 2 – How to empower local stakeholders

6. Co-ownership of the process: Local stakeholders can take
initiative and have their own rights and responsibilities within
the project. They take on specific roles in different phases and
parts of the project, from coordination to implementation.
There is room for ideas along the way and effort is shared
among the actors.
Tactics for active empowerment
There is no one-size-fits-all approach to participation and co-creation or to
achieving a greater sense of co-ownership in urban transformation. But there
are lessons to be learned from a few decades of experimentation. Why do
citizens fail to turn up for organized moments of participation? Why do people
react so strongly and negatively when a plan is proposed that will ultimately
improve the neighbourhood? In this section, we look at some tactics that form
the basis of more inclusive and open collaboration with local stakeholders
(City Mine(d), 2022). The following tactics seek to increase the buy-in and active
role of local communities in the urban energy transition.
a. Invest in active outreach. Being ‘open’ to participation often
isn’t enough. How do you avoid increasing only the participation
of groups you’ve already reached? A first step is to tailor the
approach to reach specific groups: identify the right language,
the right format, the right channels. For example, tenants have
different concerns than landlords, or language is often a barrier
for people with a migrant background. Some groups may need
special attention. If the playing field isn’t level, don’t hesitate
to invest more in some groups than others. Finally, simply
listening is an important part of the outreach process.
b. Build trust and proximity. Mutual trust is the foundation of
the process. Even if it takes (a lot of) time to build relations
of trust between different stakeholders, it helps to move
things faster in the long run. Many neighbourhood workers
observe that taking the time to have a coffee with people
is the most effective way to get to know the real issues and
aspirations of inhabitants. To anticipate growing conflicts and
crises, it’s important to engage with the seemingly contrarian
ways in which people participate, such as protests, petitions
and campaigns. People who feel neglected need trusted
intermediaries to express their views.
c. Make the question less abstract and intimidating.
It is common for people to believe that energy issues are
unrelated to their socio-economic needs, or that they’re all
about technical expertise. How do you avoid people feeling
that energy is not their business or that they’re not skilled
enough to get involved? Give everyone the confidence and
legitimacy to participate by starting from elements that are
part of people’s daily lives: the energy bill, draughts, mould,
local craftmanship, etc. There is a lot of social and technical
expertise in the neighbourhood that can be built on.
118
d. Frame the problem and the story together. It is far harder
to get involved in a project that is seemingly out of your
wheelhouse than one that is close to your daily concerns and
interests, formulated in a tone and words you understand.
While a PED undoubtedly pursues carbon neutrality, it could
be mobilized as a lever for better quality of life for local
residents. Genuinely asking everyone’s view on the problem
is a motivator. Stories related to the neighbourhood’s history,

identity or values and interests can play a crucial role in this
regard, as they generate intrinsic motivation. They build
collective identity and pride.
119
e. Build capacity and empower. For people to have the capacity
to act and participate they must have the resources, knowledge,
networks, (safe) space, confidence and support. So instead of
asking people straight out for their opinion, learn (together)
about pros and cons and about different types of solutions and
scenarios. In this way, people are valued for their intelligence
and equipped to give real answers, to weigh options and to
truly participate in the project.
Inspirational ways to empower
local stakeholders
But how do we translate these tactics to concrete actions? Often initiators of
urban processes are convinced of the need for participation and co-creation,
but they lack the time, support or skills to put this into practice in an inclusive,
innovative way. In this section, we dive into some concrete formats that allow
you to move up the above spectrum for empowerment. Sometimes it’s a matter
of finding creative and fun tools, sometimes it’s a matter of forming an alliance
with actors who are better placed to build a certain level of trust.
2.A Outreach campaign
Some groups or residents are harder to reach.
They’re often more financially vulnerable or don’t speak the
language. Or they may be people with less leverage, such as
tenants. In this case, it is particularly important to tailor
communications and to invest in outreach activities, both
of which enable broad, diverse and democratic stakeholder
participation. The campaign is proactive: local stakeholders
don’t have to show interest themselves and come to an official’s
desk. The information and support are brought to them. In
some cases, this means ringing every doorbell, but people can
also be reached in places they go to anyway (their children’s
school, the local shop, the park).
Buurzame Stroom in Ghent (BE)
is an exemplary project in terms
of inclusive mobilization and
community work. The campaign,
which aimed to increase local
renewable energy production,
targeted low-income homeowners
and families whose first language
isn’t Dutch. For more than a year,
Buurzame Stroom was present at all
kinds of neighbourhood activities
and went door-to-door, making
contact with more than 700 households.
Much effort was put into
creating tailored communication
materials that everyone could read
and understand. Social workers
took the time to find solutions
adapted to the needs and concerns
of each family. For families with
their own home and a well-insulated
roof, the focus was on direct
campaigns about the return on
investment of the remaining
interventions, allaying fears and
promoting cheap, long-term loans.
For very vulnerable homeowners,
the campaign provided clear information
about the funds available to
make the project possible (translated
when necessary). For people
who questioned the project, social
workers took the time to listen to
specific needs that needed to be
met, even if they weren’t energy
related. In total, Buurzame Stroom
provided 2,535 additional solar
panels (equivalent to 720 kWp) to
↧
CHAPTER 2. Keys for realizing PEDs
KEY 2 – How to empower local stakeholders

102 single-family homes, 2 apartment
buildings, 8 rental properties,
2 schools and 8 buildings owned by
companies and organizations
(Baets et al., 2020).
© City of Ghent, Ghent (BE)
2.B Local ambassadors
Formal communication and tools don’t always
get through to residents, who may feel as if the authorities
‘want something from you’. People can also simply be afraid
that everything will become more expensive. Engaging local
ambassadors lowers the threshold for an open, informal
conversation. Often there are already key people in the neighbourhood
who have built up an informal network on their own
initiative and who know many people. They live in the neighbourhood,
face the same challenges and are therefore seen as
‘one of us’, as reliable.
Since 2009, the Environment
Centre Rotterdam (NL) has been
training environmental coaches
to provide information on energy
saving and sustainability at
home in their own network and
circle. Around 800 residents
are now environmental coaches
(Rotterdams Milieucentrum, 2022).
The course consists of four sessions
and ends with a certificate as an
environmental coach. With the help
of a ‘savings ruler’, a suitcase full of
demonstration materials and a quiz,
the coaches go from door to door to
tell their neighbours about energy
saving and sustainability at home.
In Bospolder-Tussendijken, there
are currently fifteen environmental
coaches (van Oost, 2021). The fact
that these local ambassadors speak
Berber or Arabic as well as Dutch
is invaluable in a neighbourhood
with people from many different
backgrounds. In this project, energy
challenges, unemployment and
social isolation are all considered
and addressed simultaneously.
© Stichting PAUW, Rotterdam (NL)
120
2.C Citizen energy workshops
Hands-on workshops with citizens provide
information on very concrete energy issues and on solutions
or measures to remedy those. Topics tend to be very practical
and relate to everyday actions that can be taken by each
participant. For example, DIY tips on how to place draught
strips and radiator foil to save energy and keep warm air inside,
or information on low-tech solutions such as LED lighting.
How existing grants and loans, or renovation in shared
ownership, can help people’s personal situation, can also be
part of this. These sessions make the abstract concept of
energy more tangible and applicable for those who feel that
energy is a remote issue.
The non-profit organization
Empreintes based in Namur (BE)
gives citizens the keys to regain
control over their electricity use.
It has won several awards for its
innovative approach to capacitybuilding
and empowerment of lowincome
households. The association
runs weekly energy workshops for
small groups called ‘Ecowatchers’
(Empreintes, n.d.). These focus on
simple interventions that citizens
can do in the house they own or
rent. Initially, the workshops were
aimed at raising awareness of energy
use, but they soon realized that
people living in energy poverty were
already living much more energyefficient
lifestyles than the majority of the population.
Today, the focus is on informing people about their
rights, for example towards their landlords, and giving
them concrete tools to become real actors in the energy
transition. The weekly sessions not only enable members
to break out of social isolation, but also allow for greater
empowerment as they increase their knowledge of the
energy system through games, excursions and other
kinds of creative activities (City Mine(d), 2022).

2.D Open house
By inviting people to visit a construction
site, a finished renovation or a newly built home, potential
residents can see for themselves what living in the district is
like. They can see how a heat pump or innovative ventilation
system works, ask questions about insulation and construction
techniques, or experience the quality of light that comes in
through new windows. Such tours or open days have a very
demonstrative effect.
In collaboration with the housing
management company, the City of
Stockholm organizes a yearly openhouse
event for interested citizens.
They showcase and illustrate the
innovative techniques used to build
the new apartment buildings
within the Stockholm Royal Sea
Port (SE). This event attracts all
sorts of people: potential new
residents, architects and energy
experts interested in the technical
aspects, but also people living in
the district who want to know more
about the latest changes and plans
for the area. It’s a chance to meet
other residents, and the day is seen
as a neighbourhood festival. Several
thousand people turn up every year
(Stockholms Stad, 2022a).
© City of Stockholm, Stockholm (SE)
121
2.E Local narrative and identity
Narratives about the (re)development of a
district are a crucial means to organize ownership and mobilize
multiple stakeholders. They relate to the history, identity,
values and aspirations of the neighbourhood. By doing so,
they create intrinsic motivation and help to strengthen the
collective identity. The recognition of the unique features of a
district, or the shared future (for example, ‘Becoming the first
gas-free district of the city’), can activate and empower people
in meaningful change. Starting the narrative from capacities,
strengths and elements to be proud of is more effective than
stressing problems and shortcomings. As a result, listening
and observing is a crucial first step. What stories from the
past are still alive in the present? And how will these stories
be passed on within the community?
The inhabitants of the Frisian
village of Garyp (NL) managed
to motivate each other to achieve
their goal of making all 600 owneroccupied
houses in the village
gas-free within five years (City
Mine(d), 2022). The high level
of community involvement in
Garyp can largely be explained
by the work the municipality put
into creating a shared narrative
from the outset. Interestingly,
it would initially focus on local
initiatives and needs which were
not necessarily energy-related
rather than pushing top-down
objectives. Residents were asked to
think along with decision-makers
on a range of issues that play a
role in the municipality, including
population decline, liveability and
social sustainability. This led to
an energy cooperative, Enerzjy
Koöperaasje Garyp, working closely
with the municipality and residents
to switch the village’s households
to sustainable energy sources
(Enerzjy Koöperaasje Garyp, n.d.).
Renewable energy development
became part of a broader, citizensupported
plan to make the village
more resilient and future-proof
rather than an end-goal in itself.
Today, the village is proud to be
the first gas-free village in the
Netherlands.
© Kick Smeets, Garyp (NL)
CHAPTER 2. Keys for realizing PEDs
KEY 2 – How to empower local stakeholders

2.F Local exhibition
Models, photographs, historic and new maps
as well as artworks capture people’s imagination more than
a description of a project. It is a way of telling a story and
inviting people to dream. An exhibition can be used to inform
residents and other local stakeholders about planned and
ongoing activities, or even as part of the strategy development
process. Because it has to be visited in person, it brings the
audience into direct contact with the initiators or other stakeholders,
leading to informal conversations. The exhibition can
take place in a recognizable place in the neighbourhood itself
(the community centre, the lobby of the sports hall, a central
square), but it can also travel and end up in the city’s more
prestigious cultural institutions.
In the experiments studied in
Chapter 1, we can see different
entry points and stages when a
local exhibition is used. In Lyon
Confluence (FR), exhibitions were
used throughout the process. The
1998 exhibition Lyon Confluence,
an Urban Project (FR) first presented
the potential of the area.
My City Tomorrow then collected
the contributions from stakeholders
on the progress made. Finally, the
exhibition ended up in the Maison
de la Confluences, a neighbourhood
centre providing information and
technical advice on the transformation
of the area.
© Laurence Danière, SPL Lyon
Confluence, 2023, Lyon (FR)
In Bospolder-Tussendijken in
Rotterdam (NL), the partnership
with the architecture biennial
IABR was key to the development
process itself: four years of
research by a consortium made up
of an Atelier coordinator, a design
studio, anthropologists and energy,
financial and organizational experts
commissioned by the cultural
institution contributed to a Local
Energy Action Plan (LEAP) and
the design of four pilot projects.
The 2020 exhibition showcased the
results of this design-by-research
Atelier and brought together local
stakeholders and an international
audience. It is interesting to note
how the faces and voices of local
residents were placed at the centre
of the exhibition’s narrative.
© Aad Hoogendoorn, IABR,
Rotterdam (NL)
Another example comes from
Brussels (BE), where Fleurs
électriques (2022) showed a series
of photographs of the Northern
Quarter from the 1970s that could
inspire a new local narrative about
energy in the district. The exhibition
took place in the district’s
sports hall, which is frequented
by people who don’t usually visit
cultural institutions, and provided
a setting for low-threshold workshops
and discussions.
© Lachlan Mackenzie, Brussels (BE)
122

2.G Games and prototypes
The way electricity and heat actually work
is often abstract to people. Simulating these systems on a
small scale and in an applied way is a powerful way of making
technical concepts and decisions understandable. Gamification
and playful collective challenges can be another way of
bringing people together and inviting them to participate,
without being normative or prescriptive.
City Mine(d) has developed several
games and prototypes in recent
years. In the Southern Quarter of
Brussels (BE), they used electrically
conductive paint to explain to
children how an electrical circuit
works. They showed that electricity
isn’t just for electricians and
engineers, but something fun and
surprising to experiment with
(City Mine(d), 2020a). Another
game is ‘La Pile’. This exploration
game challenges teams of eight playing against each
other to find the best way to power a neighbourhood.
Players consider the financial cost of their actions,
the environmental impact and the time they spend as
residents and users of a neighbourhood (City Mine(d),
2019). To maximize the amount of local power, players
can encourage energy-saving measures in large
buildings and invest in solar, wind, water or muscle
power. There are four types of stakeholders at the
table, each represented by two people who don’t play
this role in real life: local residents, civil society, the
local government and the bank. In the words of City
Mine(d): ‘It’s basically Monopoly meets SimCity with
a dash of the Settlers of Catan. The game is based on
real-life energy issues, so winning is more important
than participating.’ (City Mine(d), 2019)
© Emily Ane Smith, Brussels (BE)
123
2.H District lab
Public authorities and local stakeholders can
work together on complex challenges in a laboratory environment:
rather than a meeting place, it is an open workplace that
breathes work-in-progress and co-creation. The government
literally steps out of its offices to work with schools, shopkeepers
and residents on concrete projects. The aim is to increase
mutual trust by creating a level playing field for all stakeholders.
This lab can be used at all stages of a PED development process:
not only in the implementation of effective measures, but also
in the planning phase to get a broad group of stakeholders
on board.
In Bologna (IT), the municipality
developed a new approach to
citizen engagement. Since 2014,
their ‘Laboratori di Quartiere’
(Neighbourhood Laboratories) have
been set up in each of Bologna’s
six districts, acting as neighbourhood
hubs for residents to develop
and implement new ideas to
improve public spaces and services
(Observatory of Public Sector
Innovation, 2017). A team of professionals,
ranging from architects
to social workers, is always present
in the neighbourhood to help citizens
turn ideas into concrete action.
It’s called the ‘proximity approach’:
the city doesn’t need to be involved
in every project, but mandates the
various district labs to work with
residents and find the best solutions
(City Mine(d), 2022). This fosters
cooperation and mutual trust, and
citizens feel empowered to propose
ideas that could improve their
neighbourhoods. The tools used
to involve residents range from an
online ideas exchange platform to
group discussions and events, and
they are constantly being developed
and adapted to meet the needs of
the neighbourhood. This approach
has resulted in more than 480 initiatives,
with thousands of citizens
and other parties in Bologna working
together to improve schools,
public spaces, sports facilities and
other public assets.
© Margherita Caprilli, Fondazione
Innovazione Urbana, Bologna (IT)
CHAPTER 2. Keys for realizing PEDs
KEY 2 – How to empower local stakeholders

2.I Co-design challenge
Making a physical object or installation
together has a magnet effect. Different from a conversation in
which opinions are formulated, it allows for real collaboration
between people with different interests, from different disciplines
and even cultures, regardless of intellectual, financial
or social skills. Through their jobs or hobbies, people have
experience with certain materials, with technical aspects, with
design or managing a project. By conceiving and building an
object together, they learn to appreciate each other’s input and
skills. Unexpected bridges are built in the neighbourhood. At
the same time, it is a way of linking abstract energy concepts
to real-life abilities and to concrete opportunities or needs in
the neighbourhood. In sociology, these are called ‘boundary
objects’: ‘entities that enhance the capacity of an idea, theory
or practice to translate across culturally defined boundaries,
for example, between communities of knowledge or practice’
(Fox, 2011).
In the Southern Quarter of
Brussels (BE), residents have
collaborated to design a housesized
hydraulic battery that can be
self-built. ‘La Pile mécanique’ was
imagined as an artistic-functional
installation in the public space,
connected to a PV installation on
the roof of a (public) building (City
Mine(d), 2022). A system of water
barrels and pumps allows the solar
energy produced by the panels to
be stored when not in use and to
be made freely available in a small,
user-friendly space at street level
(for example, to charge phones or
power lights). Although it wasn’t
actually built, it generated a lot of
local curiosity and laid the groundwork
for the creation of an energy
community in the neighbourhood.
© Fanny Monier, Brussels (BE)
124
A couple of weeks ago, my neighbour
knocked on my door to tell me she had a new
job in the neighbourhood: she’s now an energy
coach. We had a coffee together. We’re both
from Spain, so I always feel at home when I’m
with her. She explained my rights as regards

my landlord. I can ask him to show me the energy
label for the flat: if the label is E, F or G, I can
force him to carry out insulation work in the
house. She also told me that he can’t increase my
rent if the energy label is so low. But what if he
does renovate and I can no longer afford the rent?
Apparently there are new regulations to keep
rents affordable, to protect tenants and prevent
them from being kicked out. It’s quite simple.
Much easier than I thought: all the information
is online and she helped me through the whole
process. She also mentioned that there’s going
to be an energy workshop next week about wall
and window insulation organized by the city and
several neighbourhood associations. I’ll try to go,
together with my landlord. We contacted him and
he seems willing to come and listen. My neighbour
promised me that the workshop wouldn’t be
as abstract as the neighbourhood meeting I
attended three months ago, which had a long
presentation and lecture about the municipality’s
vision for our neighbourhood. She said there
would be space to listen to people’s opinions and
ideas and that we’d play an energy game. I’m not
sure what that means, but apparently the game
will make it clearer what projects are coming to
the area and how they might be relevant to me.
I’m getting curious.
125
CHAPTER 2. Keys for realizing PEDs
KEY 2 – How to empower local stakeholders

126

KEY 3
127
Which district
targets do we set

128
Inspired by the European Climate Change
Act, we set a huge ambition for our city: to make
a first existing district carbon-neutral by 2030.
Many local authorities like us are now defining
their targets and developing strategies to achieve
such goals. But we found that, although we were
ambitious on paper, this didn’t set a lot in motion
in the district itself. People didn’t seem to grasp
how the broad concept of carbon neutrality could
relate to their daily actions. We decided to specify
the local targets to make the ambitious goal more
tangible for actors in the district. Together with
our colleagues from different departments of
the municipality, three priorities were identified
as the main needs of the district: improving the
quality of life, creating new job opportunities and
increasing biodiversity. But even then, it still wasn’t
clear how people could start setting up projects
to reach those targets. To specify these broad
objectives, we involved organizations already
active in the neighbourhood: a local citizens’
group, an energy organization, a design practice,
a non-profit association specializing in open space
management and a social employment office.
With this task force, we defined concrete targets
ranging from a set amount of renewable energy
production to providing better equipped and safer
public spaces to reducing the vacancy rate of local
shops and mitigating the local heat-island effect.
That is how we provided a framework for new
projects to be initiated.

Targets are the points on the horizon
that will mobilize stakeholders and initiatives
around a shared mission. These targets combine
environmental, social, organizational and
economic aspects, reflecting the integrated
ambition of PEDs.
129
Ambitious neighbourhood projects are often accompanied by a complex of
impressive figures and terms: climate neutrality, self-sufficiency, drastic CO2
emissions reduction or intensive local production. How are these targets set?
Are they precise, realistic? Or are they part of a political narrative? These
questions can also be posed with regard to the central term of this publication:
Positive Energy Districts (PEDs). This concept seems to imply a clear target:
achieving a positive energy balance. In 2019 the following framework definition
for PEDs was established by JPI Urban Europe (JPI Urban Europe / SET Plan
Action 3.2, 2020):
‘Positive Energy Districts are energy-efficient and energy-flexible
urban areas or groups of connected buildings which produce net
zero greenhouse gas emissions and actively manage an annual
local or regional surplus production of renewable energy. They
require integration of different systems and infrastructures
and interaction between buildings, the users and the regional
energy, mobility and ICT systems, while securing the energy
supply and a good life for all in line with social, economic and
environmental sustainability.’
We believe that setting ambitious targets is essential. Concrete
goals help to give a clear direction to long multi-stakeholder journeys like
PEDs. They are points on the horizon that invite stakeholders to come up
with sufficiently ambitious steps and with their own pathway to get there.
The targets should therefore not be interpreted as a blueprint for the coming
decades, setting out every single action and project that will be implemented
in a certain order and by a certain year. Given the duration of PEDs, there will
be an evolution over time in terms of stakeholders, dynamics and financing
opportunities. This requires flexibility. By setting targets, we create the timespace
within which collaborations, projects and actions can be conceived
in their own time and manner, in such a way that they help to achieve the
objective: becoming a PED.
In this Key, we first situate the broader discourse on setting
targets for PEDs. Achieving a ‘positive energy balance’ with PEDs is not as
easy as one might hope. This is due to contextual influences such as high
building density or the heritage value of buildings. We introduce an approach
to setting targets that takes into account the specificities of the local context
while ensuring that each district contributes its ‘fair share’. In a second part, we
explore which dimensions can or should be part of the targets we set. After all,
a PED isn’t just an energy issue: social and economic objectives also play a role
and are often the main reason for undertaking PEDs. Finally, we look at how
you can begin to calculate your targets: from a quick estimation to a sound,
multifaceted approach.
CHAPTER 2. Keys for realizing PEDs
KEY 3 – Which district targets do we set

From an absolute to a relative positive
energy balance
The analysis of realized and ongoing PED experiments teaches us that it is
only possible to achieve an absolute positive energy balance in exceptional
neighbourhoods (JPI Urban Europe, 2020). These are often just a few buildings
or blocks, homogeneous, newly built and/or exceptionally well located
(Schneider, 2023). Even in those districts, however, many questions remain.
Which energy is included: only that of buildings, or also that of mobility, or
the embodied energy of building materials? How does the proximity of a large
energy production plant affect your balance? Is the seasonal imbalance taken
into account?
In this publication, we argue that the momentum, knowledge,
policy instruments and budgets that are being developed around PEDs can’t
just benefit an elite selection of places that happen to have a lot of space,
are well located or consist entirely of new buildings and infrastructure. This
guide interprets PEDs and their targets in such a way that they encourage and
help all types of neighbourhoods to make the necessary and maximum effort.
PEDs are not seen as exceptional lighthouse projects, but as a standard for all
neighbourhoods. Eventually, all neighbourhoods will have to come together in
a larger regional system that will have to be entirely climate neutral by 2050,
an ambition that is at the heart of the European Green Deal and in line with
the global COP21 Paris Agreement (United Nations, 2015).
Electricity
Gas
District heating
PV yield
160
Specific final energy [kWh/m 2 GFA *a]
140
120
100
80
60
40
20
0
OUT
IN
0
Baseline
OUT
IN
1
Generic
policy
OUT
IN
2
AI Floor
heating
OUT
IN
3
AI
Radiators
OUT
4
AC
BC
IN
OUT
IN
5
AC
No BC
OUT
IN
6
Excellence
130
How then do we measure whether each district’s contribution
to the larger system is sufficient? At present, there is no framework to define
this threshold. It is not enough to set a ‘positive energy balance’ (more local
energy production than consumption) as an objective. To understand why not,
let’s have a look at the most ambitious simulation for the Brussels Northern
Quarter. This calculation assumes a renovation rate of 3.7% per year (the
current renovation rate being only 1%), combined with the replacement of
all individual gas boilers with low-temperature heat pumps and underfloor
heating, combined with PV on 80% of roofs (taking into account heritage and
other constraints), in combination with lowering the desired interior thermal
comfort from 21° to 19° and reducing domestic hot water consumption by
25% compared to today (3E, 2022). Based on common sense, we could argue
that this target is the most ambitious one possible for the Northern Quarter.
It would reduce the total energy consumption by a factor three to four and
increase local electricity production from close to 0 to almost 20 kWh/m 2 /year.
When we look at the resulting energy balance, we see that ‘only’ about half of
the energy required can be produced locally. This excellence scenario doesn’t
lead to a ‘positive energy balance’. And yet the realization of the proposed
measures will require titanic efforts.

Is the Northern Quarter in Brussels representative of other
districts? Yes and no. Yes because none of the six experiments in Chapter 1
achieves a ‘positive energy balance’, not even in the most ambitious scenario.
No because the Northern Quarter is a particularly dense district with comparatively
little roof area and a very high energy demand. In general, it is more
difficult, if not impossible, for high-density districts to achieve a positive energy
balance. But density isn’t the only factor. The presence of many buildings
with heritage value implies that the thorough insulation of façades is impossible.
Buildings in existing neighbourhoods may also have a particular orientation or
roof shape that can’t be changed to accommodate PV panels. In many existing
districts or brownfields, the subsoil is already full of pipes and cables, meaning
that new energy infrastructure has to find a place for itself. Taking all these
specificities into account, we understand that different neighbourhoods can’t
produce the same amount of energy. Nor will every neighbourhood achieve the
same building performance. It therefore makes little sense to opt for a generic
target that fails to take these specificities into account. In conclusion, different
contextual reasons help to explain why none of the six districts achieves a
positive energy balance.
131
And yet we want all these districts to become PEDs: they
should do their maximum and fair share, so that the target for the regional
energy balance can be reached. But how are we to calculate that share? A
positive energy balance doesn’t work as an absolute and generic target for all
districts. We therefore propose to aim for a ‘relative positive energy balance’,
one in which the specificities of each context are taken into account via a set
of contextual parameters. These factors help to determine the specific ‘head
start’ for a dense neighbourhood, compared to another target in a greener
neighbourhood, for example. What context factors are considered, and how,
is the subject of ongoing research. One way of accounting for them is using a
quantitative method of calculation. Based on the first PED simulations and
real-life results, researchers are identifying patterns and translating them
into a standard calculation method for context factors. Concrete tests should
show whether it suffices to capture the complex reality of each neighbourhood
in numbers (alone). In addition to a fully quantitative calculation method,
qualitative assessment methods might have to be developed to determine the
contextual differences between neighbourhoods (and their impact on the share
these districts should do in the energy transition).
In the paper ‘A Quantitative Positive Energy District
Definition with Contextual Targets’, the Fachhochschule Technikum Wien
(Vienna polytechnic university) tested two aspects of a quantitative calculation
model for the PED energy target (Schneider et al., 2023). On the one hand, it
defines a context factor for density, based on test cases in Austria, Belgium and
Sweden. The graph on the next page shows the curve representing the relative
positive energy balance when this context factor for neighbourhood density is
taken into account. Low density neighbourhoods (

150
Cities4PEDs districts
Energy Balance [kWh/m 2 GFA *a]
100
50
0
-50
Absolute Positive Balance
Relative Positive Balance
Other Austrian
districts
-100
-150
0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9
Floor Area Ratio
If a definition of PEDs were to be standardized at European
level, it would be possible to compare the efforts of different neighbourhoods.
It would also make it possible to allocate resources to the areas making the
greatest efforts and to encourage those lagging behind. We could add up the
contributions of all neighbourhoods to the regional system and calculate how
much renewable energy still needs to be produced at regional level to close
the gaps. Later in this Key, we will introduce three methods to define those
targets. Strikingly, all three approaches still depend on human judgement:
there is always someone behind the buttons of the calculation model or at the
drawing board who decides whether the targets are ‘ambitious enough’. In the
absence of a shared framework that establishes a minimum standard for each
neighbourhood, we have to rely on common sense and self-define the minima
for our districts. These local targets need to be manually measured against a
larger framework to ensure that, altogether, they add up to a carbon-neutral
Europe [in a Regional Energy Strategy for example, see Key 11, p. 219].
Towards integrated targets
The broad European framework definition for PEDs given at the beginning of
this Key emphasizes not only energy objectives, but also social, economic and
other environmental objectives. And yet the debate around PEDs often focuses
on achieving (quantifiable) targets for energy production, energy efficiency
and energy flexibility. This may be because it isn’t that easy to translate into
concrete targets affordability, safety and security, social and physical inclusion,
social mix, sufficient green and open space, space for positive gathering and
expression, holistic and environmental sustainability or the reduction of
urban heat islands. Also, many people are convinced that it is ‘hard enough to
focus on one issue’. And yet an integrated approach increases the likelihood of
rich combinations of problems and solutions. ‘If you get stuck, make it more
complex’, as management and governance experts Hans Bil and Geert Teisman
put it nicely (Bil and Teisman, 2017).
132
Looking at the different PED experiments in this publication,
we see a broad range of such rich combinations between different objectives.
In some areas, targets such as housing comfort or quality of public spaces
are seen as important win-wins. The energy target is the main objective, but
synergies with other policy domains and investments by other stakeholders
are actively considered. For example, when a private company builds a heat
network, climate adaptation measures planned by the local authority are
implemented simultaneously. Or the energy objectives are achieved through
a more systemic transition: by designing cities and villages in such a way that
residents can easily walk or cycle to the office, shops or a sports club, the need
for motorized traffic is reduced. Or by focusing on greening and infiltrating

water into the ground, the heat island effect is reduced and so is the need
for cooling energy. Other experiments go a step further: social inclusion and
mobility are as important as CO2 reduction and are considered together.
The energy transition is the means, no longer the (sole) objective. These are
neighbourhoods that have very different headaches to begin with: high levels
of vacancy and deprivation, as in the Georgian Quarter of Limerick (IE), or
residents’ concerns about neighbourhood safety, poverty and unemployment,
as in Bospolder-Tussendijken in Rotterdam (NL). The real goal is to improve
the quality of housing, generate social dynamism and stimulate employment
opportunities through the energy transformation. Whether energy is
considered the goal or the means [see Chapter 3, p. 235], we see that social,
economic and energy targets are interdependent.
133
A PED is a once-in-a-generation opportunity: there will be
no second or third occasion in the next twenty to thirty years to collectively
(re)think and gradually (re)develop the entire neighbourhood. Targeting an
energy positive or climate-neutral district without reflecting on objectives
relating to inclusivity, liveability, safety, housing quality, mobility and/or
local employment opportunities makes no sense. Besides leading to missed
opportunities, it also risks alienating the stakeholders you need to gradually
develop the district [see Key 2]. Experts and practitioners indicate that
categories such as governance, incentives, process, market, technology,
social and context are crucial to the implementation of PEDs (Gohari et al.,
2021). To ensure that we can mobilize different stakeholders and activate
synergies, targets need to match the multidimensional nature of a PED project
and process. So a PED will always need a set of targets and their respective
indicators. To establish the specific combination of indicators that matches
your district, you can start from the indicators for the monitoring of PED
processes as developed in this publication [see Key 10, p. 207].
The integrated target won’t be defined by one expert behind
a desk. For each of the indicators, information will be gathered (data, calculations,
interviews, scenarios). This will gradually lead to a package of potential
targets, some of which will be purely quantitative (renovation rate), others
purely qualitative (governance), and others still a combination of both (inclusivity).
Based on this, the integrated target can be developed through co-creation
with different experts and stakeholders of your PED. Their involvement
in setting the point on the horizon will strengthen their commitment to the
shared mission.
Methods to determine PED targets
Setting integrated targets for PEDs is an ongoing field of experimentation
and research. For the quantitative dimensions, the calculation methods have
not (yet) been streamlined or standardized (by the EU, for example). Nor do
we have a shared set of the quantitative and qualitative indicators that an
integrated target should involve. But this shouldn’t slow down experimentation.
Let’s continue to learn by doing, building on what others have already
tried, and using our common sense and creativity to continuously improve
our understanding of how to set and achieve PED targets. These lessons will
contribute to the development of a PED framework in the coming years.
To help you do so, we list three ways of setting targets. They
have been derived from ongoing experiments and applied research. The three
methods are increasingly nuanced and multifaceted, more labour-intensive but
also more integrated. While the first two focus on the energy balance, the third
makes it possible to develop an integrated target. It would make sense to apply
several of these methods progressively: you may want to start with a quick
benchmarking and then take more time to set the goals more precisely.
CHAPTER 2. Keys for realizing PEDs
KEY 3 – Which district targets do we set

3.A Benchmarking
It is worth looking at similar neighbourhoods
to establish a first tentative target or assess the outcome of
simulations. Of course, energy potential varies from one area
to the next, depending on factors such as available space,
existing infrastructure, heritage value and building typologies.
But with this in mind, it is useful to make a rough estimate of
which targets seem feasible without having to make the entire
analysis and calculation. As the database of PED projects
grows, an increasingly complete picture of neighbourhoods
similar to yours can be sketched.
Vienna aspern
Seestadt (AT)
Stockholm Royal
Seaport (SE)
Brussels Northern
Quarter (BE)
Rotterdam
Bospolder-
Tussendijken (NL)
Maximum
reduction in
household
energy demand
Maximum
local energy
production
Maximum
CO2
reduction
(new) 62% (new)
(new) 57% (new)
-74% 46% -90%
-58% 46% -61%
The table below shows the
quantitative targets of four example
districts that are described in
more detail in Chapter 1. These
targets are defined on the basis
of a simulation of the most
ambitious package of measures
for these districts. The first two
are newly built neighbourhoods.
Both are estimated to reach an
energy balance of around 60%,
in a scenario including 90 to
105% of roof use for solar panels
(including façade-mounted PV)
and a thermal flexibility of 0.5°C
(when excess renewable energy
is available, the heating / cooling
temperature is slightly increased
or decreased to store energy in
the building mass). The second
two are existing neighbourhoods.
They are both estimated to reach
an energy balance of around 45%.
The reduction in household energy
demand shows the level of ambition
of these two existing districts: they
aim to reduce their current energy
use by more than half or even by
three quarters.
© Fachhochshule Wien (1-3),
see p. 21, 37, 50
© OOZE (4), see p. 64
3.B Quantitative simulations
Simulations are based on complex mathe m-
atical models. They require input with regard to various
characteristics of the environment and make it possible
to explore scenarios through the adjustment of certain
parameters. The maximum scenario from such a simulation
can be considered the energy target for a PED (energy
efficiency, production and flexibility, combined into a
relative positive energy balance). The calculation method
of the simulation model determines the accuracy of the
result. Often the exact data is not available in its totality, so
extrapolations and assumptions are made. For example, the
level of insulation per dwelling is often not known, so an
estimate is made, based on the year of construction. The
more this type of extrapolation is used, the more cautious we
should be regarding the results of the simulation. The way
the parameters are set is also crucial for the outcome of the
simulation. A simulation is full of assumptions. For example,
whoever is turning the knobs on the model is estimating
whether 70% or 90% of the roof area in the neighbourhood
can be used for solar panels. Simulations generally give a good
picture of realistic targets, but it is important to realize that,
although they are presented in hard numbers, there are a lot
of uncertainties and variables behind the model.
The simulation of the Northern
Quarter in Brussels (BE) used the
City Energy Analyst software,
an open-source urban building
simulation platform that focuses
specifically on low-carbon, high-efficiency
cities (3E, 2022). It allows
the effects, trade-offs and synergies
of urban design options and energy
infrastructure plans to be explored.
As the Northern Quarter is an existing
district, the first step was to
model the baseline, the current situation.
A sub-area was chosen that
was as representative as possible of
the neighbourhood, as modelling
the whole neighbourhood would
drastically overload the model.
Seven scenarios were then developed
[the different combinations
of parameters and results of each
scenario can be found in Chapter 1,
p. 21]. Each scenario is linked
to specific policies or systems: for
example, individual vs collective
approaches to housing renovation,
or a central heating network vs
individual heat pumps. The seventh
or ‘Excellence’ scenario ultimately
leads to a clear objective: to reduce
energy consumption by 74%, so that
46% of the energy required can be
produced locally.
© Bob Van Mol, Brussels (BE)
134

135
3.C Integrated targets through research by design
Research by design (or design research) is a
term coined by urban planning and architecture professionals
to explore development scenarios for an area by directly
designing possible solutions. This results in a less studious and
more applied, iterative process. Design-based research can
be a way to consider both quantitative and qualitative aspects
when setting objectives. Showing how intentions (words) will
result in concrete actions and transformations in people’s
actual living environment (drawings, maps, collages) can be a
powerful tool in two ways: it lays bare the interdependencies
and potential synergies and it makes it possible to integrate
several objectives in strategies or proposals. By researching
while designing, you consider not only what the outcome is
and where the targets could be realized. The design research
will also touch on how to get there, who could be involved,
and what other issues or challenges need to be included. For
example, you might want to explore the potential impact of the
collective renovation of twenty adjoining individual houses,
connected to geothermal probes in a street. Drawing this collective
renovation implies a hypothesis (or several options) for
how the residents of that street will organize themselves, how
materials will be supplied in the street (circular economy), or
where to drill the soil for geothermal heat (public space). The
design work will allow you to interact more qualitatively with
citizens, energy providers and the public space department.
In Bospolder-Tussendijken in
Rotterdam (NL), neighbourhood
targets were set through design
research. The calculation of energy
potential, on the one hand, and
a mapping of social needs and
dynamics, on the other, formed
the basis for this exploration.
Through four types of projects in
the neighbourhood, solutions were
designed that address objectives
in an integrated way: for example,
play, greening, climate adaptation,
energy generation and a collective
project involving the neighbourhood
are all taking place at the
same time in the school’s inner
courtyard, which symbolizes the
squares, sports fields and other
inner areas of the district. The
target for 2030 is formulated on
three levels. In terms of coalitions:
twenty coalitions with interconnected
Combined Heat and Power
(CHP) systems and three energy
cooperatives. In terms of energy:
46% local energy production.
In terms of climate adaptation:
60% of the territory is green. In
total, this should lead to a 61% CO2
reduction by 2030 (OOZE, 2020).
The concrete measures that make it
possible to achieve these goals were
identified. Quantitative benefits
include a 10°C reduction in ambient temperature as
a result of urban greening, 390,000 m 3 of rainwater
collected and returned to the soil or reused to irrigate
green areas, 18 GWh of heat supply, a 58% reduction
in household energy demand (while improving comfort),
18 GWh of electricity supply, 46% of household
electricity demand supplied by the district grid with
↧
CHAPTER 2. Keys for realizing PEDs
KEY 3 – Which district targets do we set

PV cells, and 100% electrification of the household
energy supply system. Qualitatively, it is about a
sense of belonging, economic perspective, increased
self-sufficiency, outdoor play areas for children,
healthier lifestyles, home comfort and a more
beautiful living environment.
© Based on OOZE, IABR, Rotterdam (NL)
2020 2023
2025
2030
Many loose initiatives,
1 energy cooperative
Many loose initiatives,
4 coalitions with TES,
1 energy cooperative
Many loose initiatives,
15 coalitions including 7 with TES,
1 energy cooperative
20 coalitions whose
TESs are interconnected,
3 energy cooperatives
0.02% local energy production
10% local energy production
20% local energy production
40% local energy production
14% of surface area is green
17% of surface area is green
27% of surface area is green
50% of surface area is green
Current CO2 emissions
Fewer CO2 emissions
Fewer CO2 emissions
Fewer CO2 emissions
136
As a city administration, we co-defined
the targets for our first carbon-neutral district,
but we wanted local coalitions to come up with
ideas on how to achieve them and to take action.
We decided to launch an open call for proposals.
It was inspiring to see how the proposals managed
to address not just one but several of the targets
we set. For example, a coalition involving the local

shopkeepers’ group, a beekeeper and the youth
club proposed a partial redesign of the public
square and some unused ground-floor spaces
around it, former shops that had closed over time.
By desealing half of the square, room could be
made for a pollinator garden and a children’s play
area. The other part would be covered by a large
pavilion, fitted with solar panels, contributing to
the target of 45% locally produced energy in five
years’ time. A skate park could be built beneath
the pavilion, using the existing concrete surfaces.
The shopkeepers want to reopen the shops around
the square to benefit from the new community
dynamic. We were quite surprised by the proposal.
It’s amazing how the coalition has been able to
build an integrated project based on our target
framework. And above all, these organizations
have brought together the right people and skills
to make it happen. As a city administration, this
allows us to play a supportive role in the carbonneutral
district.
137
CHAPTER 2. Keys for realizing PEDs
KEY 3 – Which district targets do we set

138

KEY 4
139
How to co-design
the step-by-step
strategy

140
I moved my architecture practice to the
neighbourhood a few years ago. We work as spatial
designers in the field of urban transformation and
sustainable transition. So when the municipality
announced its plan to implement a local heat network
here, we wanted to be part of the process.
Although we could see the potential for this public
intervention to bring about a positive change,
many residents seemed to think otherwise. They’d
hoped the municipality would first support the
project they’d set up around the local school. With
so little public space in the area safe enough for
children to play, the residents managed to negotiate
an agreement with the school to open its courtyard
to the neighbourhood in the evenings and at
weekends. But some infrastructural investment
is needed to make the space suitable. So you can
imagine that when news of the district heating
came out, people were angry. They saw the project
as yet another investment that wasn’t in their
interest. They felt as if the city was keeping them
in the dark about how they were going to proceed.
The city just kept saying to them that they were
working on a ‘PED strategy’. On the other hand,
we could see how the community school project
would fit perfectly in the city’s sustainability
and energy objectives. That’s why we went to the
municipal administration and asked how we could
contribute. Which interventions were already
planned and when? Who was working on what?
And how could we play a role?

Plotting different roles, workstreams,
sub-projects and phases on a timeline facilitates
collaboration within a complex process. A shared
district strategy provides guidance, and can
evolve flexibly along the way.
141
A development involving many stakeholders, a long duration and several
simultaneous objectives needs a plan. A step-by-step neighbourhood strategy
connects several aspects of PEDs: the findings of the neighbourhood analysis
[Key 1], the role of local stakeholders [Key 2], the objectives [Key 3] and subprojects
[Key 6] used to achieve them, their funding [Key 7], the coordination
of the neighbourhood approach [Key 5], etc. Bringing the different dimensions
of a PED together – and doing so in a way that motivates very different
stakeholders (rather than scaring them with the complexities involved) –
is challenging. To take on this challenge and position different actions and
projects in a logical whole and sequence, we propose a co-created timeline as
a tool and method. Plotting different actions and outputs over time allows
the long process to be broken down in manageable parts. It captures working
tracks and milestones, as well as the role play between the stakeholders involved.
A shared prospective timeline lets actors take ownership and autonomy within
specific workstreams in the process: think of an energy expert mapping the
energy potential in the district, a citizens’ organization setting up a sociocultural
programme, or private and public stakeholders forming a Special Purpose
Vehicle (SPV), or a coalition of property owners exploring a strategy to renovate
collectively. The timeline allows them not to work in isolation: they can position
their work in the overview of what others are doing in parallel and they know
what the direction and final goal are which they’re contributing to.
The strategic order in which actions, projects and milestones
should be positioned is one of the eleven Keys we explore in this chapter.
But the timeline is also the centrepiece of this whole toolkit: it is the shared
playing board for the co-creation workshop described in the Instructions
[Workshop B]. The workshop outlined there is a moment of integration of
the different working tracks with your stakeholders, which we call a ‘strategic
design session’. A group of stakeholders is responsible for bringing insights and
proposals together and for weighing and integrating them into one coherent
strategy. Who is part of this team depends on the coordinating organizational
model that is chosen [Key 5]. These design sessions may, for example, take
place monthly in the early stages of a PED development. They can become less
frequent as the direction is more clearly defined. And they might become more
important again at crucial moments in the development of the strategy, for
example around important milestones.
Based on the learnings of the PED experiments in Chapter 1
and on a test-run of the workshops, we observed that refining your strategy
with your stakeholders will have to happen several times in the development
of a district (re)development. Because a PED is an evolving, iterative process.
It is impossible to predict entirely how the multitude of projects and actors are
going to interact, what political and social dynamics will emerge, how markets
will change, or which actions will have the desired impact (and which ones less
so). The timeline provides a structure to the process, but is also open to the
lessons learned and adjustments that will be needed along the way.
CHAPTER 2. Keys for realizing PEDs
KEY 4 – How to co-design the step-by-step strategy

In this Key, we first describe the different stages outlined in
the timeline. In a second part, we discuss a spectrum of three very different
strategies that can be adopted for developing a step-by-step process. The last
part offers concrete examples of key milestones that will help to streamline
your strategy development process. As with the other Keys, these sections
give you the building blocks to create your own strategy and timeline. A more
practical guide to setting up the workshops or ‘design sessions’ to build this
strategy in a collaborative way can then be found in the Instructions.
Recurring phases in PED development
Every PED is different, so every strategy will be different. Although many of
the PEDs studied are far from complete, we can identify recurring phases. We
present them as a guiding structure to draw up (a first, second, third or tenth
version of) a multi-year strategy for your neighbourhood (re)development. The
time needed for each of these phases varies from district to district. Of course,
the socio-economic and physical characteristics of a neighbourhood play a role.
And in existing neighbourhoods the process is often more unpredictable,
so exploration may take longer than in newly built neighbourhoods, for
example. The PEDs examined in Chapter 1 of this book take up to thirty years
to complete. We encourage you to make an estimation of the duration of
each of the phases when drawing up your own process timeline. This will give
partners an idea of when their input is expected or when they have to deliver,
and residents a perspective as to when they will see things change. It will also
allow you to assess whether things are moving faster or slower than expected,
and why.
1
2
3
INITIATION LEARNING-BY-DOING MAINSTREAMING
142
1. Initiation
The start-up of a PED is usually characterized by an exploratory
phase. The vision hasn’t yet been written down. The right
approach and techniques that suit the specific neighbourhood
have yet to be determined. The actors and their roles aren’t
yet completely clear. Residents don’t know yet what a PED is,
let alone how to identify and engage with it. Time is needed
to sort out which direction to go in. In existing districts, the
focus is especially on analysing the different dimensions of
the neighbourhood, getting to know the actors, building
trust, forming coalitions and developing scenarios. In newly
built districts, it’s about master planning, setting targets,
developing the central energy strategy, arranging land sales,
and gathering funding and financing partners. It is also at
this stage that the first pilot projects are set up, from which
lessons are learned in subsequent phases. One or a few actors

often take the lead: the municipality or a delegated partner,
a (coalition of) private actors, or a non-profit organization.
In many cases, this experimental work is still taking place on
the fringes of regular frameworks: through exceptional trust
from a regional or local government, through innovation
budgets and/or innovation cells, or through sociocultural
grants. Few cities have a framework for a structured approach
to the start-up phase of a PED [see Key 11]. However, in the
course of this initiation phase, a more comprehensive and
long-term governance model and strategy is often established
that links with existing workflows, budgets and instruments.
143
2. Learning-by-doing
At a certain point in the development of a PED, the direction
for the neighbourhood becomes clearer: which energy system
is optimal, which actors have which roles, which targets form
the point on the horizon, how citizens and local actors can
get involved, and which projects are needed. This is the phase
in which the explorations and ad hoc experiments of phase 1
are translated into the first integrated projects and actions.
These make it possible to learn about which approaches work
and to set priorities for what follows: a particular target group
that is harder to reach, a particular type of project that isn’t
getting funded, or specific skills that are lacking. For example,
as we learn that the orientation, shape and floor plan of new
buildings make it possible to maximize the natural heating of
the indoor spaces, we can redraw the next phases of the master
plan accordingly. Or when we see that the new apartments
are only accessible to affluent families, we look at alternative
development models to diversify the housing offer. In this
phase, the first successful approaches and actions come to the
surface and missing links are identified; new strategies are
targeted and the action plan is adapted accordingly.
3. Mainstreaming
Once the strategic direction has been established, the main
stakeholders are on board and integrated projects have been
tested and fine-tuned, a PED enters its mainstreaming phase.
The main task now is to manage the roll-out of the various
actions and keep them on track. The projects move beyond
their exceptional status and need to be embedded in regular
practice. Although at this stage, there is a certain level of
stability established, there are always new aspects to be
developed and tested: which hiccup does the construction
sector face when integrating new techniques into their
daily work, or how do buildings and users perform when the
neighbourhood is actually in use? At this point, the focus of
PED development is mainly on monitoring, tracking, adjusting
and adapting the regulatory and policy framework to ensure
that the PED is effectively embedded in practice. In newly
built neighbourhoods, this is the phase when more and more
residents move in and start to play a more front-line role.
The way they heat their homes, go to work or spend their free
time has an impact on the ‘performance’ (in a broad sense) of
the neighbourhood. While in existing neighbourhoods these
effects can be monitored along the way, in new neighbourhoods
this is part of the final stage. Empowering people
to take ownership and providing the necessary support to
create a sustainable community are therefore actions that
require increased attention at this stage of PED development
and will continue to do so even after the last building has
been completed.
CHAPTER 2. Keys for realizing PEDs
KEY 4 – How to co-design the step-by-step strategy

Three diverging neighbourhood strategies
How projects and actions are concretely plotted throughout these three phases
may differ, but the intrinsic logic or constitution of a PED strategy also varies.
Even if the end goal is the same – say, a certain maximum amount of locally
produced energy – there are different ways to reach that target. They differ
in the extent to which actions are organized individually or collectively, in
the roles played by government, the market and citizens, and in the degree to
which systems are centralized or decentralized. In what follows, we explain
three possible logics for a PED strategy to show a diversity in entry points:
they project two extreme perspectives and one hybrid in-between (De Vuyst,
2023). These three directions are potential frameworks (or theories of change)
on which a neighbourhood strategy can be based. Think of them as provocative
positions to start a conversation in your coalition on the orientation of your
district strategy.
4.A Multiplication of individual,
private investments
The neighbourhood strategy assumes a
multitude of individual solutions. Preferably, individual
building owners take care of energy saving and energy
production on their own property (think of individual heat
pumps or solar panels). Legally and organizationally, this
seems the simplest situation: developers or private owners
make the most of the investments themselves on their own
plot. They can do this at their own pace and aren’t dependent
on when their neighbours renovate or when the heat network
is built. Because it’s their own property, people or housing
corporations see a clear investment case and are more likely
to commit their own capital. That is, of course, if they have
the financial resources available: families who own a place but
can’t make additional investments are dependent on a public
safety net to bring their property up to 2050 standards. In
this scenario, the public sector has an important role to play in
persuading, informing and even obliging private homeowners
to renovate, in providing public infrastructure adapted to a
variety of private solutions (e.g. by reinforcing the electricity
grid), and in providing the necessary support.
Actual PV performance
Target path
The solar offensive of Vienna (AT)
invites companies, property
developers and citizens to become
‘solar partners’. By multiplying
solar panels on building roofs,
canopies over car parks and even
balconies, Vienna aims to create
an additional 100 football fields
of photovoltaic surface per year,
with a total of 800 MWp by 2030
(Stadt Wien, n.d.a). Partners gain
visibility and receive technical
and procedural support. Services
are being expanded, such as the
Competence Centre for Renewable
Energy, a service provided by
Urban Innovation Vienna, which
helps you to assess the potential
and costs of your own installation,
provides information on available
subsidies and puts you in contact
with consultants, manufacturers
and installers. As a result, Vienna’s
share of solar power has already
increased from 51 MWp in 2020
to 129 MWp in 2023, and the city
plans to accelerate this growth
from 2025 onward.
© Based on City of Vienna,
Vienna (AT)
800 MWp
600 MWp
400 MWp
200 MWp
0 MWp
2020
2021 2022 2023 2024 2025 2026 2027 2028 2029 2030
144

4.B Collective projects as parts of a larger puzzle
Another logic we recognize is when a neighbourhood
strategy is broken down into smaller, manageable
sub-projects, for example around a street, square, block or
school. These are small-scale collaborations between residents,
owners, shopkeepers, organizations and/or public bodies.
They seize a local opportunity, such as drilling boreholes to
supply a number of buildings with sustainable heat in one go.
Local, social dynamics and economic opportunities persuade
residents to participate: enthusiastic neighbours convince each
other and change is visible in people’s immediate surroundings.
Altogether, these subsystems form a large mosaic. When
choosing this approach, it’s important to realize that there are
places where there are far fewer opportunities or where the
dynamics fail to materialize. The boundaries of each puzzle
piece must be defined in such a way that the whole neighbourhood
is covered and no one is left behind.
The block-by-block strategy in
Limerick (IE) aims to support
and accelerate the regeneration
of its inner-city neighbourhoods.
Within the historic Georgian
Quarter, this transformation is
being achieved by identifying a
number of anchor buildings, such
as the Post Office, the Arts Centre
and the Chamber of Commerce
(Limerick City and County
Council, 2019). By investing in the
refurbishment of these buildings,
they act as an entry point to
start conversations and engage
neighbouring owners within the
block to join in the refurbishment
one at a time. The public investment
is a catalyst for individuals and
private companies to surf along
on the value creation. This is the
city’s way of tackling the whole
neighbourhood, block by block.
© Based on +CityxChange project,
Limerick (IE)
145
DS02 Limerick Youth Services
DS01 Gardens International
DS04 General Post Office
DS05 Rooney Auctioneers
DS03 Chamber of Commerce
DS06 The Engine
DS08 University of Limerick
DS09 University Hospital
Limerick
DS10 Limerick Institute
of Technology
DS11 Narrative 4
DS12 Belltable Arts Centre
DS15 Limerick City Gallery of Art
DS07 Colbert Railway Station
DS14 Limerick Georgian
House & Garden
DS13 The Crescent
4.C Centralized, cooperative approach
At the other end of the spectrum, we
see neighbourhood approaches that take a more radical
collective approach. The organizational model and the energy
approach are designed and set up at the scale of the whole
neighbourhood. This makes it possible to rethink energy
production and consumption, but also public space, mobility
and social inclusion in an integral way. Imagine that the
entire PED development is driven by a neighbourhood energy
cooperative in which both local residents and organizations,
public authorities and private investors are shareholders. The
available private spaces (think of roof space to install solar
panels) and public spaces (for example, to drill geothermal
boreholes) are identified and managed by this cooperative,
and the locally produced energy is redistributed evenly
throughout the neighbourhood. The energy system can thus
be technically optimized and organized in an inclusive way.
↧
De Nieuwe Dokken in Ghent (BE)
is a large, newly developed residential
neighbourhood in the
city’s harbour area. A cooperative
operates a heat and water network
with closed loops for heat, water
and waste. The technology is called
Zawent (Zero Waste Water with
Energy and Nutrient Recovery).
It is an innovative combination of
existing technologies. Waste water
from vacuum toilets is collected
separately, along with ground
kitchen waste, and converted
into biogas in a digester. Heat is
recovered from the grey water on
site. The water itself is purified and
reused by the neighbouring soap
company. Low-temperature waste
heat from the factory returns to the
residential area. By buying a house
in this new development, residents
automatically become shareholders
CHAPTER 2. Keys for realizing PEDs
KEY 4 – How to co-design the step-by-step strategy

But this system only works if everyone participates, which is
one of the biggest challenges for this scenario. In countries
where collective solutions are not part of the general culture,
a radically cooperative approach (which requires, for example,
giving up the use of one’s own roof to the community) clashes
with people’s traditions or initial willingness, or even with
regulations and premiums.
in the local energy infrastructure,
which is breaking away from the
dominant culture in which each
household has the freedom to
choose their energy supplier. This
helps to share the costs of centralized
heat and waste infrastructure
and benefits residents in the form
of low energy prices.
© Bas Bogaerts, Ghent (BE)
Milestones for PED strategies
In this section we take a closer look at the milestones that can help to structure
the strategy development process. We look at three types of documents, each
the outcome of a workstream in the co-design process. It helps to link these
outputs to a specific timing and to position them as milestones on the timeline.
By defining outputs and formats, you force yourself to materialize a process
that is still moving (and will continue to do so). Writing out joint conclusions
and engagements of stakeholders for subsequent actions, investments or
decisions shows whether you have understood each other correctly. It ensures
that ‘strategy building’ is not just talk. The milestones give you a deadline and
reassure you that you are effectively making progress. These documents allow
new actors or stakeholders who aren’t present at every meeting to keep up to
date. It also contains those aspects that are still unfinished or even unclear.
This isn’t a problem, as these documents will evolve as insights are gained.
146
4.D Prospective neighbourhood atlas
A first output can be the result of an analysis
of your neighbourhood [Key 1], first actions to empower local
stakeholders [Key 2] or the exploration of fertile grounds for
the first pilot projects in your district [Key 6]. These layers of
analysis, interactions with stakeholders or local experiments
allow you to draw some initial lessons. These different levels
of learnings can be bundled in the form of a neighbourhood
atlas. This atlas consists of maps, quotations, diagrams and
sketches, descriptions. Together, they build a story about the
different dynamics in the district that will eventually add up
to the development of the PED. On this basis, you can start
confronting different layers, learnings and insights. Are they
in conflict or synergy, and where? For example, from an energy
point of view, a central heating network may be the most
efficient solution, but if the inhabitants of a neighbourhood
With the aim of defining
priority areas for pilot projects,
Architecture Workroom Brussels
made an exploratory cartography
of the Northern Quarter of
Brussels (BE). By combining
different map layers, an assumption
of project opportunities is made.
For example, the overlap is
mapped of the locations with high
PV potential and the productive
or manufacturing activities
(e.g. garages, material processing,
craft workshops and recycling
industries). Electricity could be
produced on the large roofs of the
workshops and then used according
to different consumption patterns:
by busi nesses during the day and
by households in the morning and

aren’t prepared to renovate and connect their houses at
the same time, this solution won’t take off. The goal of the
atlas is to identify possible chain reactions that we need to
get a PED started. You could look at the places where local
stakeholders are already actively involved, overlay these with a
map of the potential for collective production of electricity or
heat, and with planned investments in public space. The places
that tick all three boxes could be interesting first integrated
project areas.
evening. This combination could
be an opportunity to set up local
energy communities. The map
serves as a conversation starter
with local businesses, residents,
local and supralocal authorities.
© Architecture Workroom Brussels,
Brussels (BE)
147
Sibelga
PV potential
PV Potential
7.000 - 10.000(kWh/year)
7.000 - 10.000(kWh/year)
magasin de bricolage
PV potential
PV Potential
> > 10.000(kWh/year)
2
large-scale
material trade
car
wash
garage
garage
car wash
garage
1
waste management
garage
garage
Productive Productive activities activities & &
manufactural/industrial manufacturing/industrial actors actors
Cluster of productive activities
Cluster and coalitions of productive of activities actors for energysharing
projects
and coalitions of actors for
energy-sharing projects
large-scale recycling
industry
garage
garage
laundry
garage material
trade
3
garage
magasin de
bricolage
garage
warehouse
garage
1
2
Bruxelles Propreté, Propreté, public actor actor as
as potential initiator of of energy-sharing
projects
projects
Port environment, potential for
Port recovery environment, of residual potential heat/share for
recovery of residual heat/share energy
energy
garage
of Villo!
delivery
car
wash
garage
3
Villo! Villo! mobility actor actor as as potential potential
initiator of of energy-sharing project
garages
4
garage
abandoned
car dealer
garage
4
Publicly owned buildings with with high PV
high potential, PV-potential, as lever as for lever energy-sharing
for energy-sharing
garage
large-scale
material trade
wash
car
garage
5
garage
garage
garage
petrol
station
magasin de
bricolage
furniture
store
6
5
6
Large productive actor,
Large productive actor, with high
PV-potential, with high PV as potential, lever for energy-sharing
as lever for energy-sharing
Local commercial actor, as potential
Local commercial actor, as potential initiator
for initiator energy-sharing of energy-sharing project project
ouse
storage
4.E Illustrated hypotheses and scenarios
A next step in developing a PED strategy is
to construct, explore and weigh up different scenarios for
the neighbourhood. Often these scenarios are based on a
comprehensive neighbourhood analysis as described in the
previous building block (‘Prospective neighbourhood atlas’).
These scenarios calculate and assess the impact of a particular
energy system, governance model and sub-projects. If 70%
of the buildings is served by a heat network and 30% by
individual heat pumps, what level of local energy production
could then be achieved? Or what if we were to fully commit
to a collective renovation strategy, which streets or blocks
offer the best opportunities to start with, and what are their
specific needs? To engage stakeholders in evaluating these
different futures, it is helpful to use imaginative and narrative
techniques, such as drawings, illustrations and stories.
These invite people to project themselves into possible future
versions of their neighbourhood and to relate to their pros
and cons. A neighbourhood hypothesis can be provocative and
bold; it is a catalyst for discussion.
For the Oostveld district in
Eeklo (BE), architecture and
urbanism firm Plusoffice and
energy consultants Enprove developed
a hypothesis for a neighbourhood
strategy. Based on an analysis
of building typology and energy
potential, four models for residential
heating were distinguished
(Verbakel et al., 2018). In the
denser part of the neighbourhood
(red), densification and a central
heating network are proposed.
The houses adjacent to the park
(blue) can store surplus heat from
the heat network and surplus
electricity from solar panels via a
seasonal buffer tank. In the low- to
medium-density residential streets
(orange), decentralized collective
heat solutions such as a Borehole
Thermal Energy Storage (BTES)
system, are explored. Detached
↧
CHAPTER 2. Keys for realizing PEDs
KEY 4 – How to co-design the step-by-step strategy

houses surrounded by nature
(green) will rely on more individual
or small-scale solutions. For each of
these heat typologies, the impact on
the district is imagined: how public
space changes, how soft mobility
can be given more space, where
the best place is for slightly taller
apartment buildings, or which new
nodes can be coupled to the energy
infrastructure. This design research
reveals that urban development
(urbanism and planning departments),
public and green space,
and energy planning can reinforce
each other. The visualizations by
Plusoffice show the leap in living
quality that is possible with energy
interventions as a lever.
© Plusoffice, Enprove, Eeklo (BE)
148
4.F Local energy action plan
A local energy action plan (LEAP) defines the
ambitions, the division of roles between actors, the expected
outcomes and the projects and actions that will be set up to
realize the development of the PED. By setting out these
actions in different working tracks on a timeline, it becomes
clear who needs to act when, where and how. The action plan
stipulates how the different sub-projects relate to each other
and add-up to the integrated targets that had been established.
This document is the result of collaboration between the
various actors involved in the implementation of each action
and the group of partners responsible for coordinating the
whole. An action plan can be very sketchy in the early phase
of the PED development, to then evolve into more precise
For Muide Meulestede in
Ghent (BE), Architecture
Workroom Brussels, together with
the City of Ghent, 3E, Wattson,
and Energent, developed the
partnership and timeline for a
three-year Living Lab as a first
step in the transformation towards
a fossil-free neighbourhood. The
development of an action plan
and the bringing together of the
coalition and budgets are almost
complete and took more than a
year (2022-23). Over the next
three years, three concrete pilot
projects are going to be set up
and implemented (Track A: Pilot

and detailed versions further in the process. Each of these
can also be approved as an official document that is politically
endorsed, that formalizes the commitments of different
stakeholders, and that is publicized broadly.
projects). For example, a local
heating network connected to the
geothermal probes underneath
the football field serves as an
incentive to renovate around
fifty single-family houses in the
surrounding streets. The design
of each pilot project will require
experts from different disciplines,
each of who will oversee a work
track and gather their insights and
experiences in bimonthly design
sessions. Besides the pilot projects,
an overarching neighbourhoodwide
programme will be set up
(Track B: District approach). This
will involve further mapping of the
neighbourhood, building on the
various studies already undertaken,
and mobilizing the coalition of
the willing in the neighbourhood.
The aim is to produce an energy
action plan for the neighbourhood
in 2025, which will underpin the
new organizational structure and
phases. Finally, political validation
in the city of Ghent and exchange
with other cities and scales will be
shaped in a learning programme
(Track C: Knowledge-sharing and
capacity-building). Finally, after
three years of experimentation,
a blueprint for the launch of the
next series of pilot projects and
programmes in Muide Meulestede
should be on the table, which
can then be extended to other
neighbourhoods.
© Sis Pillen, Ghent (BE)
149
We were asked by the city to lead a working
track in their PED strategy for the district.
When we told them about our idea to consider
the community’s public space project around the
schoolyard as a first anchor point for the district
heating, they were intrigued. As architects, we
were able to bring together different possibili
ties and now we’re visualizing this potential for
conversations with the residents themselves. We
made large collages using photos of the school’s
surroundings, combined with drawings by local
children and images of places elsewhere in the city
where residents like to go. The school would be the
first public building in the area to be renovated
CHAPTER 2. Keys for realizing PEDs
KEY 4 – How to co-design the step-by-step strategy

150
so that it could be connected to the heating
network. Simultaneously, the courtyard would
be redesigned and replanted. It would become a
central public space for the area’s residents. The
local Guerrilla Gardening Association, which
employs people from the neighbourhood who
want to do some extra work as gardeners, would
manage the redevelopment of this community
park. Solar panels would be installed on the roof
of the school, and the energy produced would be
shared with local households. We paid careful
attention to visualizing the project and how it
could address several sustainability goals and
local issues at the same time. This helped the
residents to become more involved. They took
part in the development of different scenarios
and projects in the district. Together we agreed
on the first priority projects and on intermediate
milestones, which we set out in a step-by-step
action plan. This document is now being used as
a framework for tracking and communicating
about the district transformation.

KEY 5
151
Who coordinates
the multi-stakeholder
process

152
A year ago, we were organizing the
temporary relocation of our football club to
another pitch while ours was being renovated
and new changing rooms were being built. We
wanted to install geothermal boreholes under the
pitch to provide energy for our own buildings: we
have changing rooms, a kitchen and a dining hall
where we hold community events. The project
seemed ambitious in itself already. But when we
spoke to the company that was going to install
the geothermal system, the idea of drilling more
boreholes came up. They mentioned that a football
pitch would be an ideal place for a collective geothermal
plant to supply heat to the surrounding
buildings. We discussed the idea with the players
and parents living nearby to see if they’d be interested.
Although they were eager to join the project,
a lot of unanswered questions made many of them
hesitant: How would the whole project be financed?
Would the houses have to be renovated, and at
what cost? Together with the energy company, we
approached the municipality to present our project
and ask for their support. The meeting went well,
but opinions differed around the table: the energy
department was enthusiastic about the extra kWh
but the public works department was concerned
about the public works needed, while the social
department wanted to get all residents on board
first. At that point, although I fully believed in the
project, I couldn’t imagine how a process with so
many stakeholders could be coordinated.

PEDs involve a multitude of actions,
projects and stakeholders, each with their own
agendas, timelines and languages. With the right
form of organization at district level, they can add
up in terms of space, budget and time.
153
Local merchants, private developers and building owners, financiers, resident
organizations, municipal departments, knowledge institutions, interest groups,
energy providers and distributors, regional and national authorities, planners
and consultants … They all have a contribution to make to, and a stake in,
the development of a PED. They all speak their own lingo, have their own
timelines and agendas. And yet they need to coordinate their actions as part
of an ambitious and integrated neighbourhood approach. There is need for
a common, strategic framework within which individual actors and projects
can position themselves, need for a common language and for continuity
throughout the lengthy process. Who can take on this responsibility?
In some cases, this role is already partly fulfilled. In
district-based urban renewal programmes, for example, a coordination
unit is temporarily set up (for a duration of five or ten years, say) and has
the mandate to initiate, support and connect different projects. Master
planners play an integrative role in producing a development strategy and
are increasingly expected to involve and engage different stakeholders
early in the process (possibly in a wider team that includes participation
experts). But in a traditional development process, the role of a master
planner or coordination unit ceases once the buildings or infrastructure
have been implemented. This isn’t the case in a PED process. Not only does
its development extend over several actions, projects and a long period of
time (fifteen, twenty or even more years), how the infrastructure of a PED is
eventually used is also crucial and requires follow-up.
Management of the community and stakeholders is also
of greater intensity and complexity. Neighbourhood managers and social
organizations that are active today already have access to a wide network
of residents and local stakeholders. They are used to building long-term
relations and a position in the neighbourhood. But they are less familiar with
coordinating integrated multi-stakeholder processes, let alone the technical
dimensions of the energy transition. A PED process needs a type of organization
(unit, platform, partnership, company) that acts transversally across different
disciplines and sectors, with the capacity to coordinate a long-term multistakeholder
process.
In this Key, we first look at bandwidth of approaches to
the coordination of a PED development, introducing three different models
we recognize in the experiments in Chapter 1. In the second part, we zoom
out to the larger governance ecosystem in which this coordination unit will
be positioned. This part provides concrete examples of how to involve in
your strategic decision-making process different departments within the city
administration, the political level, residents and other local stakeholders and
the professional practice.
CHAPTER 2. Keys for realizing PEDs
KEY 5 – Who coordinates the multi-stakeholder process

Three different models
The experiments in Chapter 1 and throughout this publication show that
there are several ways to approach the coordination of PED developments.
The governance structures are established step by step, with different degrees of
representation of the various stakeholders involved. We see that public bodies,
private companies and civil society take up different roles. But who would
you entrust with the mandate to coordinate your PED project? Should it be
organized more centrally or more locally, more formally or more informally?
And what competences should you make sure to have on board? From the
PED experiments we documented, we’ve derived three models that jointly
describe a range of possible approaches. This is meant as a starting point
for a conversation about local ambitions, dynamics and existing actors in
your neighbourhood. Which model will work best in a particular context will
depend on cultural differences (top-down vs bottom-up tradition, for example),
what systems and projects are needed or promising (it will be difficult to
build a central heating network without a strong public partner on board),
or which stakeholders are already active and networked (a cooperative or
social organization with roots in the neighbourhood can be a very strong
broker in a PED development). It’s up to you to evaluate these models, tweak
them and combine them until you have a coordination model that works for
your neighbourhood.
154
5.A Development unit in the city administration
The development of a PED can be coordinated
by a dedicated unit within the municipal administration. This
team of people has the capacity to work across and integrate
different policy domains and stakeholders. It may be housed
within a single department but have a specific mission to work
closely with other departments and outside stakeholders.
It can also be a transversal unit with its own mission, cutting
across departments. Or a collaboration between different
municipal departments, bringing together administrators in
a joint team. The advantages of a municipal development unit
are that it operates directly from the city’s long-term sustainability
targets and that (other) policy departments with a stake
in the PED process can easily be involved. It guarantees the
representation of the public interest, the long-term and largescale
vision, and the link with urban services such as energy
infrastructure, mobility or the design and maintenance of
public spaces.
Mobility
department
Energy
department
…
DEVELOPMENT ADMINISTRATION
Sustainability
team
Sustainability
strategists
Project team
STOCKHOLM ROYAL SEAPORT
The development unit for the
Stockholm Royal Seaport (SE) is
a dedicated team within a single
department of the City (the
Development Administration). Its
mission is to work across projects
and departments via its sustainability
strategists. The municipal
Development Administration
manages all of Stockholm’s 400 to
500 urban development projects,
including the Stockholm Royal
Seaport. As one of the largest
projects, the Royal Seaport has
its own dedicated team of around
fifteen people and can draw on a
team of 100 consultants within and
outside the municipality. The team
is responsible for planning, land
sales and leases, and the development
of public open spaces. Next to
the project teams, the Development
Administration has set up a general
sustainability team to ensure knowledge
transfer between projects
and departments. The Stockholm
Royal Seaport, as the flagship of
sustainable urban development, is
the only project within the department
to have its own sustainability
team. The sustainability strategists
in this team ensure that sustainability
requirements are included
in development contracts and in
the city’s own work. They monitor
results, evaluate targets and scale
up to other projects in the city.
Having this sustainability team
within the project teams makes a
big difference in terms of continuity
and involvement.
© Based on Stockholms Stad (SE)

5.B Special Purpose Vehicle (SPV)
In other cases that were studied, a publicprivate
organization or public development company
was established for the (re)development of a particular
neighbourhood. The knowledge, levers and interests of public
and private actors are activated and streamlined around a
shared vision, through cooperation rather than negotiation.
Private organizations and public authorities bring together
innovation and competence at the level of management
and specific energy or sustainability solutions. Financially
and operationally, the SPV works outside of the municipal
organization and budgetary frameworks. By setting up and
participating in a separate company, a public authority can
act as a shareholder and engage in real-estate transactions
that it can’t carry out by itself.
Building
society of
the Austrian
savings bank
group
In the example of aspern Seestadt
in Vienna (AT), a public-private
district development company
named Wien 3420 aspern Development
AG was founded in 2004,
five years before the development
of the district started. This entity
is responsible for coordinating
all urban planning activities and
infrastructures at Seestadt. Its role
ranges from master planning to
drawing up contracts with developers
and following up on the actual
operation of the newly built district.
For instance, this SPV has a Neighbourhood
Management Team that
helps new residents to settle in. It
also facilitates the development of a
lively community, provides information
on the latest developments
in and around Seestadt, and supports initiatives for
active involvement in the neighbourhood. Through an
agreement with local developers (formalized via land
sale contracts), the SPV rents the commercial spaces
in the district for the first twelve years, allowing it
to actively guarantee a diversity of commercial and
non-commercial functions.
© Based on Wien 3420 AG, Vienna (AT)
155
Vienna
Insurance
Group
WIEN 3420
73.4%
aspern Development AG
26.6%
Austrian
federal
property
administration
Vienna
Business
Agency, a fund
of the City of
Vienna
Wien 3420
Holding
5.C Neighbourhood coordination platform
In neighbourhoods where residents or local
organizations take the initiative or actively participate in
the district transformation, a coordination platform makes
it possible to formalize equivalent roles for public, private
and civil partners as well as citizens. It focuses on valorizing
cooperation and bundling forces. Rather than depending on
centralized actions and planning, a platform makes it possible
to value and support a multitude of initiatives and projects. It
pursues synergies and complementarities between the actions
of different social actors and disciplines and ensures that
each of these contributes to an overarching strategy that has
often been co-designed. Coordination is less centralized than
in the previous two models and allows for an accumulative
development model (rather than master planning). Involving
local organizations and residents in coordinating organizational
structures strengthens the feeling of co-ownership
and agency.
In Bospolder-Tussendijken in
Rotterdam (NL), several civic
organizations are taking action
with regard to energy, climate
adaptation, health and governance.
Women’s associations, religious
communities and informal networks
are focusing on improving quality
of life and welfare in the district.
To pool the capacities and knowledge
of the municipality, housing
association, energy provider, design
sector, research institution and
these common initiatives, a series of
actions were taken: a cooperation
agreement was concluded, an urban
renewal programme was set up
(BoTu 2028), and a design research
atelier was launched (IABR–Atelier
Rotterdam). In this way, public,
private and civic partners in
the neighbourhood are working
together in a non-hierarchical
way. The primary target of the
local organizations involved might
↧
CHAPTER 2. Keys for realizing PEDs
KEY 5 – Who coordinates the multi-stakeholder process

BOTU 2028
be different and sometimes unrelated to the energy
transition (job opportunities or public safety), but their
networks and methods contribute to the transformation
into a gas-free district. And conversely: through
their active participation in making BoTu a gas-free
neighbourhood, these investments are turned into
levers for their primary concerns and targets. Open
and transparent agreements and working methods
help to hold a multitude of actions, projects and
investments together.
© Based on Delfshaven Coöperatie, Rotterdam (NL)
RESEARCH BY DESIGN ATELIER
CULTURE
PROGRAMME
Architecture Biennale
Design team
Antropologists
Research institute
…
Neighbourhood
cooperative
DISTRICT
HEATING
PROGRAMME
City of Rotterdam
Housing corporation
Energy company
COLLABORATION AGREEMENT
…
Environmental coach training
Energy Agora
WhatsApp group
for clean BoTu
ENERGY
COMMONS
…
…
House of the Future
…
Community for
inclusive meeting spaces
CLIMATE
ADAPTATION
COMMONS
Energy portraits
Participatory theatre
GOVERNANCE
COMMONS
Integration into a larger governance
framework
The organizational unit or model you set up for your district won’t stand
alone. PEDs depend on a broader ecosystem of public, private and civic actors
working together in organized constellations. Next to coordination, you might
want to establish specific formats that allow them to contribute. Learning from
the PED experiments in Chapter 1, we have identified four types of actors for
which specific exchange and collaboration formats are designed:
1. Involving different departments within the municipality.
2. Getting the political level on board.
3. Giving residents a voice.
4. Forming an alliance with private partners.
156
In what follows, we give one example of a concrete format that was designed to
structurally involve each of these four strategic stakeholder groups.

5.D Interdepartmental working group
Often, different departments are already
somehow engaged in coordinating the PED, as we have seen
in the above three models. But other people from specific
departments will also need to be on board: think of the public
procurement department, the people who make long-term
energy policy, the team that coordinates public works, or the
finance department. PEDs touch upon energy and sustainability
challenges but also public space, housing, mobility, health,
social matters, water and greening. Different departments will
thus have to be aligned on strategy-building and project implementation.
But not each of these departments can or should
do so in the same active way, as part of the core coordination
model. Therefore, a citywide, interdepartmental working
group can be formed. They meet several times a year and, if
applicable, can eventually discuss several neighbourhoods at
the same time.
In Stockholm (SE), six interdepartmental
working groups were set
up in the context of the Stockholm
Royal Seaport: Energy, Climate
adaptation, Water and waste,
Sustainable transport, Sustainable
buildings, Sustainable infrastructure
and Living and working sustainably.
They meet regularly to define
requirements, analyse results and
share the needs for further investigation
and research. The Royal
Seaport forms the starting point
of the conversations, but lessons
translate back to other projects and
general policy as well. The chairpersons
of each of the six working
groups meet every two months to
discuss commonalities and possible
conflicts between targets: how to
reconcile the need for space for
rainwater management and cloudburst
challenges with that of public transport and bike
parking, for example? The groups are set up to draw
on each department’s specific competence, to become
involved and engaged in the implementation of the
sustainability targets and to scale up good examples.
Civil servants from different administrations such as
Development, Planning, Transport and Environment
and Health as well as Stockholm Vatten och Avfall (the
water and waste utility) are included. The initiative is
coordinated by the Development Administration.
157
5.E Political steering group
Each policy domain – from public space,
housing and mobility to health and green spaces – is associated
with political representatives, at both the municipal
level and the regional and national levels. They hold crucial
decision-making powers and can activate (or not) policy
instruments and budgets and devote capacity (or not) to PEDs.
By involving mayors, aldermen and ministers in a political
steering group, you make the recurrent interaction between
the project and the political level possible, but also between
the different political entities themselves. This helps to build
the support base and coalition that will be needed when
important decisions need to be made. Conversely, this makes
it possible to translate lessons from concrete projects into
improved policy frameworks.
For the district development of
Lyon Confluence (FR), the City of
Lyon and the municipalities of the
greater Lyon region created a private
Special Purpose Company with
public authorities as shareholders.
The board of public shareholders
meets every three to four months
to validate changes in development
plans. The Mayor of Lyon was chair
of the project company for fifteen
years. His role on the board of
shareholders and his liaison with
the city’s departments have been
key to the district’s success.
© Laurence Danière,
SPL Lyon Confluence,
2023, Lyon (FR)
CHAPTER 2. Keys for realizing PEDs
KEY 5 – Who coordinates the multi-stakeholder process

5.F Citizen budget and jury
Citizens and citizen organizations often
have profound local knowledge and a clear view of a district’s
challenges and potentials. The more a project can build on
their opinions, ideas and initiatives (both at the start and
during the process of a PED), the greater the chance that the
development will function as a flywheel for the entire district.
PED coordinators therefore set up support mechanisms that
are open to contributions and proposals from and for the district,
such as a yearly citizen budget. A fixed amount of money
is made available to carry out ideas proposed by (groups of)
residents. Often, citizens themselves participate in the evaluation
of ideas and initiatives and in the distribution of available
budgets. In other PEDs, we see that citizens are also invited to
take part in juries that evaluate concrete project proposals by
public and private actors. These and other methods to actively
involve citizens in the (re)development of their neighbourhood
ensure a greater sense of connection and co-ownership
[see also Key 2].
WieNeu+ is Vienna’s (AT) urban
renewal programme, targeting
district by district with the ambition
to accelerate the renovation
and provide local energy solutions,
to improve the public space,
strengthen social cohesion, develop
partnerships and initiate processes.
The programme provides a citizen
budget, the ‘Grätzlmarie’, that supports
projects that benefit the area
and its residents: a neighbourhood
party, a sandbox in the courtyard,
workshops on company sustainability,
or an art project on the
circular economy. Ideas from € 100
to € 30,000 are funded (Stadt Wien,
n.d.b). The prerequisite is that the
projects have a positive social and
ecological impact and benefit the
general public. Individuals, associations,
companies, communities
or owners with a connection to the
WieNeu+ urban renewal area – for
example, living or working there –
can submit ideas related to energy,
nutrition, recycling and mobility. If
the ideas are accepted, citizens who
submitted an idea are invited to
co-creation workshops to elaborate
the concept with experts from the
City of Vienna. Entries are then
assessed by a jury composed of
residents (50%) and of representatives
and active institutions from
the neighbourhood (50%).
© C. Fürthner, Stadt Wien,
Vienna (AT)
158
5.G Professional alliance
Achieving the energy transition is impossible
without the ecosystem of contractors, construction companies,
developers, housing funds, energy providers,
Distribution System Operators (DSOs), banks, job training
organizations, etc. Rather than merely positioning these
stakeholders in the implementation phase of energy district
(re)developments, several initiatives aim to involve them
earlier on and more deeply in the transition. By activating
their professional experience and harvesting their practical
insights, we can understand where the obstacles or missed
opportunities lie. This makes it possible to smoothen the chain
of actions and roles throughout the process, from conception
to implementation. Conversely, it makes it possible to share
and discuss the directions and initiatives that will be taken
with multiple disciplines. Being part of such a network or
alliance instils a sense of common purpose and pride in
contributing to this fundamental transition.
The RENOLUTION professional
alliance, for example, gathers
100 public, private and network
organizations involved in the
renovation strategy of buildings
in the Brussels-Capital Region
(RENOLUTION, n.d.). Through
workshops, the alliance has developed
possible solutions to achieve
the goals of the RENOLUTION
strategy, which will now be tested
through project calls. The Alliance
focuses on four main themes:
supporting landlords and tenants,
especially low-income ones; developing
a circular approach that
can minimize the environmental
impact; providing training, creating
jobs and developing local sectors;
and integrating heritage and
taking into account the specificities
of the Brussels environment
and buildings.
© Based on Brussels Environment
RENOLUTION, Brussels (BE)

Government
159
Ministers
CEOs
Regional
education and
training
partners
Regional environment
agency
Regional
development
agency
Brupartners
Regulation
Financing
Supply and demand
Urban planning
and heritage
Logistic
Training
and employment
Urban renovation
As a local football club, we decided
to play an active role in the follow-up of the
collective geothermal heat project around the
football pitch. Together with the municipality,
we held an evening meeting with the neighbours
and local organizations in our cafeteria. We
presented the project, calling it ‘Score a goal
with a borehole!’ Of course, we were going to be
part of the coordination, but we also wanted to
involve representatives from the city, residents,
local associations and the energy company. We
agreed to have regular meetings with this ‘Energy
Platform’ and decided on clear roles and actions
for all stakeholders. The municipality started with
a feasibility study to see if the houses around the
field could be connected. The local primary school
and the social support managers began to set up a
public programme for citizens who wanted to get
involved or who just wanted to know about the
project. The public works already scheduled, such
as the regreening of the public road behind the
CHAPTER 2. Keys for realizing PEDs
KEY 5 – Who coordinates the multi-stakeholder process

160
pitch and the installation of an e-bike station at
the entrance to the club, were planned according
to the drilling work for the geothermal probes.
After several meetings with the platform, we were
able to establish a common vision for the project.
What’s nice is that the city representative, the
residents and the local organizations are all sitting
around the same table on an equal footing, each
bringing a different expertise and investing time or
money in the project. People are so enthusiastic that
the Energy Platform is now working on a broader
vision for the whole neighbourhood. We want to
see more boreholes installed in other places, similar
to the football pitch, so that even more people can
have access to sustainable energy.

KEY 6
161
Which projects can
become catalysts

162
A few years ago, the city introduced an
obligation to renovate all existing buildings to
boost the number of PEDs. Within ten years, 60%
of the existing building stock must have energy
label A. It’s mostly individual owners who started
to insulate their apartments. Progress has been
slow, however, especially in multistorey buildings.
To renovate a façade or roof, all residents in the
building have to agree and invest together. So the
city authority set up a team of renovation coaches
to speed up and unblock the renovation wave.
My team started with an eight-storey apartment
build ing, of which there are many similar ones.
The residents told us they had already invested
in insulating the roof. They had started with a
relatively small investment because not everyone
had the same amount of money readily available.
To achieve label A, however, the building would
have to be insulated from the outside and the communal
heating system would have to be completely
overhauled from gas to renewable heat. This can
only be done collectively. We were prepared to
put a lot of effort into supporting this first pilot.
The project had to be exemplary and inspiring, so
that other communities of owners would consider
upgrading their multistorey buildings too. We
needed a repeatable support logic, as there are
hundreds of buildings like this in our city. But not
all residents seemed convinced. They were worried
about the cost implications and failed to see the
added value.

Exemplary projects put the PED strategy
into practice. They demonstrate how to unlock
social, energy and other benefits simultaneously
while testing new financing and ownership models.
Such integrated projects become catalysts for
the PED development process.
163
Of course, a PED is not just a strategy on paper. It translates into concrete
sub-projects: an energy community around solar panels on a school’s roof,
a micro-grid under a public square, or the collective renovation of a street,
for example. Together, these projects should eventually add up to the target
set for the entire area through a yearslong step-by-step process. Planning,
co-designing and monitoring a logical sequence of projects is key to PED
development. As an initiator, you can’t launch or implement all the necessary
projects in the neighbourhood yourself. Developers, housing associations,
local organizations such as the school or library, and local residents will carry
out most of the projects. But the initiator can play an important role in getting
the first set of projects in place because these projects set the tone for the rest
of the PED development. Do you choose the easiest projects to implement in
order to show quick results, at the risk of encouraging cherry-picking? Or do
you go for the most challenging one right away, potentially having it sit on the
planning department’s desk forever? [We discuss this consideration further
in Chapter 3, p. 231.] Which projects can integrate multiple objectives at
the same time while being technically and financially feasible, replicable
and mobilizing so that they inspire residents and other stakeholders to join
a catalysing movement?
This Key comprises three parts. The first uses the Kyoto
pyramid and its categorization of energy efficiency, production and flexibility
measures as a basis to establish a general framework and criteria for evaluating
projects within a larger PED strategy. Part two lists several commonly applied
measures that help to reduce heat and electricity losses, passively use solar
energy and lower cooling needs, control energy consumption, produce thermal
energy and electricity, and store energy. The third part combines these measures
and fits them into the above framework by providing a set of project logics that
blend energy measures with financial, social and spatial benefits.
A framework for correlated and
integrated projects
It’s not always the projects that produce or distribute the most energy that
make the greatest contribution to the overall PED development. A PED is the
sum of many measures and projects that always have a direct or indirect impact
on each other. We are looking for those projects that become a flywheel,
instead of undermining the motivation for other projects that are also needed.
Take, for example, the construction of a heat network in a certain district.
As the business case will depend on the number of houses that tap into it, it is
most probable that the energy provider will choose to build a high-temperature
heat network so that buildings that aren’t yet insulated can be connected as
well. This way, the incentive to thoroughly renovate those houses in order to
eventually heat them at a lower temperature is greatly reduced. While the
CHAPTER 2. Keys for realizing PEDs
KEY 6 – Which projects can become catalysts

ealization of a heat network might seem a great leap forward at first, it
can thus generate an undesired lock-in. The result is that energy efficiency
remains low and that we’ll continue to need to produce a high amount of
energy (locally or regionally). [We discuss this example in more detail in
Chapter 3, p. 247.]
Select
energy
source
Control
energy
consumption
Utilize
solar
energy
Reduce
electricity
consumption
Reduce
heat
losses
So, what framework allows us to evaluate
which projects are right at which point in
time and whether they (sufficiently) contribute
to the PED target? The Kyoto pyramid
(Stephan, 2010) sketches a first principle of
such a framework. The pyramid categorizes
different measures to be taken when designing
passive or low-energy buildings or districts:
first reduce the energy demand (bottom of the
pyramid), starting with heat losses and then
electricity consumption, before calculating
and designing the energy source (top of the
pyramid). Indeed, there is no point in tailoring
the production of energy to an outdated
consumption pattern, as the example of the
heat grid illustrates. It is important to stress
that the Kyoto pyramid offers a principle, not
(necessarily) a chronological approach. Once
we move from theory to practice, projects
won’t always follow the order of the Kyoto
pyramid in the way they are implemented.
Rather than first realizing measures focusing
on reduction (bottom) to then implement
measures related to energy production (top),
catalytic projects often integrate reduction
and production measures. When a roof is
built or renovated, it is common sense to combine insulation and airtightness
measures with the installation of solar panels, for example. But also: providing
a (low-temperature) heat source first can be an incentive for the renovation of
surrounding buildings. However, the Kyoto pyramid remains valid as a principle:
energy generation should be designed for tomorrow’s consumption pattern
instead of yesterday’s.
A second principle of the evaluation framework is the extent
to which projects manage to integrate different dimensions of the PED target.
When social, morphological, financial and other dimensions are also taken
into account (next to aspects of energy efficiency, production and flexibility),
projects can be designed in a way that is more appropriate to the local needs,
more efficient and more impactful. In some cases, too much focus on (further)
reductions in energy consumption might conflict with quality of life, for
example: in neighbourhoods characterized by energy poverty, people already
use very little energy to save costs. Insulating the building envelope may not
reduce energy consumption, but it will significantly improve the quality of life
of residents. That objective might be even more important. The evaluation and
selection of potential projects should therefore include the extent to which the
project meets multiple local objectives simultaneously.
An evaluation framework for projects within a PED development
should be further tailored to local objectives and stakeholders. However,
these two principles apply to any district: committing to a coherent palette of
projects covering the chain from reducing energy losses to an optimal energy
system (with the Kyoto pyramid as a guideline) and using a broad set of targets
to assess their relevance and contribution, including social and economic
targets next to energy ones.
164

Overview of singular energy measures
There are many ways of saving, generating and storing energy. In this section,
we provide an overview of some of the individual measures that are currently
common in PED development. Although unpacked and described separately
here, in reality they are often applied in combination. By first reviewing the
individual measures, we can identify differences in their rationales.
165
Some are analogous and deal with a change in use or behaviour,
some are determined by the shape or orientation of buildings, some depend on
the materials and thickness of the building envelope, and some intervene at
the level of the installations. In consequence we see differences in the extent
to which interventions depend on technology (low vs high tech), the extent to
which they are accessible and affordable to a wide audience, or whether they
can be applied everywhere or only in specific places.
Some measures rely heavily on innovative materials and
production methods. Consider solar panels or collectors, which have become
increasingly affordable in recent years as technology and the market have
developed and which now pay back their investment cost within a foreseeable
time frame. More and more electricians have the confidence and skills to
install these techniques. Batteries and other energy buffers, on the other
hand, are far less advanced and remain beyond the reach of the average
household without substantial subsidies. But as they are evolving at such a
rapid pace, in a few years’ time these measures might look very different from
the ones we know today. Measures that are less sensitive to technological or
market developments include: turning the thermostat down by a few degrees
or designing buildings with an orientation, plan and façade that allow the
sun to naturally warm up specific rooms at the right time. These are energysaving
methods that might even result in lower lifecycle CO2 emissions than
thoroughly insulating a roof or walls, as they don’t require (extra) construction
and transportation energy. But in neighbourhoods with a lot of existing buildings,
it’s not so easy to change their orientation or shape: these principles apply
mainly to new buildings and neighbourhoods.
Each of these types of measures has its place and value.
However, standard assessment frameworks like EPB regulations only consider
the impact of part of these measures. Installations and the building envelope
are taken into account but use and design principles are much harder to measure.
It is therefore important to think beyond the checklists provided by standard
frameworks when deciding on measures to set up projects. Ultimately, assessment
frameworks need to adapt to the projects and practices with the widest
impact, not the other way round.
Measures that contribute to reducing
heat loss
↦ Investing in easy and affordable
interventions: a) installing watersaving
taps in bathrooms and kitchens,
b) stopping draft from windows and
doors, c) installing insulating panes
on windows.
↦ Investing in the renovation of buildings
step by step: a) insulating the roof or
attic, b) changing to energy-efficient
windows, c) insulating façades.
↦ Installing a green roof.
↦ Passive house design, i.e. well-insulated,
good form factor and air-tight
construction.
↦ Energy recovery installations such as
air-handling units and wastewater heat
exchangers.
Measures that contribute to reducing
electricity loss
↦ Investing in energy-efficient appliances
and LED lighting on household level.
↦ Investing in energy-efficient
installations on building level
(elevators, LED lighting, etc.).
↦ Investing in energy-efficient equipment
in the public domain (LED street
lighting, attendance control and
traffic lights).
Measures that passively utilize solar energy
and reduce cooling needs
↦ Permanent (balconies, shutters) or
flexible shading (blinds, curtains) that
keeps out the sun in summer but opens
up to capture heat in winter.
↦ Deciduous trees in the public domain
that provide shade in summer and allow
the sun to heat up the building in winter.
CHAPTER 2. Keys for realizing PEDs
KEY 6 – Which projects can become catalysts

Measures that control energy consumption
↦ Lowering the heating (e.g. from 21°
to 19°), deciding not to heat all rooms
to the same level (e.g. winter gardens
at an in-between climate), keeping
the orientation of rooms in mind in
the design.
↦ Sharing electricity between actors
with different consumption patterns
(e.g. economic activities during the day,
households at night).
↦ Smart energy management systems to
more easily identify high-consumption
appliances and modify consumption
patterns to align with local production.
↦ A predictive thermostat system that
monitors energy consumption and costs
and includes a user incentive interface
(e.g. calculating the cost of a higher
temperature setting).
Measures to capture carbon
↦ Biochar, charcoal-like material that
captures carbon from the atmosphere
while doing double duty as a soil
conditioner.
Measures that produce thermal energy
↦ Solar thermal collectors.
↦ Individual or collective heat pumps
(using heat energy from air, soil or
groundwater).
↦ Low or high temperature district
heating (based on biomass, solar
thermal, geothermal or biodegradable
waste, waste heat from industry
or commercial buildings, heat
from cogeneration, and heat from
heat pumps).
↦ Biomass generation plants connected
to district heating systems.
Measures that produce electricity
↦ Photovoltaic (PV, on roofs and façades).
↦ Installing windmills.
↦ Using biomass (such as pruning waste)
as a resource.
↦ Combined Heat and Power (CHP) in
cogeneration systems.
↦ Hydropower plants connected to local
water bodies or canals.
Measures that store energy
↦ Vehicles (daily storage).
↦ Battery (weekly storage) at plot,
street or district level.
↦ Hydrogen (seasonal storage).
↦ Borehole Thermal Energy Storage
(BTES), combining a conventional
ground source heat pump to extract
energy and e.g. thermal collectors to
restore energy again.
↦ Heat storage by means of collective
hot-water storage tanks with a dedicated
energy management system.
New project logics
Several of the individual measures seen in the previous section can be combined
in new types of projects. These projects must meet the conditions set
by the overarching PED strategy: they mustn’t interfere with other necessary
projects, but rather reinforce them. And they must go beyond the energy goals
to meet the whole set of goals that apply to the district. Learning from the
experience of the first pilot projects in (relevant) PED developments across
Europe, we see several new project logics where these kinds of catalytic
effect and win-win situations are realized. They become more than just the
application of single energy measures but add to (living) quality or build a
more robust society.
In the overview below, we derive a series of logics from inspiring
best practices that use energy measures as a driver to build integrated urban
projects. Some of these project logics focus on the multiplier potential and
on encouraging other stakeholders to co-invest in the neighbourhood. Other
logics are about adding new qualities to energy interventions to make them
more attractive and therefore more viable. Still other logics explore new forms
of ownership and financing. This set of project logics is expanding as PED
practice evolves. As you apply them to your own neighbourhood, it will become
clear which logics are most needed and which types of projects will thrive best
in your local context.
166

6.A Public investments as anchor points
Some projects aim to have an impact beyond
their own plot of land. A particular (public) investment may
enhance the street, block or neighbourhood in such a way that
it attracts (private) investors to invest as well. This catalytic
intervention can take place in the public realm, like the
(re)design of a park. It can also involve adding other services,
such as schools or childcare facilities in the neighbourhood.
Or the renovation of an existing public heritage can trigger a
renovation wave in the area.
In Muide Meulestede in Ghent (BE),
a BTES system (Borehole Thermal
Energy Storage) is being built under
the local football pitch (Stad Gent,
2022). The city is investing in the
boreholes with the aim of persuading
the social housing company and
individual homeowners in the area
to renovate their buildings so that
they can connect to the renewable
heat. At various locations in the
area, the municipality is exploring
how such public acupunctural
interventions can be leveraged
to engage local stakeholders in a
transformative project. It looks at
scheduled development projects or,
for example, streets where residents
themselves are already committed
to doing something with the public
space. These places are the starting
point for a catalyst project where
public investment kick-starts
the process.
© Sis Pillen, Architecture Workroom
Brussels, Ghent (BE)
167
6.B Energy measures as a lever for greater
living quality
Other projects use energy measures to improve
the spatial quality of people’s living environment. This can
be quite literally, with more space. But it can also mean other
things: more light, greater connection to the street, common
rooms that can be used as a studio or extra kitchen, an outdoor
space where there was none before, a view of greenery, and so
on. In many cases, this leap in quality is what sells people on
the project, and the energy measures are a nice bonus.
An award-winning example is
Lacaton & Vassal’s renovation of
the Grand Parc social housing
complex in Bordeaux (FR).
The three blocks were built in the
early 1960s. The refurbishment of
the interiors and the insulation of
the façades aimed to improve the
energy performance of the buildings
and bring them into line with
new sustainable objectives. The
addition of conservatories to the
façade provides a new, high-quality
intermediate space for residents
and creates a natural thermal buffer
zone that improves the building’s
insulation and prevents heat loss
(Lacaton & Vassal, 2017).
© Philippe Ruault, Bordeaux (FR)
CHAPTER 2. Keys for realizing PEDs
KEY 6 – Which projects can become catalysts

6.C New cooperative energy infrastructure
In several cases, the success of a project is
enhanced by the involvement of the end users in the ownership
model. Citizen-owned energy infrastructure comes in various
forms. Several energy cooperatives are investing in solar
panels or wind turbines. Public and private companies can also
sell a number of shares in the (local) heat network to citizens.
Or the residents of the neighbourhood can be co-owners of
the neighbourhood energy system, which they use themselves.
On the one hand, there is the financial incentive: economic
benefits are shared. On the other, cooperative co-ownership
ensures greater involvement of end-users in the design and
management of a project. And therein lies the catalytic effect
of this type of project: as more people share the mission,
support grows in line with entrepreneurship for the next set
of projects and for neighbourhood development as a whole.
In Oud-Heverlee near Leuven (BE),
more and more families are installing
solar panels, buying electric
cars and switching to individual
heat pumps. The electricity grid,
which dates back to 1970 and was
only designed for a few farms, is
not adapted to this new situation.
As a result of the overload, the
residents’ electrical appliances are
failing. A battery with a capacity of
90 kWh was therefore installed in a
street using European funds (Steel,
2019). The forty houses on this
street form an energy community
and store their excess electricity
during the day to be used again in
the evening. This avoids overloading
the grid.
© Tim Dirven, Oud-Heverlee (BE)
168
6.D Starter cell for incremental transformation
Some projects are interesting because they
offer the opportunity to gradually change an entire system.
Once the starter cell of a micro-heating network has been
installed, for example, more geothermal probes can be added
step by step. The advantage of such an incremental system is
that it offers an alternative to a centralized approach, where a
change must be made all at once. This is the case of a central
heat network, where sufficient customers must be guaranteed
at the same time. Decentralized boreholes allow different
streets and yards to be added gradually. The same principle
can be applied to solar energy sharing, for example.
At Geblergasse in Vienna (AT), two
adjacent Gründerzeit apartment
buildings (built during the economic
boom at the end of the nineteenth
century) were renovated and converted
from gas to a local heating
network. This is the first time in
Vienna that geothermal energy
has been used in a Gründerzeit
building. Eighteen geothermal
probes were drilled to a depth of
110 metres in the small courtyard
and now supply the connected
apartments with low-temperature
heat from the ground (Zeininger,
2020). In summer, water is heated
by means of solar collectors and
pumped through the pipes into the
boreholes. In winter, this energy
is extracted again. This creates a
stable energy balance throughout

the year. The heating system can be
expanded at any time, so that in the
future the technical supply concept
can be extended to the entire block
of twenty properties.
© Christian Fürthner /
City of Vienna MA20, Vienna (AT)
169
6.E Broadening the business case
In some cases, the combination of different
measures can ensure that an initially unprofitable intervention
becomes realistic by being combined with a profitable one. The
renovation of outdated buildings is one such costly undertaking
that can ideally be integrated into a broader set of measures.
This could include the installation of energy producing equipment
such as PV or geothermal probes, but also increasing
density so that more units can be sold or rented out.
The 485 units of the Hauffgasse
apartment blocks in Vienna (AT)
underwent a major refurbishment
(Smarter Together, n.d.). A new
floor was added to the existing
building while insulating the existing
apartments. This made way for a
series of seventy-nine new penthouses
with generous terraces. The
building rights for the extra floor
allowed the not-for-profit housing
association BWSG to keep renovation
costs down and rents low.
Parallel to the renovation project, a
participatory e-car sharing scheme
was set up for residents. An active
group of around ten to fifteen residents
looks after the maintenance
and upkeep of the vehicles.
© Bojan Schnabl, Vienna (AT)
6.F Aligning complementary patterns
Finally, some projects are interesting because
they test new types of collaboration between stakeholders
with complementary energy needs or surpluses. These can
range from public-private partnerships (to provide an integrated
end-to-end refurbishment service, for example) to
collaboration between different users (to balance different
consumption patterns).
Merygrid in Liège (BE) is a microgrid
involving three different
companies on an industrial site:
MeryBois (a wood processing
company), MeryTherm (a
developer of hydroelectric plants)
and CBV (a manufacturer of
industrial fans). As their activities
are complementary in terms of
energy use, exchanges can be
maximized. Electricity is produced
by the solar panels on the roof of
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CHAPTER 2. Keys for realizing PEDs
KEY 6 – Which projects can become catalysts

250 W
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Motors
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MeryBois and by MeryTherm’s
hydroelectric plant on the nearby
river Ourthe. The energy is stored
in no fewer than 190 batteries. The
interplay between the companies
is optimized by an intelligent
network management system,
which constantly determines the
best options for generating value
from the energy and ancillary
services markets, while at the same
time safeguarding the supply of
electricity (Cornélusse et al., 2017).
© Based on Cornélusse et al.
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170
Today, the scaffolding has finally been
removed from the first multistorey building we
were involved in as renovation coaches. Together
with the residents, an architect and an energy
expert, we tested an energy solution that would
also bring new qualities to the residents within
reasonable financial limits. We proposed adding
an extra insulating façade to the building. This
enlarged the existing terraces and created new
habitable interior space. The extra space was a key
lever in getting most of the residents on board.
Following a structural analysis of the building,
we also recommended adding an extra floor and
selling the new units. The income from the sale
of these new flats created capital that was used
to reduce the cost of the remaining necessary
interventions, like replacing the heating system.
We learned a lot from this pilot about how to
improve our own support model, what technical
solutions work, what business models are viable,

and what regulatory frameworks are needed.
We linked this type of renovation strategy to
the city’s densification strategy. Multistorey
apartment buildings in strategic areas are
encouraged to go for a deep renovation process
and add an extra storey or two. This helps the
business case for the energy transition while
meeting the need for new and affordable housing in
the city. This type of project has become a model
that is now multiplying across the city.
171
CHAPTER 2. Keys for realizing PEDs
KEY 6 – Which projects can become catalysts

172

KEY 7
173
How to finance
inclusive,
long-term
development

174
Ours is a typical residential neighbourhood
with a number of beautiful buildings, some
of which are more than 200 years old. Young
couples moved in because it’s still cheaper to
buy a house here than in the city centre. People
like me in their fifties were able to find a place
in the neighbourhood twenty years ago and
are now renovating. The older generation, now
retired, came in the 1970s to work in the former
metallurgical factory. When the municipality
presented the plan for the district to become a
PED, it outlined an ambitious renovation strategy.
But not everyone in the district has the financial
means to completely renovate their house. The
municipality calculated that the investment
needed to achieve the A++ Energy Performance
Certificate would cost up to € 150,000 per unit!
The beautiful old buildings require very specific
insulation techniques to meet the PED standards.
Younger families especially are already paying
off loans and are worried about making ends
meet, but many older people living on pensions
don’t have enough savings to invest either. Let’s
face it, this is a lot of money for anyone, even if
you can get an extra loan. The municipality tried
to attract private investors to the area to see if
they’d be willing to cover the upfront investment,
but that didn’t seem to be profitable enough for
them. The challenge didn’t match the budget.
At the neighbourhood meeting, we started
brainstorming about an alternative way to
finance these renovations.

PEDs require sustained investments
with longer payback times, lower yields, and both
economic and social profits. They blend the
financial capacities of households, cooperatives,
public authorities, banks and private investors.
175
A financial strategy for PEDs has to look at the total costs and benefits of the
neighbourhood (re)development. The scale and complexity of the stakeholders,
phases and uses involved oblige us to take the broader field of financial flows
into consideration. This makes it possible to distinguish direct from indirect
costs. Direct costs relate to the implementation of measures and systems:
infrastructure projects such as a heat network, solar panels, passive buildings
and the renovation of existing houses. The indirect costs are conditions for
(or consequences of) the choices made in the development of a PED. For
example, if an entire neighbourhood is to run on individual solar panels, its
public electricity grid has to be upgraded significantly to absorb and distribute
the electricity inputs from every single household. Another important indirect
cost is the human labour needed to implement a PED: going door-to-door
to empower local stakeholders and get a maximum of citizens on board [see
Key 2], or supporting residents in their renovation process so that they can
connect to the low-temperature heat grid [see the example in the introduction
to Key 6]. These examples show that indirect costs are often the lever for
success ful energy measures and systems, which are considered direct costs or
investments. It is precisely the synergies between direct and indirect costs that
make it possible to generate (financial and non-financial) benefits for residents
and for the local community, and to reach the integrated target set for the
district [see Key 3].
To set up the corresponding financial logic or investment
plan, you have to be creative, to think outside the box and combine private
and public financial streams. A ‘blended financing model’ is needed: not one
financing entity, but a complex of different financial streams from residents,
public investments, local to national subsidy schemes, investments by energy
companies, loans by banks or governments, etc. But financing is more than
a question of numbers. What we are investing in, and how and by who it is
financed, will be defining for the distribution of costs and benefits for a long
period of time: How high or low will the energy bill be? How high and for how
long will everyone repay the investments? How much rent will residents pay?
And who is the profit for? It is a widespread misconception that financial
modelling is a technical and neutral operation. The opposite is true. Each
financial model comes with a logic and with advantages and disadvantages.
Designing a financial model for a PED is therefore about taking a stance with
regard to this crucial question: who do we want the financial flows to move
from and to?
Today, more than 50% of the energy used in Europe is
imported (Yanatma, 2023). In the case of natural gas, the figure is as high
as 80%: 25% from Russia (down from the original 50% it was before 2022
and Russia’s invasion of Ukraine), 25% from Norway, 12% from Algeria and
the rest increasingly from the US, Qatar and Nigeria (European Council,
2023a). Europe’s energy import bill averages € 300 billion and is reaching
unprecedented highs since the end of the energy crisis in 2021, which pushed
it up to around € 600 billion (European Commission, n.d.b). This means that
a large part of the benefits and profits are leaving our districts and Europe
in the current energy system. Not all European countries and districts will
(nor should) become entirely self-sufficient. But when steering the massive
CHAPTER 2. Keys for realizing PEDs
KEY 7 – How to finance inclusive, long-term development

transition towards renewable energies, we should be aware about the profits,
dependencies and new power positions we are shaping with the decisions we
make. When designing financial models for PEDs, we have the opportunity
to make choices between a more regenerative or a more extractive economy.
We can invest in projects that contribute to the local economy and value chain
or in energy systems that continue the extraction of local value to faraway
places and shareholders. The New Economics Foundation, a UK non-profit
think-tank, speaks of the local economy as a bucket: ‘If someone has £ 5 and
spends them in the local grocery store, the £ 5 stay in the bucket. But if they
pay the electricity bill, they don’t stay in the bucket. Spending on electricity
is like a leak in the bucket: the £ 5 leak out because the supplier is a company
outside the area’ (City Mine(d), 2020b). Just as we have seen that a district
can’t produce 100% of the required energy itself, neither can 100% of the
financial value remain in the district. So perhaps we should think in terms of
different ‘buckets’: that of the neighbourhood itself, one at the city level, one
at the regional or national level, one for Europe, and one at the global scale.
Which buckets we fill is a consequence of the choices we make. We are seeing
a growing number of cities and local initiators exploring how to maximize the
contribution to a regenerative local economy. They opt for energy cooperatives
in which local residents are directly involved or ensure local employment in the
construction industry [see also Key 8, p. 188].
Other qualitative choices can also outweigh a purely financial
argument. When evaluating measures, projects or new energy systems, the
financial costs and benefits can be positioned next to the social and societal costs
and benefits. A series of small-scale community heating projects might be more
laborious and expensive than a single central heating network, for example.
But if the community heating projects succeed in connecting neighbours and
in letting them take part in the climate adaptive redesign of their street, it
may well be a more valuable investment in the end. Or, if the renovation of
an apartment block includes not only a package of insulation measures but
also larger terraces, we see that residents are willing to pay the higher cost for
this extra surface and quality. The experiments in which these observations
are made could be considered the first steps towards a societal cost-benefit
analysis for a neighbourhood (re)development. But a neighbourhood-scale
model that fully captures the complexity of the financial and societal costs and
benefits doesn’t yet exist. The ongoing experimentation will make it possible to
gradually form such a framework for PEDs.
In this Key, we don’t claim to present a ready-made set of
solutions to finance your PED. Instead, to help your creative financial modelling,
we identify in a first section the shortcomings or challenges of existing
financial logics when applied to PEDs. We then look at a number of tested
approaches that experiment with new or adapted financial logics. They provide
building blocks to compose a financial model that fits your district and that
you’ll have to improve as your process moves forward.
Gaps in current financial logics
176
Most PED projects that are considered financeable today derive their profits
from the value creation of real estate or from the production of energy. When
developers buy land to build energy-efficient houses or apartments, they try to
sell them with a profit compared to the total investment cost. Solar panels or
wind turbines can now be manufactured, installed and operated at a cost that
can be recovered over a foreseeable period. From that moment on, they are
profitable. That is why, even if residents don’t have the means to make these
investments upfront, there are companies and banks willing to pre-finance or
give loans. Energy service companies (ESCOs), for example, typically invest in
new energy installations for institutions that have highly predictable or stable
energy demands, such as schools, elderly homes and hospitals. The savings on
the energy cost allow them to recover the investment over a period of a decade

or so. The institutions continue to pay their original energy bill, gradually
paying back the initial investment. The risk is sufficiently low and the time
of repayment sufficiently short.
177
But PED developments consist of more than just those projects
that fit traditional investment logics. In this section we build an overview of
aspects that are typical for PEDs and that don’t easily fit the traditional business
case. By being aware of these gaps, you can actively steer away from lock-ins or
hidden costs in your financial model. This will allow you to build a more adapted
financing mechanism that matches the diversity of costs and benefits.
↦
↦
Projects with a (s)low return. Several investments in energy
districts have a limited profitability or have a much longer
payback period than others. The cost of deep renovation, for
example, requires an investment of several tens (sometimes
hundreds) of thousands of euros per household. Compared
to the relatively low cost of fossil fuels, the payback period of
these projects via energy savings exceeds the time frame that is
acceptable according to current financial criteria used by banks,
investors and funds. Families with sufficient financial capacities
often don’t engage in a deep renovation for the financial
revenue, but for the property value increase, out of conviction
in sustainability goals, or for the qualitative improvements
that this renovation can be combined with (fewer draughts, an
extra room, a new kitchen, a winter garden). There is a need
for financing schemes that allow for lower profitability and for
slower payback, as an alternative for project-based real-estate
logics characterized by a fast and high yield.
Collective projects. Many grant and other funding schemes
today support individual owners and actions, such as subsidies
for renovation works, or the purchase of heat pumps and solar
panels. In a community of flat owners, for example, every
single family has to apply separately for a subsidy to renovate
their part of the façade. And when citizens aim to carry out a
collective geothermal heat project, they aren’t always entitled
to these support mechanisms. But collective projects that
extend beyond the property or plot level can have a positive
impact on the flexibility of the district’s energy system,
because they allow demand and production to be balanced
locally. Collective projects usually also put more focus on the
interdependence between different targets, measures and
stakeholders, and thus on diverting less costs to individuals
or society. A system that gives such actions and projects a
competitive advantage will help to reach an integrated target.
↦
↦
Precarious stakeholder groups. In practice, subsidies are
often more likely to reach middle- and upper-class families
than lower-income ones (Economidou and Bertoldi, 2014).
The first group seems to find the administrative route to the
subsidies more quickly and can invest the complementary
part of the cost more easily. Also, tax incentives only work
for people who earn enough to pay a lot of taxes. The risk
is that the most vulnerable groups of the population end up
paying the price for the climate transition (think of the gilets
jaunes in France or the farmers’ protests in the Netherlands and
Belgium). A solid safety net to support fragile households and
companies in switching to sustainable alternatives needs to be
part of the PED financial scheme.
Social and field work. A neighbourhood (re)development
depends on the involvement and empowerment of local
stakeholders [see Key 2, p. 113]. Supporting social networks
and community initiatives, getting audiences on board that are
CHAPTER 2. Keys for realizing PEDs
KEY 7 – How to finance inclusive, long-term development

harder to reach, unburdening and empowering residents, going
from door to door to involve families in energy and renovation
projects: all this takes time. Private investors and banks
consider this to be a prerequisite for the success of a PED but
claim it can’t be included in their business case. While it’s often
expected from them, the lack of capacity within municipalities
to carry out this kind of work is identified as one of the main
bottlenecks to inclusive neighbourhood (re)development.
↦
↦
↦
High-risk, interdependent projects. Despite the high construction
costs, public and private companies have an interest
in building and operating heat networks or geothermal fields.
At this moment, however, this is only happening when one
large stakeholder must be connected, or in newly built districts
(a brownfield development, social housing complexes,
industrial companies or zones). Until now, these investors’
interest freezes when the aim is to connect several individual
households in an existing neighbourhood. Developing an offer
for the deep renovation of those houses, going door to door
to advise and eventually sign contracts, are seen as separate
operations that don’t fit the business case of the energy infrastructure.
Without a guaranteed off-take from a sufficiently
large group of users that occupy houses that can be heated on
low temperatures, an investment in heat infrastructure is seen
as too risky.
Climate adaptation of public spaces. The transformation
of public space in favour of water buffering and infiltration
and of greening and biodiversity will have a positive impact
on the liveability of cities. The risks of flooding, drought and
heat island effect will be tampered, and thus the need for
repairing and for cooling the surrounding houses. Even though
such transformation of the public space benefits the private
households and companies facing them, it is assumed that
public authorities will bear the full cost. However, the scale of
the necessary investment in the climate adaptation of public
spaces often exceeds the available public resources.
Conception and coordination. The preparatory phase and
consistent coordination will define the quality of a PED.
Facilitating the co-creation process to define the neighbour
hood’s vision and targets, building partnerships and
coalitions, monitoring and linking the various ongoing
projects, evaluating progress and adjusting the process
accordingly: all of this is creative work done by several people
from different disciplines and organizations. This represents
an overhead cost that is kept as low as possible in regular
real-estate projects. But the coordination unit [as discussed
in Key 5] and the coalitions it mobilizes or supports
require sufficient capacity. Investing in the conception
phase avoids lock-ins and wasted opportunities. It also
leads to higher performance and multiple benefits in later
implementation phases.
178
↦
Experimentation. Finally, it is important to recognize that
PEDs are still in the process of testing, learning, failing and
adapting. This requires time and space for experimentation,
for drawing lessons and for improving methods and processes.
In the same way that companies have R&D environments
where they can test-run products, we should think of the
current generations of PEDs as test environments that won’t
necessarily reach an economic optimum yet.

Seeds for a PED business case
179
The established institutional order in the energy landscape (with clear roles
and responsibilities for government, energy distributor, energy supplier and
consumer) won’t be the same during and after the transition we’re currently
undertaking. Together with the introduction of new actors and a changing
role play, what we call a ‘viable business case’ will be redefined to fit the specificities
of PEDs. It will be a combination of public investments and investments
by homeowners, renters or citizen cooperatives, with a low or higher return, or
even without a return. A distribution between these financial streams has to be
made, risks and profits have to be allocated and eventually mutualized between
the different stakeholders behind those streams.
In this section we look at concrete examples of projects that
are (partial) answers to the questions in the previous section. We collected a
palette of tools used in concrete and integrated PED experiments. Sometimes
these are existing financial tools that are being applied in an alternative way,
sometimes new tools that are still in their infancy. We address their pitfalls
and opportunities so that you can get inspired and start working with them.
Each of the tools and examples seeks to bridge a gap in the financial model of
a PED and provides a puzzle piece for a new viable business case.
7.A Collectivity grants and subsidies
Governments typically provide grants and
subsidies for investments that are more difficult to realize
by the market alone, as is the case for many retrofits or new
technologies. The focus of subsidy schemes on individual
families or households triggers the increase in renovations and
solar energy production. But the impact could be multiplied
if grants and subsidies would also allow for more collective,
inclusive and integrated projects. Imagine that subsidies
are offered for collective solar panels installed on the best
suited roofs, with businesses and households balancing each
other’s use patterns. Or that collective geothermal boreholes,
combined with climate-adaptation measures, are promoted:
they require less electricity to heat several households than a
series of individual heat pumps and can also provide cooling
without heating the outside air. Of course, such subsidies
only make sense if accompanied by support mechanisms and
regulatory frameworks that enable collective projects (such as
a stimulating legislative context for energy communities or the
juridical framework that would allow community-driven heat
projects in the public space).
7.B Tax incentives linked to a tax shift
Public financial support can also be provided
through income tax, VAT reductions or exemptions for
investments in energy-related measures. Such tax deductions
will be compensated by additional taxes in other fields. In the
case of the energy transition, a (gradual) tax shift towards
fossil fuels and CO2 emissions could provide an opportunity.
This can simultaneously help to make deep renovation
and renewable energy systems more attractive financially
than their CO2-intensive alternatives, the opposite being
true today.
An example of a premium
specifically aimed at a collective
approach is the ‘Burenpremie’
(Neighbours’ subsidy) of the Flemish
grid operator Fluvius. They offer
a bonus to groups of at least ten
neighbours who are advised together
about their renovation works.
The bonus finances the project
coordinator who supports the
collective process (Fluvius, n.d.).
Right now, the subsidy is often
used to provide individual advice
to several families who happen to
live in the same neighbourhood.
This is because the houses in
a typical Flemish street often
differ strongly from each other
(in terms of typology, age, layout)
and tailor-made advice is needed.
Although this subsidy is successful
in speeding up individual actions,
it would be even more impactful
if it were linked to incentives for,
advice on or regulatory frameworks
regarding the implementation of
collective energy systems.
In the Georgian Quarter of
Limerick (IE), tax incentives are
being used to regenerate historic
buildings in the city centre. The
Living City Initiative is a property
tax relief scheme for people
refur bishing residential, rental,
commercial and retail properties in
designated regeneration areas. For
example, if you invest € 100,000
in your property, you can write off
€ 10,000 on your taxes every year
over the next ten years (Revenue
Irish Tax and Customs, 2017).
↧
CHAPTER 2. Keys for realizing PEDs
KEY 7 – How to finance inclusive, long-term development

There are different conditions
for claiming the relief, depending
on whether you’re renovating or
converting a property for residential
or commercial use. The
city’s one-stop shop is receiving
an increasing number of demands
for support. With the aim to create
local opportunities [see the earlier
reflection about the local economy
by the New Economics Foundation,
p. 176], the city is explicitly targeting
residents and small local
developers as an alternative to large
commercial companies. The historic
buildings in the city centre are feasible
projects, and they want people
to take pride and ownership in the
redevelopments. In this way, a sense
of community is being brought back
to the town centre (Limerick City &
County Council, n.d.).
© Limerick.ie, Limerick (IE)
7.C Alternative payback schemes
Loans from banks, private investors or
governments are attractive when there are large upfront costs
to be incurred. Given the long payback period of a major
renovation via energy savings, for example, we need loans
where governments or private (impact) investors are willing
to consider slow, non- or lower-return models. Think, for
example, of loans where only the interest needs to be repaid
during the loan period, until a house is sold and the capital
gain from the sale allows the rest to be repaid (over a period of
up to or more than twenty years). Or consider funds that offer
interest-free loans under certain conditions, such as achieving
a certain EPC rating. In other examples, we see the reduced
energy costs and the loan repayment immediately balanced on
the same account through on-bill financing.
ROLLING
FUND
2018
Estimated value
€ 100,000
(before renovation)
2019
Renovation cost
€ 30,000
RETURN FOR
RECURRING
FUND
€ 40,000
(€ 30,000 contribution
+ 20% capital gain)
2030
Sold for
€ 200,000
The UK Green Deal links the
monthly energy bill to the repayment
of a renovation or energy
loan. Through the system of ‘on-bill
financing’ (households get one bill
for both the energy cost and loan
repayment), investment and savings
are immediately offset. According
to the so-called golden rule, the
repayment of the investment must
always be less than the energy gain.
In the UK, this loan is tied to the
property, not the owner. If the origin
al owner or tenant then leaves the
property, the loan is automatically
taken over by the next occupant
(Ingram and Jenkins, 2013).
Dampoort KnapT OP! started in
2015 as a pilot project in Ghent
(BE), where so-called emergency
buyers are supported by a rolling
fund with capital from the City
of Ghent and the Public Centre
for Social Welfare (OCMW). The
scheme is aimed at homeowners
struggling to make payments due
to circumstances such as divorce,
redundancy and debt, or families
who spent their entire budget on
buying a home and are therefore
unable to renovate. As they can’t
pre-finance the work, they also
miss out on any renovation grants.
They can apply and borrow up to
€ 30,000. They only have to pay
back when selling their house. In
this way, the fund is replenished
and more and more families can
be supported. The principle of
deferred repayment is also known
as ‘subsidy detention’ (Vandepitte
and Hertogen, 2015).
© Based on Dampoort KnapT OP!
financial model, Ghent (BE)
180
RETURN TO
OWNER
€ 160,000
(original value + market inflation + capital gain)

7.D Diversified business models
Financially profitable projects can easily
kick-start a district development. But the more these projects
are isolated from the district’s financial balance, the more
difficult it is to design a viable financial model. Establishing
a framework that pushes companies to combine projects that
are more financially interesting with more complex ones helps
to avoid this ‘cherry-picking’. Through a differentiated project
portfolio, mission-driven companies can realize a surplus via
investments with faster or more returns (like solar panels) to be
reinvested in longer-term, riskier or non-revenue investments
(like renovation support). The reason why shareholders invest
in companies with such a diversified project portfolio is not to
make the highest possible profits. They often agree with low
dividends of between 2 and 5% (while the average company
in the energy sector in Western Europe is focused mainly on
pushing towards ‘cherry-picking’, with numbers for the return
on equity hovering around 18% over the past decade) (Statista,
2023). These investors do so because of the societal mission
(or social profit) or because they benefit directly from the
investments as residents or users of the district. Also, public
authorities can become shareholders.
Energent in Ghent (BE) is a
citizen cooperative with more
than 2,000 members. They invest
in economically viable projects
such as wind turbines and solar
panels. With that income stream,
they pay their shareholders a
dividend at a low rate of return
(at a rate of approximately 5%).
But next to that, they dedicate
part of the revenue to other, nonprofitable
processes. One of these
is the door-to-door renovation
advice they offer in their Wijkwerf
programmes. District by district,
they set up a communication
campaign and pro-actively reach
out to residents. The advice is free
of charge and by joining a Wijkwerf
trajectory you can take part in
group purchasing, which reduces
the cost of your new windows,
insulation or heat pump. Wijkwerf
puts forward a neighbourhood
approach and acceleration via
the simultaneous renovation of
individual houses. In a next step,
these could be combined with
collective projects as well.
© Energent, Ghent (BE)
181
7.E Public-private innovation funding
Several European and national innovation
funds make possible the creation of pilot projects and living
labs as test environments for PEDs. The Joint Programme
Initiative (JPI), of which this publication is a result (and
which is now part of the Driving Urban Transitions (DUT)
programme), is one of these. It pools the budgets of national
innovation agencies for cooperation between European cities.
Next to that, HORIZON Europe is the EU’s main funding
programme for research and innovation, with a total budget
of now € 95 billion (European Commission, n.d. a). The LIFE
programme then focuses on concrete environmental and
climate actions. These public funds can be used to leverage
private expertise and budgets. Companies also often have
small to substantial R&D budgets that can be activated to
test their newest developments in real-life laboratories. The
model of blended financing between public and private parties,
whether or not formalized in a public-private partnership
(PPP), has proven to be mutually beneficial for previous
innovations in history (Witters et al, 2012). In the context of
the development of PEDs, it can be a tool for achieving the
integrated societal objectives.
ElectriCITY is an innovation
platform founded by a group of
residents to take the sustainability
ambitions of the Hammarby Sjöstad
eco-district in Stockholm (SE) even
further. It is a business association
supported by about seventy members
and partners (ElectriCITY,
n.d.). With its partners in sustainable
technology, mobility, energy
and housing, the organization
sets up various local projects to
improve the district, such as electricity
micro-grids and car charging
points. The organization relies
on public funding, for example
from the Swedish Energy Agency.
Companies like Siemens are co-investing
because it enables them to
test new concepts and technologies
in a real-world context.
CHAPTER 2. Keys for realizing PEDs
KEY 7 – How to finance inclusive, long-term development

7.F Selling carbon credits
The total amount of CO2 that can be emitted
is regulated at European level and will continue to decrease in
the coming years. Those who reduce carbon emissions (either
by switching from fossil-based systems to renewable ones, or
with advanced technologies that extract CO2 from the air) can
sell ‘carbon credits’ to those who still emit. Individuals, companies,
organizations and sub-national governments can buy
these credits to reduce their own greenhouse gas emissions
and achieve carbon-neutral, net-zero or other set emission
reduction targets (on paper). The Council and the European
Parliament recently reached a deal to extend the emissions
trading system from only industries and the power generation
sector to buildings and mobility (European Council, 2023b).
That would allow investments in solar panels, heat pumps,
renovations and other carbon-reducing measures to be
financed through the sale of these carbon credits. As a consequence
of the continuous lowering of the carbon emissions
cap, the price per carbon credit rises gradually – making it less
and less attractive to purchase indulgences, and more and more
interesting to reduce carbon emissions yourself.
Stockholm Exergi (SE) is
Stockholm’s district heating
operator, with an annual delivery
of approximately 7 TWh district
heating and a production of
1.5 TWh electricity in Combined
Heat and Power (CHP) (Stockholm
Exergi, n.d.). The district heating
is supplied by waste incineration,
biomass, large heat pumps,
industrial waste heat and bioliquids
for peak production. Stockholm
Exergi is developing bioenergy
with carbon capture and storage
(BECCS), a technology that
captures and stores the carbon
dioxide produced during the
incineration of biomass. A research
facility has been installed next to
the CHP plant at the Stockholm
Royal Seaport to test this new
technology. Stockholm Exergi’s
calculations show that there is a
potential to capture two million
tonnes of carbon dioxide per year,
which is about twice the carbon
dioxide emissions of all car traffic
in Stockholm. The equipment is
expensive, but can be largely paid
for by the carbon dioxide offsets
that companies and other countries
pay for the carbon dioxide that is
captured and stored.
© Robin Hayes, Stockholm (SE)
182
My neighbours and I began meeting
infor mally to discuss how we could finance the
redevelopment of our neighbourhood. At first,
people joined mainly to complain about the
situation. But at a certain point, we came up
with a serious proposal and that was to set up a
local energy company. It would be a cooperative,
investing in local projects. Many of us were
intrigued by the idea of pooling the necessary
capital for a rolling fund. Some people contributed

€ 500, others € 15,000, depending on what they
had. Unfortunately, the money we raised in the
neighbourhood wasn’t enough to truly support
residents who needed help with their renovation.
The rolling fund would never have the impact
we wanted with such limited capital. Seeing an
opportunity to test a new financial model for future
district renovations, the municipality decided to
give our neighbourhood pilot status. They agreed
to act as a guarantor for the investments made by
the cooperative. That allowed us to launch a call for
shareholders across the country, with an estimated
interest rate between 3 and 4%. The campaign
was hugely successful. Some people recognized
our story and were curious to see if we could
really make it happen. Others found this model
an interesting way to invest their savings. As a
result, we were able to start renovating fifty units.
A great success, I would say! We started with the
families who couldn’t get a regular loan from the
bank because they didn’t have the money for a
deposit. They’ll repay the company in part from
the savings they make on their energy bills as a
result of the refurbishment and in part when they
sell the house. Meanwhile, we’re also investing in
PV systems in the district and in a windmill just
outside the city, which the municipality is willing to
co-finance. This will allow us to grow our port folio
and, once the PV and windmill are up and running,
offer the next series of loans. In this way, residents
who don’t have the initial capital will have access
to an interest-free, long-term loan. Combined with
183
CHAPTER 2. Keys for realizing PEDs
KEY 7 – How to finance inclusive, long-term development

184
the existing tax incentives and national subsidies,
the deep renovation of our houses will become
more feasible for everyone!

KEY 8
185
How to multiply
skills and capacity

186
A few years ago, the entire local
construction sector – contractors, builders,
developers – shifted to the realization of passive
buildings. Slowly, the ambition grew to include
so-called positive energy buildings, especially
in new development projects. I thought I had all
the knowledge and experience I needed to build
them. But I underestimated the complexity of
such projects. So let me tell you about my first
positive energy building project. The city authority
had very high energy targets for a brownfield
site ready for redevelopment. They worked with
international energy experts who calculated the
energy potential. The architects came up with
a design for the positive energy buildings using
sustainable materials, and together with the
engineers they planned to install solar panels on
the façade and smart heating and cooling systems.
When we started the construction, we realized
that the techniques we knew and the process we
usually followed weren’t suitable. It took us longer
than expected and the costs were far too high, but
we thought we’d been able to complete the project
in line with the targets. Unfortunately, when the
residents moved in, the monitoring results weren’t
good enough. We’d made mistakes in the process,
choosing fibreglass insulation and completely
air-sealing the apartment without the right
ventilation system. As a result, the residents
were misusing their living space. On paper it
was a positive energy building, but it didn’t
perform that way.

PEDs are made by people and so
they depend on people’s technical, social and
management skills as well as on their experience.
Local capacity-building – whether it concerns
the electrician, contractor, community worker,
policymaker or consultant – is an integral part of
the PED process.
187
While busy conceiving innovative, strategic and technical solutions for
PEDs, we might forget that it requires new skills and capacities to get these
neighbourhood (re)developments started. There is a need for people with the
right skills set in the right places throughout the entire chain of actions: from
researchers, product developers, factory workers, distributors and installers
to consultants, social workers, policymakers, community organizers, planners
and project managers. Many of these require technical competences. But
don’t underestimate the need for soft skills: in a multidisciplinary and multistakeholder
PED process, these are equally important. While the large-scale
production of renewable energy technologies is predominantly based in China
(IRENA, 2021), much of the implementation work of PEDs has to be done
on site, in the district. And so each country, each city and even each district
should invest in the development of the required capacities.
At this moment, the energy job sector is shifting. But the
International Renewable Energy Agency (IRENA) and the International Labour
Organization (ILO) predict that the energy transition will create more jobs than
will be lost: they estimate that the renewable energy sector will employ around
43 million people by 2050, more than triple today’s count (IRENA, 2021). Jobs
linked to the old systems, such as oil and coal extraction or their transport
through ports, are being phased out. With the right support, people can be
guided through the transition with career advice, work-to-work pathways
Technology/
digital
Soft skills
Direct
Indirect
Specialized
technical
Marketing
Managerial
Operational/
maintenancy
1.2
4
5
1.0
13
40
16
22
European electricity sector skills needs in the next 10 years (%)
0.8
0.6
0.4
0.2
0
2020 2025 2030
under 40%
renewable
energy target
Solar jobs in EU to soar in coming years (millions)
2030
under 45%
renewable
energy target
CHAPTER 2. Keys for realizing PEDs
KEY 8 – How to multiply skills and capacity

and training budgets. The Netherlands, for example, has set up a social
safety net for this purpose, the Coal Fund, analogous to the country’s former
miners’ fund (FVN). At European level, the European Green Deal (2019) is
investing in education, universities, postgraduate courses, training and degree
programmes, apprenticeships and internships. Cooperation between education
and the energy sector is being stimulated. And unconventional or informal
training pathways are being tested. Mentoring people with difficult access to
the labour market or who themselves live in the neighbourhood is an example of
this. Through these investments, the Green Deal aims to maximize opportunities
to link social and economic objectives with the environmental objectives
of PEDs: the well-being and welfare of inhabitants is increased while they
contribute with new skills to the realization of energy and climate ambitions.
In this Key, we zoom in on the capacities and skills needed to
guide and implement the PED development in the district itself. Looking at
this local scale, we also see the positive effects of capacity- and skill-building
for the local energy transition: people’s understanding and motivation to
themselves engage with the energy transition increase. Because all these
people are themselves, of course, residents of a neighbourhood somewhere. In
the experiments studied in Chapter 1, we see that greater understanding and
knowledge of PEDs (and of climate, energy and social objectives in general)
increases the drive to implement them effectively and properly. Capacitybuilding
and stakeholder engagement are therefore closely linked. In Key 2,
we already looked at several examples of how capacity development increases
participation: think of energy workshops, training local ambassadors and
co-design challenges [see Key 2, p. 119]. In this Key, we will learn that project
developers and contractors, for example, are also more motivated to adopt a
new approach if they are involved in professional formations and networks
around the energy transition.
Tools for building skills and
sharing knowledge
There are many examples of new training programmes and learning environments.
In this section we’ve collected a set of formats that are complementary
to traditional schools and courses for professionals. Whether they are implementation-oriented
or focus on coordination skills, these formats are conceived
for a specific neighbourhood or involve exchanges between people working in
one or more neighbourhoods. There is a strong emphasis on learning from each
other, or peer-to-peer learning. There is no teacher in this transition: we have to
pool the existing knowledge and co-design the next steps as we go. The reference
projects collected below show opportunities to consciously steer local capacitybuilding.
They encourage you to focus on different audiences as you develop a
programme for your district, and on different competencies needed at different
stages of your PED development.
188
8.A Local employment programme
Installing new technologies such as solar
panels, heat pumps and heat networks requires skills that
today’s electricians and technicians don’t always have. The
renovation and construction of energy-efficient homes will
also need to be speeded up and will thus require many more
skilled construction workers. Skilling programmes are one way
to upskill or train technicians, electricians and workers for
these changing jobs. To make these programmes as accessible
and attractive as possible, low-threshold approaches are
being developed, such as very short courses, a minimum wage
In Bospolder-Tussendijken in
Rotterdam (NL), the energy
transition is linked to new jobs
for residents. ‘WijkEnergieWerkt’
(DistrictEnergyWorks) is a social
enterprise with an innovative
learning-to-work concept that
trains people with limited access to
the labour market to carry out small
energy jobs, such as installing floor
insulation and LED lighting. Their
‘energy handymen and -women’
educate people about sustainable
energy, and if a group of neighbours

during the programme and small initial jobs. This capacitybuilding
can be targeted at local groups: people living in
the neighbourhood itself or nearby. This not only increases
engagement, but also connects solutions to unemployment
and social growth to the energy transition.
is interested, WijkEnergieWerkt
can also help with larger projects,
like a communal solar panel project
in the street. Because the energy
handymen and -women are people
from the neighbourhood itself, they
instil trust. People find the organization
through existing social
networks in the area: community
centres, the mosque, neighbourhood
clubs. Each job is paid, but no
one is permanently employed at the
moment, which is the ultimate goal
(Langelaan, 2020). In collaboration
with the Beroepentuin (Career
garden), however, more formal
training is provided. Training as
a solar-panel installer, plumber or
charging-station mechanic prepares
jobseekers within two months for a
job in a sector where employers are
eager for skilled workers.
© Alex Kind, Rotterdam (NL)
189
8.B Professional knowledge exchange
Norms and requirements change at lightning
speed. It is difficult for professionals and companies to
keep up with this continuous evolution. Structured knowledge-sharing
between local authorities, together with the
construction industry, consultants and developers, can ensure
that everyone is on board with new insights and changing
practices. Practical, technical and policy lessons are shared
through seminars, debates, site visits and webinars. These
moments of exchange aren’t always mandatory, but they can
give companies or developers a competitive advantage in
tendering procedures or towards their clients. Certifying that
you take part in this exchange programme is a demonstration
of the fact that you and your company are up to date with the
latest developments.
For the realization of the Royal
Seaport, the City of Stockholm (SE)
made a firm commitment to integrate
environmental and sustainability
lessons into the practice of
urban planners, architects and private
developers from the start. In a
Capacity Development Programme
with a series of seminars, knowledge
is shared on targets and energy
requirements, latest research
findings, best practices, technical
solutions and good examples. For
developers with land allocation
in the Royal Seaport and for their
consultants, it is mandatory to
participate in the programme.
For them, it is an opportunity to
learn about the latest innovations,
strategies and brands in specialist
areas, as well as to network with
peers and civil servants. For the
City of Stockholm, it is a way to
communicate its goals and make
them tangible to those who will
ultimately develop the buildings.
But it also works the other way
round: the city services can harvest
the experiences from the construction
site, i.e. what works and what
doesn’t. This capacity development
programme is considered a decisive
element in the planning process
(EcoDistricts, n.d.).
© Stockholm Royal Seaport,
Stockholm (SE)
CHAPTER 2. Keys for realizing PEDs
KEY 8 – How to multiply skills and capacity

8.C Capacity-building within the government
Within governments too, there is a growing
need for continuous learning to keep up with fast-changing
dynamics and issues related to steering and coordinating
long-term, multi-stakeholder and multidimensional processes.
Some city or regional governments are investing in learning
programmes themselves. They share knowledge gained from
various past and ongoing projects. They do this through
interdepartmental working groups [see also Key 5, p. 157] or
in specific learning laboratories set up for this purpose. They
invite external experts to provide training in-house or invest
in additional educational programmes at recognized institutes
for their civil servants. Municipal staff also learn new skills
by working in partnership with external agencies and with
stakeholders on the ground: civil servants (potentially from
different departments) are called in to moderate workshops
with citizens, or they go door-to-door with one of their social
work partners. We also see local authorities learning from
each other: by setting up networks, by going on site visits in
other cities, or by working together, for example on European
research projects.
In the post-war district of
Reyeroord, the municipality of
Rotterdam (NL) is testing how
different transitions will materialize
in public space. Over a five-year
period, experiments on the circular
economy, renewable energy and
climate adaptation have been set up
with residents. In order not to lose
the lessons of this test district and
start over again in other districts,
a participatory process was set up
with the initiators and participants
of the experiments. The lessons
identified were compiled in a
logbook with ten building blocks
(Architecture Workroom Brussels
and Gemeente Rotterdam, 2023).
These formed the basis for a learning
laboratory between colleagues
that are working in other districts
or other fields, all within the municipality
of Rotterdam. The lessons
are not a blueprint of how things
should be done, but a way to reflect
on the experiments, their successes
and failures. In this way, policymakers
can stand on the shoulders
of each other’s experiences.
© Architecture Workroom Brussels
190
8.D City makers’ training
Managing the development of a PED requires
not only technical knowledge, but also the soft skills to bring
stakeholders together, to mediate and find creative formats
that motivate groups of people. As awareness of the importance
of this role grows, so must the capacity to take it on.
Neighbourhood managers or coordinators, city officials,
designers, participation experts and others can gradually grow
into this position. More and more organizations are providing
programmes such as masterclasses that provide these new city
makers with the knowledge and skills to meet the challenges
of the future. In such trainings, there is often no clear distinction
between teacher and learner. Participants are all professionals
who bring their own experience and knowledge to the
table. The added value of such courses is therefore not only
to learn from experts and from each other, but also to expand
your professional network of like-minded change-makers at
the forefront of the energy transition.
DRIFT (Dutch Research Institute
for Transitions) is an interdisciplinary
group of researchers and
consultants linked to Erasmus
University Rotterdam (NL). It
focuses on sustainability transitions
and transition management. At
their Transition Academy, you
can take part in online and on-site
training programmes that teach
you ‘to understand and accommodate
radical change’ (DRIFT,
n.d.). They invite experts in energy,
mobility, agriculture, health and
many other fields. Participants are
transition-minded professionals,
but DRIFT’s tailor-made offerings
also include masterclasses
for a wide range of city makers,
including residents, social workers,
civil servants and architects.
In these training programmes,
they focus on the skills needed
to put change into practice – not

just technical skills, but also soft
skills. DRIFT offers modules
with a focus on ‘Accelerating the
Energy Transition’, ‘Transition
Management’ and ‘Transition
Maker Training’ for career starters.
Thanks to the connection with
Erasmus University, some of the
courses offered by DRIFT are also
registered as official Masters or
Postdoc courses.
© Nena Bode, Rotterdam (NL)
191
After monitoring the district’s
performance for several months and noticing
that not only our building but others too weren’t
performing as expected, the city launched a
capacity-building programme. They targeted the
developers and contractors first: a professional
knowledge exchange programme is now keeping
participants up to date on new construction
techniques. Today, there was a presentation on
new bio-based construction techniques using
hemp and wool to insulate buildings while keeping
them permeable and damp-proof at the same
time. The next step is to transfer these skills to
workers on site, to avoid making mistakes in the
process. When installing new materials, we now
invite a representative from the manufacturer’s
company for a practical demonstration on how to
install their materials. In this way, our workers
learn the latest techniques by doing and we don’t
run the risk of applying the materials incorrectly.
In addition, for workers who are willing, we pay
for a training course to get them certified in their
CHAPTER 2. Keys for realizing PEDs
KEY 8 – How to multiply skills and capacity

192
new skills, for which we receive a small subsidy
from the city’s Job Transition Fund. There are now
ten people on my team who have the ‘Sustainable
Builder’ certificate and three who are recognized
as official ‘PV and Heat Pump Installers’, and
now we can offer this new service to our clients.
Today, we have a number of sites on their way to
becoming true positive energy buildings. We’re
still making discoveries along the way, but thanks
to these programmes we’re seeing our buildings
perform better and better.

KEY 9
193
How to activate
city instruments

194
The former port area has been awaiting
redevelopment for a long time, and now things
are finally beginning to move. In collaboration
with the Energy Department, the Urban Planning
Department has drawn up an interesting framework
for the new development, even if I say so
myself. The aim is to create a multifunctional
area that is fully energy positive and meets both
energy- and climate-adaptation targets and
also boosts the local economy. Alongside the
new residential buildings, we want to retain the
small-scale manufacturing and food-processing
activities that still exist in the area – such as the
flour factory and the small brewery – and help
them transition to a more sustainable way of
operating. We realized early on that if we were
going to set such an ambitious goal for this urban
redevelopment, we needed to get the right city
instruments in place. At the moment, public
tenders and regulations allow uncontrolled realestate
development, which has turned previously
developed parts of the port into monofunctional
residential areas. Also, our building code doesn’t
yet include adapted sustainability or mixed-use
standards. Regulations for productive activities in
the city are very strict and the building code is fixed
on traditional residential conditions, so real mixed
use isn’t possible at the moment. Similarly, the
exchange of renewable energy between productive
and residential activities hasn’t yet been regulated.
How can we manage sustainable regeneration with
the instruments we have now?

To realize PEDs, local authorities take
on new roles in partnerships with citizens and
private and civil organizations. Existing regulations,
planning tools and investment logics are activated
and complemented with new city instruments.
195
The role of local governments in the energy landscape has changed in recent
decades. The EU made a liberalized internal electricity market compulsory as
of 1998 and did the same for gas as of 2000 (Weghmann, 2019). Prior to this,
many countries had publicly owned energy companies that controlled large
parts of the energy supply chain. As electricity, gas and heat networks passed
under their public spaces, local, regional and national authorities owned the
local distribution systems. They set up publicly owned companies to build,
operate and maintain these assets. The liberalization of the energy market was
expected to increase competition, leading to greater efficiency and lower prices
for consumers. While liberalization doesn’t necessarily require privatization
or (short-term) profit maximization, that is the direction it took. While local
and supralocal authorities remained shareholders of the grid and distribution
companies or remained the owner of the infrastructure but leased it to private
companies, public authorities also gradually adopted private market principles
and priorities. Local authorities became involved in discussions on market
competitiveness and the yearly dividend they received from these companies,
rather than intervening and setting the strategic direction for the energy market.
With the shift from fossil fuels to renewables, much more
energy will be generated in a decentralized manner. This will again challenge
the established position of grid operators and energy suppliers. A more decentralized
energy system will require and open up opportunities for new actors
and partnerships. Local governments can play a strategic role: besides what
they invest themselves, they can open up the playing field for new energy
actors and partnerships. Experts are calling for (local) public governments to
(re)adopt an entrepreneurial position in the face of the sustainability and social
transitions. Mariana Mazzucato, an acclaimed Italian-American economist
who advises the European Commission, the UN, the WHO and the OECD
on economic matters and public sector innovation, argues that cities need a
‘mission perspective’ (Colau & Mazzucato, 2022). Rather than responding in a
reactive and corrective way to the private market, cities can set the direction or
a ‘mission’ (for example, achieving a climate-neutral neighbourhood) and mobilize
their own capacities as well as those of others to get it done. Mazzucato
refers to the moonshot as a historical reference: when the goal was set to put a
man on the Moon, massive public resources and instruments were deployed to
make the mission a reality. Eight years, ten practice-run missions, more than
400,000 engineers, scientists and technicians, and around 150 billion dollars
later, humankind landed on the Moon: mission accomplished (Institute of
Physics, n.d.). But as important, Mazzucato argues, is that the mission provoked
new types of collaborations and innovations in different fields: from aerospace,
nutrition and electronics to materials, software, etc. This acceleration in
interdisciplinary cooperation is precisely what we also need to enable a fundamental
system change towards renewable energy and CO2-neutral cities.
PEDs are a case in point. Local authorities have an important
role to play as they can set the direction, accelerate and encourage innovation
through policy instruments and regulation. While coordination with regional,
national and European frameworks and programmes is necessary, municipalities
often have several practical tools at their disposal. They can use public resources,
buildings and land to set an example and create testing environments.
CHAPTER 2. Keys for realizing PEDs
KEY 9 – How to activate city instruments

In addition, (local) public authorities have a role to play in safeguarding the
common good by ensuring that challenges such as social inequalities and energy
poverty are adequately addressed. In this Key, we provide an overview of some
of the formal and informal tools available to local governments to proactively
facilitate PED development. While not all of these are yet dominant practices or
regulations, they are being tested and applied in different places.
City instruments for PED development
When we think of city instruments, we often imagine formal, legal matters
such as regulations or contracts. In this section we will show these and other
tools that cities have at their disposal to trigger or influence the development
of PEDs. Sometimes communicating a clear political vision is an important
move to get the wheels of public administration and its partners turning.
But a city can also act as a catalyst with its own procurement policies and
land. Other tools focus on properly supporting local actors in their projects to
achieve a multiplier effect. In the following building blocks, we look not only
at city instruments that directly target energy and sustainability goals. Much
attention is also paid to ways of increasing the opportunities for new market
and civic actors with a broader focus to act (including energy but also social
sustainability and inclusion, for example).
196
9.A Political commitment and regulation
Explicit political support and commitment
to clear goals are a powerful tool. A long-term political
direction provides the city administration with solid backing.
It makes it easier for administrations to establish legislation
and projects that are more difficult, painful or seemingly
radical in the short term (especially compared to business
as usual). Such a political signal should not remain a one-off
statement only: energy and sustainability goals can gradually
be integrated into regular, long-term policies. Think of
building performance criteria [see later in this Key, p. 200]
or obligations, for example to connect to renewable energy
or to renovate. The combination of a political goal and the
regulatory frameworks to execute it makes it possible to gain
the trust and engagement of other stakeholders.
In Edinburgh (UK), the council
pledged to become a Cooperative
Capital, where public services
work better together and communities
have more influence on the
services they use. The ambition
covers a range of issues, from energy
and housing to education and
employment services. The city is
committed to providing advice and
support, to building partnerships
and to focusing on cooperatives in
procurement, education and service
delivery (The City of Edinburgh
Council, 2012).
Since 2012, the municipality of
Amsterdam (NL) has the power to
decide that any new building must
be connected to a district heating
network. However, exceptions can
be made if the building achieves
at least the same energy efficiency
and environmental benefits as the
district heating system (REScoop.
eu and Energy Cities, 2022). For
example, a heating plan has been
drawn up for Strandeiland, a new
neighbourhood of 8,000 homes.
The system will consist of a
low-temperature heating system
powered by local waste water, surface
water and heat/cold storage.
People can demand an exemption
from the obligation to connect
within the heat plan area, but only
if they implement an alternative
way of heating that is (at least) as
sustainable (Amsterdam, 2021).
© Amsterdam municipality,
Amsterdam (NL)

9.B Public land and properties as a lever
Municipalities themselves own buildings
and plots of land. Their roof space can be used for PV panels,
or geothermal probes can be installed underneath publicly
owned land. They can implement these systems themselves,
but can also make the space available to private or cooperative
organizations. The municipality retains ownership but
signs a contract with an external party to make investments
on its land, which can be used for an agreed period under
set conditions. These conditions can include additional
requirements, for example, for the energy to be distributed at
an affordable price, or for profits from energy production to
be partly reinvested in social, energy or climate projects in the
neighbourhood. In this way, the municipality sets the direction
for a project, but doesn’t have to make all investments itself.
In addition to public land owned by the municipality, public
spaces (streets, squares, parks) are increasingly looked at for
energy production. There are often agreements with utility
companies and energy distributors about who has the right
to provide underground or overhead infrastructure (where, at
what depth). New legal frameworks are needed to make this
space available to alternative, local producers.
The municipality of Serock (PL)
is leasing the site of a former
municipal landfill to Słoneczny
Serock (Sunny Serock), one of the
first energy cooperatives in Poland
and Central and Eastern Europe.
A solar power plant financed by
sixty members (and counting) will
supply the town with electricity.
The cooperative will pay for the
lease of the land, but at a preferential
rate, and the municipality
will support the cooperative by
activating citizens and providing
office space. In Poland, cooperatives
can’t sell energy, so all electricity
produced must be used by
the members of the cooperative.
Their electricity is free, except for
a contribution to the cost of maintaining
the plant, which is minimal
compared to current energy prices
(Giovannini, 2022).
© Tomasz Szostak, Serock (PL)
197
9.C Energy purchasing and tendering policy
Municipalities are, of course, energy
consumers too. Not only do they have offices for their own
staff, but they often manage many other public buildings
such as schools, community centres and museums. And they
need energy for public lighting and charging stations. By
smartly purchasing the significant amount of energy a local
authority needs, it can set the right tone. When they do this
through multi-annual framework contracts and for several
of their buildings and energy needs at the same time, it gives
a meaningful boost to renewable energy providers. A special
form of this is the Green Power Purchase Agreement (Green
PPA). These five- to twenty-year agreements guarantee
reliable, certified green power at a set rate for the municipality
and financial security for the supplier. Such PPAs can be
either on-site (on the municipality’s own land) or off-site.
Municipalities can also specifically choose to purchase their
energy from community cooperatives through Community
Power Purchase Agreements (C-PPAs) (REScoop.eu and
Energy Cities, 2022). Besides buying their own energy, local
↧
The municipality of Karditsa (GR)
wants to replace the fossil-fuel
heating solutions in the buildings it
manages with cleaner energy. The
region has a large biomass supply
potential through agriculture,
forestry and the wood-processing
industry. In Greece, municipalities
have until recently had little
authority over their heating and
energy markets. But in 2018 the
national government passed a law
encouraging local municipalities,
businesses and citizens to par -
ti ci pate in renewable energy production.
For Karditsa, the local
municipal school will be the first
pilot project. ESEK LLC, the local
energy cooperative, will provide
wood pellets. If this is successful,
there are around forty schools
in the area that could follow suit
(Greece, Thessaly, n.d.).
In 2000 the town of Eeklo (BE)
launched a public tender to find a
partner that would build and operate
CHAPTER 2. Keys for realizing PEDs
KEY 9 – How to activate city instruments

authorities can also tender for the construction of new energy
infrastructure. While this has been the domain of energy
companies for the past few decades, there has been a tendency
recently to see this as a local government responsibility once
again. When tendering for the construction of a windmill or a
heat network, for example, local authorities can also include
qualitative criteria. They can ask not only for the best price or
a certain technical guarantee, but also for public participation
or community ownership. Particularly for energy projects,
which may be prone to opposition because they touch people’s
behaviour and wallet, it may help to include a certain level of
community involvement and to include their aspirations and
needs from the outset.
two wind turbines. An important
element of the evaluation was the
extent to which local citizens and
small and medium-sized enterprises
(SMEs) could participate in the
financing of the project. Ecopower
won the tender, even though the
energy cooperative had only thirty
members and € 50,000 in capital
at that time. They were prepared
to let the citizens and SMEs of
Eeklo finance 100% of the project.
Within a year, permits for the
construction and operation of three
wind turbines were granted without
public objection. In 2009 a new
tender was issued for two new wind turbines. Once
again, Ecopower beat off competition from large energy
companies, and once again no objections were raised
when the permits were reviewed (REScoop.eu and
Energy Cities, 2022). More recently, a tender was issued
for the construction of a heat network connected to an
incinerator. The tender explicitly included the condition
of local co-ownership.
© Ecopower, Eeklo (BE)
198
9.D One-stop shop and active coaching
Several municipalities or regions offer
support to citizens and companies about renewable energy
or renovation measures. A one-stop shop gathers different
services in a single point of contact. It is where citizens can
get the information they need to plan the renovation of their
homes, learn about the best energy technologies, and get
advice on local subsidies and incentives. They are directed to
the certified advisers, architects, contractors or companies.
By consolidating and streamlining the administrative
procedures, interaction with the relevant public authorities
is simplified and communication processes are shortened.
HAUSKUNFT – a play on the
German words ‘Haus’ (house) and
‘Auskunft’ (information) – in Vienna
(AT) is an information and consulting
centre for building and apartment
owners as well as property
management companies looking for
tailor-made support in improving
their buildings. This one-stop shop
has been active since 2020 as a
result of the RenoBooster project,
an EU-funded initiative to increase
the rate of housing renovation in
Europe. HAUSKUNFT offers free
renovation advice online, by phone

Often, one-stop shops are also recognizable, physical places.
It is at this central location in the city that lessons from
earlier projects can be collected and shared. This hub can be
the reference place for initiators or coalitions that would like
to start new PED projects. Sometimes, cities also provide a
more involved and active coaching for more complex or new
projects. These coaches are not only available upon request,
but also proactively seek out relevant or urgent projects.
They bring the expertise to help launch these endeavours.
and at home, information evenings
for multi-family houses, a futureproof
scan of your house by individual
housing experts, a financing
portal and a platform with sample
projects (Stadt Wien, n.d.c).
© HAUSKUHFT, Vienna (AT)
In addition to its existing one-stop
shop, Antwerp (BE) has appointed
three renovation coaches to focus
on medium and large multi-family
buildings. Additionally, they have
a targeted subsidy for homeowner
associations (HOAs) to hire
energy experts and architects that
analyse and design the renovation.
The condition for the technical
and financial support is that a
long-term vision is drawn up to
make blocks of 20 to 200 flats
completely climate-neutral. The
final investment and work will
then be carried out in stages.
Close support from the city,
including conversations with each
family and individual financial
advice, is particularly effective
in convincing a large group of
homeowners to get on board: this
is crucial since at least two thirds
of the flats must vote in favour
at the apartment block’s general
meeting (Stad Antwerpen, n.d.).
The Brabo I apartment building on
Antwerp’s Linkeroever is the first
building renovation that is now
being completed with the support
of the renovation coaches. A task
force including engineering and
architecture offices Gevelinzicht
and FVWW and technical expert
Tecon assisted the 150 private
owners during information
evenings, helping them to identify
the deficiencies in the building,
propose technical and financial
scenarios, and draw up a balanced
multi-year plan. The financial
aspect in particular proved to be
an obstacle. The renovation of the
façade and terraces amounts to
€ 4 million, which the owners had
to pay out of their own pockets.
Despite the high cost, eighty-eight
percent of the owners voted in
favour of the renovation. Those
who didn’t had to contribute anyway
or sell. The result is a total
renovation with concrete benefits
for users in terms of quality and
comfort: the terraces were enlarged
and the entire building has a
completely new look.
© City of Antwerp, Walter Saenen,
Antwerp (BE)
© IFV, Anwerp (BE)
199
CHAPTER 2. Keys for realizing PEDs
KEY 9 – How to activate city instruments

9.E Building standards and building code
General energy performance or production
objectives can be translated into specific targets at the building
level to be achieved by developers or building owners.
Public authorities have developed local energy policies and
building codes based on the European Eurocode and, specifically
for energy and climate measures, the European Energy
Performance of Buildings Directive or EPBD (2003). The
building code sets minimum energy performance requirements
for new buildings and existing buildings undergoing major
renovation. In light of the European Renovation Wave (which
aims to double the renovation rate by 2030), the EPBD is
now being revised: ambitions are being raised, with a focus
on better indoor air quality, digitization, electric mobility
infrastructure and renewable heat, by providing the legal basis
to ban fossil-fuel heating systems at national level (European
Commission, 2021). Climate adaptation measures can also be
included in local building codes, such as high material standards
or green roofs and façades. The general building code is
set at national level. However, additional requirements can be
set at city or district level in specific building standards. These
are usually not legally binding, but are linked to some form of
certification.
The ‘aspern Klimafit’ building
standard was developed specifically
for the aspern Seestadt district
in Vienna (AT). Since 2020, new
buildings developed in this district
must meet six quality criteria.
These range from energy efficiency
and energy flexibility to sustainable
energy supply. The building’s
thermal comfort is also taken into
account, as are the CO2 emissions
of building structures and of transport.
The evaluation is based on a
point system: projects must achieve
a minimum of 800 points out of
a total of 1,000 (Wien 3420 AG,
n.d.). These are calculated via a web
tool for developers, planners and
operators set up by the Austrian
Sustainable Building Council
(ÖGNB) and the district’s SPV
Wien 3420 AG. During the preliminary
design phase of a building,
developers make an initial assessment
and apply for a Planning
Certificate. After completion of the
building, a Construction Certificate
must be submitted to the ÖGNB.
The operation of the building is
then monitored for at least three
years after completion. Each year,
building owners make the main
measurement data available to the
Energy Planning Department of
the City of Vienna. There are no
sanctions if the standard is not met,
but they receive individual feedback
and key figures are forwarded to
users of the building to incentivize
eco-friendly use of the building.
© Technologiezentrum Seestadt,
Seestadt Technology Centre,
Vienna (AT)
200
9.F Urban development and land sale contracts
Two parties can draw up and sign a civil law
agreement to make arrangements that apply in addition to
existing law. In this way, legally binding conditions can be
imposed. Urban Development Contracts (UDCs) are civil law
agreements between municipalities and landowners with the
main aim of sharing infrastructure costs and promoting the
realization of spatial planning objectives. For example, a city
could enter into an agreement with a developer who will coinvest
in local energy infrastructure or in climate adaptation
measures in the public realm. Land sale contracts are also civil
law agreement, but are linked to the lease or sale of municipal
land: a party can use or buy the land, but only if they meet
certain conditions. In this way, criteria such as price, quality,
innovation and sustainability can be passed on to developers.
The contract itself must specify the extent to which these
criteria must be met and the consequences of non-compliance.
In the case of Stockholm Royal
Seaport (SE), the city is the
landowner. After thorough soilremediation,
master-planning and
zoning process, individual plots
were sold or leased to developers.
The Swedish Building Code sets
maximum requirements that
can be imposed on developers.
In theory, it’s not possible to
transfer tougher standards
than the national building code.
However, Stockholm enforces
stricter requirements when cityowned
land is sold or leased, using
land sale contracts to pursue the
political goal of becoming a leader
in sustainable urban development.
Breach of contract may not have
direct legal consequences for
the breaching party unless it has

financial implications, and breach
of sustainability requirements is
not considered to result in financial
damage to the city. Instead, the city
publishes the results, which can
have a reputational impact on the
breaching party.
© Jansin and Hammarling,
Stockholm (SE)
201
We had to develop new ways to steer the
redevelopment of the port with the instruments we
had as a city. Together with colleagues from other
departments, we looked closely at the instruments
we had for urban development and decided to
redirect some. We launched a public tender to find
a local coalition of actors who would combine
housing and productive activities in a single
project proposal. In the tender document, we set
specific conditions for the project, such as the
willingness to co-invest in energy infrastructure
and to test energy exchange between residential
and productive activities to match consumption
patterns. The winning proposal was submitted by
the local flour factory, an energy cooperative, a
green developer and a renowned design firm. The
factory will co-invest in the energy infrastructure
to share its residual and waste heat with the new
residential areas and public workshop spaces to be
developed. To ensure that these high ambitions are
met, we signed an urban development agreement
with the chosen developer. In return, as a city,
CHAPTER 2. Keys for realizing PEDs
KEY 9 – How to activate city instruments

202
we will provide high-quality public spaces and
infrastructure for slow mobility. To make all
this happen, we’ve designated this area as a
demonstration project, where exemptions from
regulations are possible. Based on what we learn
from this process, we’ll make a series of changes
to the building code to enable the development of
more sustainable and mixed neighbourhoods in
the future.

KEY 10
203
How to monitor and
evaluate progress

204
Over the past four years, we’ve been
working with the residents of three of our
company’s social housing blocks to become a
local energy community. The buildings were due
for a refurbishment and we decided to combine
this with an energy-sharing experiment with the
social tenants. We organized a series of workshops
with them on how to use and divide the available
energy. While the scaffolding was still up, PV
panels were placed on the buildings and smart
meters were installed in each flat. Together with
the municipality, we decided to monitor this
process and study the level of self-consumption
and productivity of the installed PV. At that point,
the Covid pandemic hit and, as we all know, people
had to avoid social contacts. Although people
spent more time at home and therefore consumed
more energy in absolute terms, their consumption
patterns matched production peaks quite well. The
monitoring tools showed us that the community’s
energy self-sufficiency was very high. This also
had a significant impact on reducing individual and
communal energy bills. We and the residents felt
it was a success! But once the health emergency
had passed, fortunately, and residents were slowly
returning to their normal lives, the self-sufficiency
rate dropped very quickly. As a result, residents
saw their energy bills rise again, leading to much
dissatisfaction. The city’s monitoring tools showed
a big gap between the calculated self-sufficiency
potential and the reality at that point.

To monitor progress in light of the
set targets and to adjust the process along
the way, PEDs need a monitoring framework
that makes room for both quantitative and
qualitative parameters.
205
How do you know if you are on the right track and whether the actions and
investments effectively contribute to the set of targets you have defined [see
Key 3]? A PED is not built in a day: it is a step-by-step process [see Key 4]. So it
makes sense to evaluate where you are along the way. What milestones do you
want to reach en route? And how do you break your goals down into tangible,
measurable parameters? A good monitoring framework and trajectory is an
important component of any PED project, as it enables you to self-evaluate and
objectify progress and impact – both within the collaboration with partners
as towards crucial outside parties. Assessing results and impact can be a
precondition for funding bodies. But sharing the results among stakeholders is
also a tool to keep spirits up, to push them to go further and to adjust the process
when needed. Measuring progress also allows to compare results between
different districts.
In this Key, we provide you with a set of tools with which you
can build your own monitoring framework. In a first section, we look at specific
challenges related to data collection, the calculations behind quantitative
indicators, the subjectivity of qualitative indicators, or the capacity needed
to build and maintain such a monitoring framework. We then present a set
of indicators that touch on different levels of monitoring that we consider
crucial for PEDs: energy aspects, economic aspects and social aspects. In a
final section, we explore new ways of collecting and sharing (monitoring) data,
based on the ongoing PED experiments, such as those described in Chapter 1
and others. This brings an original perspective to monitoring and complements
familiar formats such as surveys or mathematical extrapolations.
Challenges for monitoring
PED progress
As PEDs are still in an experimental phase of development, you will be
monitoring certain parameters for a first time. We therefore first list some
important points of attention that your monitoring approach will have to
provide an answer to:
↦
The availability of data. There are different ways of obtaining
monitoring data, which in turn can be more or less detailed.
Energy consumption data, for example, is often provided by
the Distribution System Operator (DSO) or District Heating
Operator, but at a relatively coarse spatial level due to GDPR
regulations. The data cannot be traced back to individuals. In
newly built neighbourhoods, this data is sometimes provided
by the developer or is available through a smart metering
system or platform. To get access to such data, data sharing
requirements should be part of the tendering process or
urban development contract [see Key 9, p. 197, 200].
CHAPTER 2. Keys for realizing PEDs
KEY 10 – How to monitor and evaluate progress

Qualitative data (like ‘quality of life’) is often not yet available
or is very limited. These limitations in terms of data imply
that monitoring parameters should be tailored to the specific
context: the best possible approach should be developed
according to the data available and feasible to obtain.
↦
↦
↦
↦
The comparability of data. As data is collected in very different
ways between buildings, districts, cities, regions and
countries, it is not evident to make accurate comparisons. In
addition to different ways of measuring, there is no streamlined
calculation method, for instance for energy consumption
[see also Key 3, p. 130]. At the local and regional scale,
streamlining those approaches might make diverse district
developments comparable. But even then, we must take into
consideration that qualitative indicators are more subjective
in their assessment: whoever is doing the assessment may
influence the result.
Setting a baseline. Monitoring becomes particularly
interesting when progress can be compared to a baseline.
For example, if you want to see the decrease in CO2 emissions,
you want to know how much CO2 is being emitted right now.
In an existing district, the baseline (current situation) can be
measured or extrapolated. In newly built neighbourhoods,
there is no existing data against which to compare. In this
case, targets are either defined in absolute terms (simply, a
maximum amount of CO2 emissions), or an average district
development without PED ambitions can be used as a baseline
(something like, a maximum of 20% of CO2 emissions
compared to the average neighbourhood).
The difficulty of monitoring qualitative aspects. Indicators
that address aspects of equity, community, governance
and people are qualitative in nature. These are less obvious
to define through the collection of quantitative data only.
Either surveys or questionnaires are used to evaluate these.
But without a concerted effort, such tools don’t always
reach a sufficiently representative group of residents. Forms
often don’t allow for the necessary nuance or for seemingly
personal opinions and aspirations to be expressed. This leads
to a distorted picture and evaluation for these indicators.
Nonetheless, it will be important to find creative ways to
collect qualitative data through new formats. This will require
special attention and capacity within the monitoring process.
Linking actions and their impacts. On top of this, as PED
processes take a long time and consist of many actions at the
same time, it is hard to attribute concrete impacts to specific
interventions. For example, the number of renovations or the
exact CO2 reduction resulting from an awareness campaign
is difficult to trace. We need to accept that impacts are
the product of an interplay between different actions and
investments. At the same time, it shows the importance of
complementing scientific data with other ways of keeping in
touch with what is happening in the district, such as informal
talks with local stakeholders. From this experience, it is often
possible to assess which actions have a high impact and which
ones are less effective.
206
↦
Balance between the process and its monitoring. How much
budget and capacity should we dedicate to monitoring? Saving
money by reducing the gathering and evaluation of interim
results increases the risk of blindness for valuable lessons.
Without these, adjusting the ongoing process is more difficult.

The other way round, too much focus on monitoring to cater
for evidence-based policymaking and investors, risks slipping
into a situation where we monitor more than we act. Investing
in a mathematical underpinning is often seen as easier and
more attractive than investing in the intangible nature of a
co-creation process. But without this, a PED cannot emerge
and monitoring is meaningless from the outset. It’s a matter
of finding the right balance that can be maintained during the
whole time span of the PED development.
207
Assembling a set of
monitoring parameters
An incredible number of indicators can be monitored: 3E identified almost
2,000 different parameters, measuring or calculation methods in literature on
zero-energy districts, sustainable city monitoring and evaluation systems (3E,
2022). In this guide, we worked towards a basic set of ten indicators that is
broad enough to monitor how a PED development does or doesn’t yet realize
the integrated targets we set [see Key 3]. These parameters allow for a certain
degree of comparability (also between newly built and existing districts). This
set is meant to inspire you, while giving you the liberty to build a monitoring
framework that really fits your local needs and process (by adding or replacing
indicators). A radar diagram can be used to visualize on which aspect a certain
district scores well and on which it doesn’t (yet), based on the set target.
a.
l.
b.
k.
c.
j.
d.
i.
e.
h.
f.
g.
Technical parameters
The following three indicators give a picture of the overall energy and environmental
performance of the district. They are quantitative in nature and therefore
require a predetermined method of calculation. Often the availability of
data determines which calculation method is chosen. If detailed data is not
available on a daily or even real-time basis (via smart metering systems and
platforms), but annual measurements at a relatively coarse spatial level have
to be relied upon, it is necessary to make extrapolations in order to monitor
intermediate and fine-grained progress.
↦
Primary energy consumption (kWh/m 2 /year)
The combination of thermal and electrical primary energy
consumption of the district, including the building operation
(space heating, cooling demand, etc.) and user demand (plug
loads and domestic/office appliances), except for uses that
provide services beyond the district (hospitals, schools,
transportation, industries through their products). Data is
CHAPTER 2. Keys for realizing PEDs
KEY 10 – How to monitor and evaluate progress

monitored by the DSO or district heating operator (except for
fuel oil, wood, etc.) and complemented with simulation models
(including renovation standards, energy systems, etc.), unless
smart data is available.
↦
↦
Renewable energy production (kWh/year)
The total local production of renewable energy, including
on-site electricity production and renewable heat and cold
generation. Data on large-scale or collective systems (wind
turbines, district heating, etc.) is measured by the DSO.
Monitoring small-scale, individual production (solar PV,
heat pumps, etc.) requires a simulation model, unless smart
data is available.
CO2 equivalent emissions (CO2-eq/year)
All greenhouse gas emissions generated over a calendar
year by the same activities included in the primary energy
consumption indicator, compared to a baseline situation. The
CO2-eq emissions are calculated by using emission factors for
each energy source (usually set at the national level), based on
the total energy mix.
Economic parameters
We look at four typical indicators used to determine the economic efficiency
and cost of projects from a market perspective. As argued in Key 7, it makes
no sense to apply these indicators to the ‘cherries’ of a PED business case only:
isolated sub-projects of a PED with high returns and short payback periods.
Looking at such projects in isolation leads to even more negative financial
balances for more difficult projects, with low (or even no) returns and very long
payback periods. We therefore proposed to combine different sub-projects,
so that economic indicators reveal the overall financial picture and so that
the entire PED development remains feasible [see Key 7, p. 181]. It may also
be helpful to add additional qualitative requirements to these indicators. For
example, the focus could be specifically on new local jobs, tackling energy and
unemployment in the neighbourhood at the same time [see also Key 8, p. 188].
↦ Internal rate of return (%)
The average yearly yield on the invested capital, for the
duration of the investment. It takes three aspects into account:
the total initial investment cost, the expenses and incomes
through the years of exploitation (recurring costs on the
one hand; incoming rent, sales, or energy production on the
other), and the end value of the investment. It is an investment
performance measure that indicates how lucrative a project
would be. It allows both local initiators and potential investors
to compare this percentage with the yield of other investment
opportunities (such as bank deposits or company shares).
↦
Payback time (years)
The time it takes before an initial investment can be earned
back (through sale or rent, or through a decrease in energy
cost). This calculation will depend on estimates, of either the
additional incomes or the prospected prevented costs.
208
↦ New jobs created (#)
Number of directly and indirectly induced employment
opportunities in areas such as engineering, construction,
maintenance, consultancy, sales, etc. Data is collected through
involved partners, who provide the number of direct new
employees and report indirect jobs by applying a best-practice
multiplier number on direct employment opportunities.

↦
Affordability
The total cost savings for the combination of housing
and energy for the residents of the districts (decrease in
energy bill and other costs vs increase in rent or investment
amortization). This data can be obtained through surveys or
through a calculation based on the energy consumption before
and after the intervention.
209
Social and organizational parameters
To complete the basic set of indicators, we select three parameters for
the qualitative aspects of a PED process and development. This data can
be collected via questionnaires, (structured) interviews or more informal
conversations. The more structured these formats are, the higher their
scientific accuracy, but the more difficult they might be for people to engage
with (and thus often resulting in a limited or one-sided response rate). Later
in this Key, we further explore alternative methods to gather qualitative data
via informal moments like neighbourhood festivities, games or discussions in
public space. Although there is no simple quantitative dimension or calculation
method for these parameters, you could choose to express the success rate
in a number, for example based on the Likert scale (1: ‘very poor quality’,
2: ‘poor quality’, 3: ‘acceptable’, 4: ‘good’, 5: ‘very good’). Your monitoring
framework should also specify who determines the score: for example, the
project manager, the residents of a neighbourhood, a sounding board group of
local organizations, or a quality chamber including local and external experts.
Involving an external expert to conduct the evaluation for multiple districts
increases the credibility and potential comparability of the qualitative data
between these districts.
↦
↦
Stakeholder engagement
The extent to which stakeholders in the neighbourhood have
been involved in the planning or implementation process,
through community participation events, consultation processes
and informal outreach. Aspects to survey can be the
level of co-ownership [see Key 2, p. 116], the degree to which
the participants represent the diversity in the district, or the
participation of more fragile population groups.
Coordination and city instruments
The degree to which the governance approach and the city
instruments are operational and support the realization of the
multi-stakeholder, multi-disciplinary and step-by-step process.
Aspects to analyse are the mandate of the coordination unit,
the existence and performance of complementary formats
for different municipal departments and stakeholders to
contribute [see Key 5, p. 156], or the degree to which city
instruments have been moulded and activated to support
the PED process.
↦
Improved quality of life
The extent to which the development delivers direct and indirect
improvements to the lives of those who inhabit, work or
recreate in the district. Aspects to survey are the improvement
in comfort of houses (draught, mould, ventilation), the upgrade
in spatial quality of living spaces (more space, more daylight,
more attractive or functional interior and outside areas), the
degree to which infrastructural works have been combined
with refurbishment of public and green spaces (climate adaptation),
or the degree to which social dynamics and solidarity
in the district have been strengthened.
CHAPTER 2. Keys for realizing PEDs
KEY 10 – How to monitor and evaluate progress

Alternative ways to harvest and
share monitoring data
The PED experiments in Chapter 1 also use alternative ways of dealing
with monitoring. Some of those test how gamification can yield qualitative
data. Others express qualitative data in anecdotes and quotes of end users,
complementing hard data and providing a powerful evaluation. Or new
platforms are used to share interim results with a wide audience. Data sharing
may be used as a strategy to further challenge stakeholders to achieve set
goals. This shows that the less project coordinators and residents perceive
monitoring methods as boring, the more they are effective in surveying on
both quantitative and qualitative parameters.
10.A District dashboard
A digital or online tool makes it possible to
monitor and disclose energy data. This can enhance informed
decision-making for different stakeholders, while engaging
and mobilizing diverse groups of actors in the district (citizens,
local productive business, private owners, tenants, etc.).
They can all follow up on evolutions in terms of projects in
the district, the energy performance and production of their
house or citizen cooperative.
In the Georgian Quarter of
Limerick (IE), the municipality
developed a ‘digital twin’. A number
of pilot building blocks have been
modelled. In this way, measures can
be tested and calculated first in the
digital environment, ranging from
operational adjustments to deep
renovations and the connection
to renewable energy sources (IES,
n.d.). This digital tool is developed
by Integrated Environmental
Solutions (IES), a global climate
tech company focusing on building
physics data and analysis. They first
created an intelligent Community
Information Model (iCIM),
combining data they received from
the City of Limerick, open-source
data from Open Streets Maps and
other publicly available socioeconomic
data. This model served
to define five priority buildings to
become the first Positive Energy
Buildings (PEBs). For each
building, virtual energy models
were set up, replicating the actual
buildings as precisely as possible,
using real-world data such as energy
bills. If actual data isn’t available,
they are simulated and adjusted via
a machine-learning algorithm.
© Integrated Environmental
Solutions (IES), Limerick (IE)
210
10.B Gamification of surveys
While it is one of the only ways of gathering
representative and qualitative data, it is often difficult to
get people to complete a lengthy survey or questionnaire. A
way to circumvent people’s fatigue with formal surveys is to
make them more personal and fun. Going into the street and
turning the survey into a game can get people interested and
eventually enthusiastic again. Also, these methods can provide
relevant and even scientific data. Not what is surveyed, but
how it is done is different: it is more interactive and more
spontaneous.
City Mine(d) has developed a
machine called the Router. In an
objective but entertaining way, it
measures the opinions of passers-by
in a given area. The Router is a
wooden box with seven buttons,
each connected to a question. Like
a real router, the machine has one
input and several outputs. The
participant is asked to place the
buttons on the answers that best
match their convictions or judgement.
When all the questions have
been answered, a ball is placed in

the top of the Router and lands in
one of the eight possible positions
at the bottom (City Mine(d), 2008).
This way, participants immediately
get something in return: the eight
positions at the bottom of the
Router all reflect possible positions
people can take in a certain discussion,
for example, or are types
of projects that would fit best with
the participant’s answers to the
survey questions. First installed
in London in January 2008, the
Router has since been used in several
locations in London and in various
Belgian cities.
© City Mine(d), Brussels (BE)
211
10.C Disclosing monitoring results as a lever
Sometimes a municipality has no legal basis
to enforce certain targets. In this case, soft power can be used:
by publishing performance results, developers or landlords are
implicitly encouraged to reach high. Developers or contractors
who score significantly lower than others are less likely to
convince tendering or contracting parties, or also buyers and
tenants, the next time round.
10.D Conversations and quotes
Not all data needs to be statistically
representative for the population of an entire district. To
complement and verify the results of the objective monitoring
framework, it can also be instructive simply to talk to the
actors involved and, more precisely, to the users. This makes
it possible to survey the feelings and reasoning of citizens
with regard to concrete interventions or the entire PED
development. It provides a look behind the monitoring
data: what are the reasons and dynamics that lead to
certain evaluations?
The City of Stockholm (SE)
has developed a comprehensive
monitoring and communication
tool for the development of the
Stockholm Royal Seaport. How
each developer intends to meet
the sustainability requirements
is monitored from the idea until
the building has been in use for
two years. Developers submit
documentation in a web-based
tool and the results submitted are
verified by external auditors. The
results are published on an online
platform, which has a visible impact
on the level of compliance with the
set targets (Stockholms Stad,
2022b).
After one year of SunSud, an
energy-sharing project in a social
housing block in Brussels (BE), the
first results were shared. On the
one hand, there is the quantitative,
undeniable data: of the 36 MWh
produced, 14 MWh were consumed
in the communal areas and 14 MWh
by the twenty-two families that
have so far joined the energy
community. This represents
20-25% of their total electricity
↧
CHAPTER 2. Keys for realizing PEDs
KEY 10 – How to monitor and evaluate progress

consumption, figures close to those
of solar panel owners. 8 MWh was
sold to the grid. Residents received
an average discount of 15% on their
individual annual bill. Scale benefits
ranged from € 23 to € 310, which
can be explained by the fact that
some participants consumed more
solar energy. Social outcomes were
also communicated. Not in figures,
but through testimonials from
residents: ‘Through the project,
I got to know my neighbours
better.’ ‘Because of the trust we
have gained, we now stick together
more as a group.’ ‘We had to learn
difficult things, but we could count
on each other.’ (Limbourg, 2023)
© City Mine(d), Brussels (BE)
212
The monitoring of the energy community
in our social housing blocks showed us the change
in consumption pattern of the residents. But the
numbers didn’t tell us exactly which habits were
changing and, more importantly, how to address
them. We decided to develop a game with the local
community centre to survey the residents about
how they use energy. We discovered two important
things. On the one hand, many residents picked
up work after Covid and this completely changed
their consumption patterns again: they needed
more energy in the evenings and mornings and
consumed less during the day. Washing machines,
dishwashers and electric cookers are all on when
PV production is at its lowest. On the other hand,
older people apparently never changed the way
they used energy, even during Covid. They didn’t
feel comfortable using the digital monitoring app,
and so they weren’t aware of the production peaks
and when it would cost them less to use energy.
Together with the local community centre, we
decided to start a programme with the residents

to think about their energy behaviour and find
ways to reduce their energy bills again. We talked
about easy ways to time their household appliance
use during peak hours – with a time switch on the
power socket, for example. Also, more information
is being incorporated into the monitoring tools.
We added a number of qualitative criteria,
such as whether residents were paying less on
energy than before, whether they feel part of the
decision-making process or whether they feel
more connection to their neighbours. The city’s
energy expert will integrate these into a digital
twin, which will show the energy production and
consumption of the energy community in real
life. This information will be displayed on a large
screen in the local community centre so that older
residents don’t have to access the website or app
by themselves. As they share a coffee, they’re now
talking about how much energy they were able
to save.
CHAPTER 2. Keys for realizing PEDs
KEY 10 – How to monitor and evaluate progress
213

214

KEY 11
215
Which enabling
environment
is needed

216
My team and I have worked hard over
the past few years. As part of the city’s PED team,
we initiated multiple energy districts, together
with local stakeholders. We’ve received good
responses in the three districts we’ve worked on
so far, developing tailor-made approaches, local
interventions and citizens’ workshops, always with
the help of specialized experts. We’ve achieved
some initial results: a 3% reduction in energy
consumption and a 5% increase in renewable
energy production locally. At the same time,
it’s clear that the transformation of the district
isn’t going fast or far enough. There is too little
money and expertise in the city to really commit
to testing and multiplying PEDs. We want to
start with a series of investments in PV on public
buildings so that they become catalysts for private
investment as well. We’d also need to go door to
door to get all the private homeowners involved
in collective renovation projects. But with the five
people in our team, we clearly lack the capacity
to do this. There’s also a lot of political pressure
to start the maximum number of PEDs as soon
as possible, so we can only stay in a district for
two years. But that’s not enough! What’s more, in
the densely populated districts where we work,
we’re nowhere near the goal of producing more
energy locally than we consume. Other districts,
or even the wider region, will have to make up
the difference, especially in winter. It’s clear
that one municipality alone can’t bring about
a multiplication of PEDs.

A district approach thrives when
it is embedded in citywide and supralocal
frameworks. PEDs are pushed and supported
through regulations and policies, by providing
budget and capacity, or by sharing knowledge.
217
A tremendous multiplication of PEDs is needed if we are to meet the European
and national 2050 targets. The neighbourhood acts as a scale for actions and
coordination, for establishing cooperation with local stakeholders, for defining
an operational strategy, for managing the associated funding streams and for
building local capacities. At the city, regional, national and international level,
the environment is prepared to enable a variety of these local neighbourhood
approaches. PEDs are not just testing grounds for strategies that will later be
translated into local or supralocal policies. There will always be a need for a
tailored approach at neighbourhood level. So it’s not a question of scaling up
(expanding the project area) but of multiplying.
The local (neighbourhood, city) and supralocal (regional,
national, international) scales will continue to play their own roles. The
trick is to oscillate between the two. At the supralocal level, regulations are
being put in place to facilitate the implementation of PEDs and, conversely,
supralocal actors are learning through PED experiments what regulations are
needed. At the city or regional level, energy strategies are being defined for the
progressive development of one PED after another. Capacity and resources
for this are strategically allocated at supralocal level, and expertise gained at
district level can then be fed back into a supralocal knowledge network. This
non-hierarchical interplay between the local and supralocal levels is typical for
multilevel governance: supralocal frameworks are determined by listening to
and learning from local experiences and needs rather than simply prescribing
from the top how things should be done.
This ‘vertical’ interplay between levels of government is
complemented by more and more horizontal collaborations in inter-local
settings, with a focus on pooling and developing knowledge: think of
networks such as Energy Cities, the Covenant of Mayors, the Council of
European Municipalities and Regions (CEMR), the European Network
of Living Labs (ENoLL), ICLEI Local Governments for Sustainability,
etc. These collaborative spaces allow cities and neighbourhoods to learn
from each other (horizontal) and to innovate together in terms of practical
methods and knowledge. Supralocal actors can then again adapt their policies
accordingly (vertical). In combined vertical-horizontal operations, we see
that the European level doesn’t only set targets that then cascade down
through national targets to define the framework for local action. There is
also a shortcut taken from the European level directly to the scale of cities
and neighbourhoods. The recent selection of 100 Climate-Neutral and Smart
Cities aims to provide a direct incentive to European cities eager to achieve
an ambitious ‘climate mission’: to be climate-neutral by 2030, as an example
for the many other cities that will have to achieve the same goal by 2050
(European Commission, 2022). Or consider the ambition in the European SET
Plan to achieve at least 100 PEDs by 2025 (Urban Europe, n.d.). To nurture
thinking at municipal, regional and national levels, this Key describes a set of
puzzle pieces: complementary policies and frameworks aimed at accelerating
the energy transition at district level.
CHAPTER 2. Keys for realizing PEDs
KEY 11 – Which enabling environment is needed

Puzzle pieces for a supralocal framework
In this section, we look at some of the tools or programmes that go beyond the
neighbourhood level and help to accelerate or multiply PEDs. Some are at city
level, others deal with intercity or regional cooperation and frameworks, and
still others are national or European in scope. Each of these instruments is a
piece of a larger picture: they need each other. If legal obligations (for example,
to renovate or install renewable heat systems) are introduced in isolation, you
risk excluding people who don’t have the resources or knowledge to do so.
Encouraging PEDs through stricter regulations can only be done properly
and inclusively if accompanied by the necessary support and knowledge
development. Both dynamics need to increase simultaneously. The same
applies to cooperation between different scales: if an energy strategy is set at
regional level but the municipalities that are supposed to adopt it lack capacity,
it won’t work. The following building blocks therefore outline a constellation
of urban and supralocal frameworks that can collectively create an enabling
environment for PEDs.
218
11.A (Supra)local regulations
Local policies and PED developments benefit
from a clear regional, national or European framework. Some
decisions simply can’t be taken at local level because they go
beyond the mandate of the local government. But when it
comes to regulation that applies to all districts or municipalities
in the same way, it is also simply much quicker and clearer
for decisions to be taken at a higher level. Regulations define
the standard. If a PED doesn’t align with the standard but sets
a more ambitious goal, the district (re)development will take
a lot of goodwill, in spite of the regulations. The moment a set
of regulations supports the development of PEDs, it eases the
implementation of the energy transition at the district level.
Phasing out fossil fuel-based heating systems, accelerating
the renovation wave, producing local electricity: targeted
obligations and accompanying support frameworks can drive
these transitions.
Flanders (BE) has introduced a
renovation obligation for singlefamily
houses and apartments from
2023. All residential buildings
purchased after 2023 with label E
or F must be renovated to label D or
better within five years of purchase.
Label D is only the first step towards
making all homes energy-efficient.
Stricter requirements will follow in
2028, 2035, 2040 and 2045, with
the aim that all homes achieve an
A label by 2050 (Vlaamse Overheid,
2022).
The Dutch Government is adamant
about its climate goals: it needs
to phase out natural gas. As the
annual earthquakes in the north
of the country are caused by gas
extraction in the area, this political
stance can count on relatively
strong support (CE Delft, 2022).
The targets in the Dutch Climate
Agreement are to make 1.5 million
existing homes and non-residential
buildings sustainable by 2030
(20% of the total) and to phase
out natural gas completely by
2050. This means converting
150,000 existing buildings per
year from natural gas heating to
alternative energy sources and
infrastructure. Although it is not
yet clear how this heat transition
will take place, a clear signal
has been given to municipalities
and residents. For example, the
government has announced that,
as of 2026, a hybrid heat pump will
be mandatory when replacing a
central heating boiler (Ministerie
van Binnenlandse Zaken en
Koninkrijksrelaties, 2022). By
announcing a specific year, the
government wants to provide
clarity for suppliers and installers
as well as homeowners and owners
of non-residential buildings.
© EZK, Valerie Kuypers,
Netherlands (NL)

11.B Regional energy strategy
Developed through co-creation between local
authorities, practitioners and supralocal bodies, a regional
energy strategy sets out the regional system and distribution
of renewable energy infrastructures and measures, up till
their practical implementation and management. It also
connects the future energy system to the further development
of other vital systems such as soil biodiversity, water quality
and quantity.
In the Netherlands, the national
strategy has been broken down
into Regional Energy Strategies
(RES). The country is divided
into thirty energy regions which
together must produce 35 TWh
of renewable electricity by 2030
(Struijker Boudier, 2021). In
the Regional Energy Strategies
(RES), municipalities, provinces
and energy distributors jointly
define the regional options for
the implementation of renewable
energy. They work together with
residents, businesses, energy
collectives and social organizations.
Each energy region makes its own
choices on the amount and location
of large-scale energy production
(wind, solar), the distribution of
heat sources in the region, storage
capacity, the capacity of the energy
network, the degree of energy
reduction, and the coproduction of
energy with residents. Each energy
region will revise its RES every
two years based on new insights,
innovations and experiences.
© Vereniging Deltametropool,
Netherlands (NL)
219
11.C Strategic investment programme
A supralocal government can’t guide
the implementation of PEDs by itself, but it can provide
knowledge, capacity and investment budgets to support a
multitude of innovative local projects. These local projects go
beyond exploration and conversation, helping to move towards
the realization of experimental projects and actions (learning
by doing). An accompanying exchange and knowledge
programme and an overarching assessment framework enable
horizontal learning (between local experiments) and vertical
learning (between levels of government and stakeholders).
The Natural Gas-Free Neighbourhoods
Programme (NL) is
a supralocal programme that
gathers different local test sites
to learn together and trigger
the multiplication of gas-free
neighbourhoods. On the one
hand, there is financial support for
concrete living labs. On the other,
there is a knowledge and learning
programme with meetings for
civil servants, administrators and
councillors as well as an online
platform with the practical learning
experiences and knowledge.
Bottlenecks can thus be identified,
↧
CHAPTER 2. Keys for realizing PEDs
KEY 11 – Which enabling environment is needed

put on the agenda and solved. In
October 2018 the first twentyseven
neighbourhoods started
their local trajectories. In the
meantime, there are sixty-four
living labs across the country.
Municipalities participating in the
Natural Gas-Free Neighbourhoods
Programme can choose how to
transition their neighbourhoods
off natural gas. Between 2018
and 2030, the government will
provide € 435 million for the
intergovernmental Natural Gas-
Free Neighbourhoods Programme,
of which around € 380 million will
go to the pilot projects (Ministerie
van Binnenlandse Zaken en
Koninkrijksrelaties, 2018).
© Kick Smeets, Venlo (NL)
11.D Long-term district-to-district strategy
How to realize PED after PED? A city can
break down its 2030, 2040 and 2050 targets in time and space
and prioritize and diversify strategies for the city’s different
districts. A formal vision document could make legible
for local stakeholders what the order, timing, budget and
targets are for each of these districts and why. The sequence
of districts can be defined based on specific opportunities
(investments already planned by different departments per
district, for example) and needs or urgencies (in terms of
poverty, housing quality, public space, etc.). The target to be
achieved in each of the districts and by when can differ from
district to district.
In Delft (NL), a dedicated decarbonization
team supports the city’s
energy transition programme. It
works citywide but looks at each
district individually, one after the
other. There is a four-stage process
that includes an analysis of each
individual district to understand
the socio-economic structures,
residents and challenges of the
district. The second stage involves
setting goals for the district with
local stakeholders, such as businesses
and residents. The third
step is to develop an ‘exit plan’:
technical measures and their costs
are weighed up, risk analyses are
carried out, and measures in the city’s own sphere of
influence and beyond are identified for implementation.
In the final step (execution), the necessary agreements
are made at the municipal level and implementation
begins. This three-year process up to the start of implementation
is continuously supported by communication
activities and citizen involvement. The municipality of
Delft foresees that the implementation of measures
will take ten years per district. Over the next ten years
(until 2030), ten to fifteen more neighbourhoods will
start up. To this end, a city plan will offer a sequence
for the transition of the different districts in the city
(Speetjens, 2022).
© Based on Municipality of Delft (NL)
DISTRICT C
DISTRICT B
1
2
3
4
DISTRICT A
4-phase approach
1
2
3
4
220
District analysis
Determine ambitions
and roles
Design actions
and interventions
1 2 3 4
Implementation

11.E PED initiation team
To (help) initiate and guide PEDs one district
after the other, a dedicated team at city level is formed with
the right skills, methodology and mandate. This team will
work in a district for a certain period of time, then move on to
guide the implementation of the next PED development. The
time such a team remains active in a single neighbourhood can
vary: from helping with the initial start-up and supporting the
implementation of the first pilots to remaining involved (possibly
to a lesser extent) until the end of the PED development
[see Key 4 for the delineation of different phases of PED development].
The PED initiation team must be able to draw on the
necessary technical knowledge to carry out the initial analysis
of the neighbourhood’s potential. It must also have the social
skills to build partnerships, engage local stakeholders and
build bridges between different disciplines and sectors.
TODAY
Gas/green gas from 2040
Centralized district heating network
Local heat networks
Individual building solutions
(heat pumps, biomass, etc.)
2040
The WieNeu+ urban renewal
programme in Vienna (AT) shows
how knowledge transfer can take
place with a neighbourhoodby-neighbourhood
approach.
The programme is set to run for
ten years, starting in early 2021
in the Innerfavoriten district.
Innovative solutions will be tested
for renovation and energy, social
work and public space in selected
pilot districts, which will serve
as models for the entire city. The
district transformation process
will run for three years in each pilot
district, before the programme
moves on to a subsequent area.
In this way, the programme
incorporates and transfers the
experience and knowledge already
gained and applies it to the next
project areas. After three years, the
WieNeu+ team moves to another
district and leaves the initiated
neighbourhood plans in the hands
of the ‘Gebietsbetreuung’ (local
area management) with which
they collaborated closely. The
Gebietsbetreuung is an (external)
organization, appointed in each
urban renewal area to provide
information and advice for
residents and building owners
on housing, living environment,
infrastructure, urban renewal,
community and living together in
the city. The WieNeu+ approach
contributes to the Heating and
Cooling Vienna 2040 strategy, an
ambitious plan to make the city
carbon-neutral by 2040.
© Based on WieNeu+, Vienna (AT)
221
11.F Know-how network
The experimental phase in which PEDs
now find themselves requires not only the resources and
capacity to test locally, but also that they learn sufficiently
from each other’s successes and failures. A multiplication
wave can only take off when insights, methods and strategies
have been shared sufficiently and profoundly. Practical
lessons from pilot neighbourhoods can thus be transferred
to other neighbourhoods. Simultaneously, it will provide the
evidence and underpinnings for lessons to be incorporated
in mainstream municipal policy. It makes lessons learned,
progress and challenges readable to officials. It also helps to
involve committed consultants, experts, local organizations
and businesses.
In 2013 The Rockefeller Foundation
launched 100 Resilient Cities
(100RC), a programme to support
100 cities around the world to
develop a resilience strategy.
Strikingly, the financial aid was
to be used to build local capacity,
including through the appointment
of a ‘Chief Resilience Officer’
(CRO), usually a senior city official
who coordinates across government
departments and city stakeholders
(Berkowitz, 2014). The role of the
CROs was to break down barriers
between city departments and
community stakeholders, engage
community members in a resilience
↧
CHAPTER 2. Keys for realizing PEDs
KEY 11 – Which enabling environment is needed

strategy planning process, and
oversee the implementation of
projects that respond to the core
vulnerabilities of the cities. By
focusing on people – and not
(only) projects – the Rockefeller
Foundation was aiming for a longterm
impact, where cooperation
within cities and with other cities
and organizations is durable. The
CROs together formed a network
in which know-how on guiding
urban strategies was shared and
further developed. The CROs
were coached by a global team
and received access to supports
such as informal group chats,
peer-learning webinars, trainings
and working groups (Morales-
Burnett and Marx, 2022). This
led to the development of a City
Resilience Framework: ‘a lens to
understand the complexity of cities
and the drivers that contribute to
their resilience’ (The Rockefeller
Foundation & Arup, 2014). The
100RC programme came to an end
in 2019 but the CRO concept has
spread and many cities still have
their CROs while additional cities
created the position.
© Saurabh Gaidhani, Head of APAC,
Resilient Cities Network
222
To speed up the multiplication of the
energy transition at the local level, we as the
municipality’s PED team asked the regional
authority for collaboration and support. The
regional government was already working on a
regional strategy, but it was very theoretical and
didn’t really take into account the perspective of
local experiments and challenges. In response
to our question, they started organizing regular
meetings with us and other local authorities to
bring in local experiences and perspectives. This
led to a ‘Regional Energy Group’ in which the
energy utilities, regulators, regional policymakers,
energy experts and neighbouring municipalities
combined their knowledge and tools to build a
regional framework for the multiplication of PEDs

in the cities. One of the regional authority’s first
concrete actions was to launch an investment
programme: it pooled a budget to finance local
innovative projects and experiments. This
programme secures a stable financial framework
for the local PED teams, allowing them to put
together a team of skilled people that can remain
active in the districts for a sufficient time. In
addition, a Regional Energy Strategy was drawn
up that defines clear energy targets for the region
as a whole. These targets were then broken down
into specific targets for each city and district.
Altogether, the region will increase its local
production of renewable energy by 5 TWh per
year. The district we’re now working on will
contribute 20 kWh/m 2 to that target by 2030. But
there’ll also be an increase in energy production
outside of cities. A first plan for the development
of a new regional energy infrastructure has been
drawn up with the involvement of the local energy
companies. They plan to install seven windmills
on the hilly side of the region, where the wind
from the north blows strongest. And they’ll launch
a feasibility study for a tidal power plant along
the canal. We immediately felt the impact at the
local level. Our PEDs have been appointed as pilot
districts, and with the extra funding we can set
up the next series of investments in renovation
support and PV panels on our public buildings.
Another twenty-five districts in the region have
been identified as the next PEDs. Our city is part
of a real energy landscape!
223
CHAPTER 2. Keys for realizing PEDs
KEY 11 – Which enabling environment is needed

224

CHAPTER 3
Considerations
227
What are the logics we (un)consciously
follow or oppose when setting up a PED? As
Chapters 1 and 2 illustrate, building a PED strategy
is not just about assembling a set of ready-made
building blocks. It involves a lot of common sense,
deliberation and strategic judgement. To avoid
undesirable effects, it’s important to explore the
positive and negative consequences of different
choices. This requires a reflexive method, based
on continuous self-evaluation and amendment.
CHAPTER 3. Considerations

That is why this chapter provides you with
nine Considerations: each of them is a tension that
you will recognize as inherent to your co-design
and decision-making process towards a PED.
They touch on underlying perspectives, values or
paradigms that guide your actions and decisions.
Each Consideration consists of two opposing
logics. Sometimes a clear choice between one of
the two is possible. But for most of them, it’s more
complex. There is no wrong or right: both sides
are valid. We challenge you to take a position with
regard to each of them.
We invite you to think about how these
tensions manifest themselves in your own neighbourhood
and then try to identify where you find
yourself on the spectrum. It is likely that other
stakeholders in your coalition will take a different
position. In the deck of playing cards, you will find
a playing card per Consideration. Use these as
a conversation starter to better understand each
other’s underlying values and beliefs and to
formulate a common position and approach.
228
p. 229 © Michael De Lausnay, City Mine(d), SunSud, Brussels (BE)
p. 230 © Municipality of Amsterdam, Amsterdam (NL)

Foto 1

Foto 2

QUICK RESULT
vs DEEP TRANSFORMATION
231
Energy district projects are under a great
deal of performance pressure. Sometimes, quick
results are favoured over deep transformation.
This can be for the sake of acceptance by residents,
for financial reasons or because of political
pressure or short-term feasibility in terms of time
or budget. For example, the obligation to
renovate in Flanders (BE) only requires
homes to first be renovated up to EPC
KEY 11, p. 218
label D. Especially in today’s context, where energy
prices have risen and construction materials have
become scarce, cheaper and quicker solutions are
sometimes the only option. In the short run, quick
fixes enable a greater number of people to reduce
their energy consumption, be less dependent on
fluctuations in price and supply, and inhabit homes
of better (but not optimal) quality.
The opposite approach, a deep transformation,
requires more budget and time. In the long
term, however, this approach will be inevitable if we
are to meet the EU’s 2050 energy efficiency and
production targets. A deep transformation at one
go is, therefore, more time- and cost-effective.
It also avoids the risk of interrupted progress: a
quick fix, such as building a high-temperature
heating network, can discourage in-depth renovation
in the long term. And will people really be
CHAPTER 3. Considerations
QUICK RESULT vs DEEP TRANSFORMATION

inclined to undertake a second and third renovation
to upgrade their house from label D to A? Doing it
all at once avoids these necessary interventions
being postponed indefinitely.
Some of the examples studied try
to combine the benefits of both approaches.
In the BRABO I collective apartment
refurbishment in Antwerp (BE), a deeprenovation
master plan was drawn up but it
was broken down into manageable steps and
KEY 9, p. 199
budgets. In the SMART BLOCK pilot
project in Vienna (AT), a geothermal
starter cell allows houses and gardens to be
KEY 6, p. 168
connected to the renewable heat source once
they’ve been deeply renovated. Is a step-by-step
approach within a long-term vision a way to deliver
achievable projects while avoiding inaction?
232
p. 233 © Cities4PEDs, Vienna (AT)
p. 234 © Cities4PEDs, Geblergasse, Vienna (AT)

Foto 3

Foto 4

ENERGY AS A GOAL
vs ENERGY AS A MEANS
235
When energy neutrality is considered the
ultimate goal of an energy district (re)development,
all eyes are on setting and reaching ambitious
targets in terms of energy efficiency and local
energy production. This often concerns new developments
in high-end neighbourhoods where
the smartest building and energy infrastructure
can be provided. The right quantitative Key
Performance Indicators (KPIs) and a thorough
monitoring system are essential to such an
approach. As we have seen in the Royal
Seaport of Stockholm (SE), these can
encourage developers, architects, contractors
PORTRAIT 3, p. 47
KEY 10, p. 211
and users to keep improving their performance.
The result is that the Royal Seaport district is one
of the highest ranked in Europe in terms of CO2
neutrality. Other dimensions such as liveability,
health, quality of public space and qualitative
housing are designed as bonus win-wins in
the process.
In other neighbourhood approaches,
these co-benefits are the actual reason for the
energy transition, which is seen as a means for
the broader improvement of life in the district:
reducing bills, increasing access to (affordable)
housing, improving housing quality, investing
in cleaner air, contributing to safer streets,
CHAPTER 3. Considerations
ENERGY AS A GOAL vs ENERGY AS A MEANS

favouring new entrepreneurship and conviviality.
The strategy for Bospolder-Tussendijken PORTRAIT 4, p. 62
KEY 3, p. 135
in Rotterdam (NL) starts from the daily
needs, concerns and aspirations of the residents
and links them to energy through the way people
cook, move and live. The quality of life of (vulnerable
groups of) residents takes a leap forward via
new jobs, opportunities for encounter and talent
development, and reduced energy costs.
Is the impact of these indirect effects
broader and does it avoid the need for separate
interventions for parallel challenges in the
district? Or does taking them into account only
add complexity?
236
p. 237 © Frank Hanswijk, IABR, BoTu, Rotterdam (NL)
p. 238 © City Mine(d), SunSud, Brussels (BE)

Foto 5

Foto 6

URBAN RENEWAL
239
vs
GENTRIFICATION
There is a great need to improve the
quality of housing in old buildings and neighbourhoods.
It is often young or more vulnerable
families who live in (too) small and poorly
insulated homes that can be draughty and
cold. Renovating the built environment in light
of the energy transition leads to an upgrade of
their quality of housing, ideally combined with
investments in the neighbourhood as a whole,
offering safer, healthier and more attractive
public spaces.
But this renewal process automatically
increases the value of the housing stock, benefiting
homeowners and private landlords. In an
unregulated context, it paves the way for rising
rents and property prices, with the exclusion or
expulsion of the original residents as a result.
Similarly, new homes built to the highest sustainability
standards, such as those in the
Lyon Confluence (FR), are often expensive
to develop, making them inaccessible
to low-income households. The excluded
PORTRAIT 5, p. 83
residents won’t get to share the (financial) benefits
of the local energy transformation (referred to as
the ‘Matthew effect’). As a local initiator, should
you then avoid urban renewal and thereby avoid
improving the quality and value of housing?
CHAPTER 3. Considerations
URBAN RENEWAL vs GENTRIFICATION

Building inclusive energy districts for
all will require specific choices and strategies
designed to proactively combat gentrification.
Social safeguards can take the form of energy
poverty support programmes, for example.
Dampoort KnapT OP! in Ghent (BE)
allows low-income families to move up
the socio-economic ladder by providing
KEY 7, p. 180
rent-free loans until the property is sold (a form of
‘subsidy retention’). To respond to long-term land
speculation, regulatory frameworks such as rent
caps, bans on renovictions and a guaranteed offer
of sufficient and quality units at affordable rents
could provide answers.
240
p. 241 © Kara, Gent Knapt Op, Ghent (BE)
p. 242 © Stockholms Stad, Stockholm Royal Seaport, Stockholm (SE)

Foto 7

Foto 8

EMPOWERING
243
vs
UNBURDENING
What is the best way to get as many
citizens and businesses as possible on board
with the energy transition: to give them the tools
to shape it themselves in the way they want, or to
make it as easy as possible for them to do so with
as little effort as possible?
In empowering people, the premise is
that the district transition should be co-owned by
its inhabitants. A lot of energy goes into outreach,
capacity-building and stimuli. Active citizens are
supported and equipped to take on different
roles: from renovating their own homes to setting
up a local energy community and playing a
leading role in the district transformation. Think of
Empreintes in Namur (BE), where citizens
learn about their rights and opportunities
KEY 2, p. 120
through energy workshops. This is an occasion
for social growth and cohesion.
While every citizen has a stake in the
energy transition, not everyone has the same
interest, capacity or motivation to engage in
such an intensive process. Some people just
want to get the right energy contract and not
worry too much. ESCOs or one-stop shops like
HAUSKUNFT respond to this need by
providing technical, legal and financial
KEY 9, p. 198
CHAPTER 3. Considerations
EMPOWERING vs UNBURDENING

support packages that enable people to participate
in a renovation or renewable energy project
with little effort. Because the outreach is usually
less proactive, the people reached are often
convinced already.
Is there really a choice, or are both
approaches needed at the same time? Can we
imagine a combined approach of unburdening
and empowering where public, cooperative and
private parties work together to ensure that everyone
is reached? Many energy cooperatives allow
people to choose whether they want to take an
active role in the management or decision-making
process or whether they simply want to become
customers, for example.
244
p. 245 © Jérôme Boucherat, SPL Lyon Confluence 2021, Lyon (FR)
p. 246 © Said Karlsson, Cities4PEDs workshop, Stockholm (SE)

Foto 9

Foto 10

ENERGY
INFRASTRUCTURE
FIRST
vs RENOVATION FIRST
247
It can easily take two decades to build or
transform ambitious energy districts. When, then,
to invest in what? One approach is to implement
the district heating network first. This requires
the connection with buildings with an exceptional
energy performance. These can be either the
newest developments or deeply renovated
existing buildings. The construction of the heat
network becomes an incentive for single-family
homes or apartment complexes to invest in
renovation and connect to the renewable source.
In practice, however, households and housing
cooperatives have very different rhythms and
reasons for making these investments.
Energent, an energy cooperative in
Ghent (BE), which targets its renovation
support district by district, has found that,
KEY 7, p. 181
despite extensive efforts, ‘only’ between 8 and
10% of households decide to renovate. A preinvestment
in a district heating system would
therefore remain inefficient for a long time:
how to make such long-term pre-investments
viable? Increasing the incentive could help to
speed up the necessary renovation rate: for
example, through an obligation to connect,
CHAPTER 3. Considerations
ENERGY INFRASTRUCTURE FIRST vs RENOVATION FIRST

as in Amsterdam (NL). Are governments
ready to deliver this message?
KEY 9, p. 196
Another approach is to start with carrying
out renovations first, and only invest in renewable
heat and electricity systems when enough houses
are energy-efficient. Individual solutions such
as heat pumps can be used as a temporary (or
permanent) solution. Different waves of support
would be needed, perhaps even going into the
same house several times. But as more individual
solutions are applied or complementary heating
systems are installed side by side, the energy
system ends up being less efficient than if it had
been implemented all at once.
248
p. 249 © Energent, Wijkwerf, Ghent (BE)
p. 250 © City of Ghent, Buurzame Stroom, Ghent (BE)

Foto 11

Foto 12

DISTRICT-BASED
vs CITYWIDE APPROACH
251
To meet the targets set for 2050, all
neighbourhoods will require a complete makeover.
But a systematic approach is often lacking.
And the resources to secure the transition are
limited. It can make sense to start with one or a
series of pilot districts. By concentrating limited
resources, a critical mass of time, investment
and expertise can be created, allowing for experimentation
and innovation. The focus can lead to
local breakthroughs from which other districts can
learn. Looking at one district at a time allows for
multiple challenges to be addressed simultaneously.
For example, the Royal Seaport in
Stockholm (SE) is building on the experience
of Hammarby Sjöstad and will be a model
PORTRAIT 3, p. 43
for other districts in the city. But there is a tension:
(how) do we ensure that the exceptional concentration
of resources will lead to a replicable model
that works with regular means and instruments in
other districts? Are these lessons really scalable?
The concentration of resources could mean an
underinvestment in other districts.
Another angle is to act in all districts
at the same time and to implement small-scale
changes horizontally. The RENOLUTION KEY 5, p. 158
programme in Brussels (BE), for example,
supports innovative projects throughout the region.
CHAPTER 3. Considerations
DISTRICT-BASED vs CITYWIDE APPROACH

The aim is to bring about change across the city.
But is it really possible to achieve deep change
with limited capacity? There is a risk of overlooking
local challenges or issues that require a
specific approach.
What strategy will lead to a systemic transition
and produce the integrated breakthroughs
we need for the deep and inclusive transformation?
252
p. 253 © IBA Wien J.Fetz, aspern Seestadt, Vienna (AT)
p. 254 © Jérémy Mathieu, SPL Lyon Confluence 2019, Lyon (FR)

Foto 13

Foto 14

EXPERIMENTATION
FIRST
vs REGULATION FIRST
255
Current regulations and frameworks
make it difficult if not impossible to develop new
strategies, processes or business models that
can help to achieve energy districts. There is a
need for an environment where breakthroughs
can be tested. The proof of the pudding is in the
eating! In Brussels (BE), for example, several pilot
energy communities, such as SunSud
by City Mine(d), were granted exceptional
status before legislation on Local Energy
Communities was drafted. In trying to develop
KEY 10, p. 211
such a proof of concept, we face a double challenge.
On the one hand, operating within the
existing regulatory framework can easily lead to a
lock-in situation, preventing the experiment from
achieving any actual breakthrough. For example,
it is very difficult to build a competitive business
model for renewable energy projects when fossil
fuels are as cheap as they are today because
there is no future-proof framework for CO2 taxation.
Moreover, while the aim is to draw new
rules from one-off experiments, this next step is
most often missing, and the result is then often
endless experimentation.
CHAPTER 3. Considerations
EXPERIMENTATION FIRST vs REGULATION FIRST

The alternative strategy is to change
regulation first in order to make room for the types
of projects we need. This is a more complex
approach and one that takes longer, as it requires
strong political decisions and an overhaul of the
current system with its many stakeholder interests.
Furthermore, (how) can we design appropriate
frameworks and adapt regulation without the
practical insights of concrete experiments and
realized projects?
256
p. 257 © Joris Casaer, Ecopower, Eeklo (BE)
p. 258 © Aad Hoogendoorn, IABR, Rotterdam (NL)

Foto 15

Foto 16

INTERNATIONAL
STANDARDS
vs LOCAL CULTURE
AND CONTEXT
259
There is a whole international discourse
around knowledge development and transfer.
Lessons learned from an experiment in one city
can therefore inspire other neighbourhoods and
cities. The scale and urgency of the energy transition
in our built environment is too great for any
one city or country to reinvent the wheel. In addition,
many people believe that local experiments
should also lead to an international standard
for implementing PEDs: a common
KEY 3, p. 130
definition, for example, or a (societal)
KEY 7, p. 176
cost-benefit analysis and monitoring
KEY 10, p. 207
framework. This gives all stakeholders
in all cities and countries a clear framework,
objective and methodology.
But can standards be developed that
really fit different contexts? The social, cultural,
political and legal differences between cities
and countries have a decisive impact on whether
a district approach can work. For example, in
countries like Sweden where heating is included
in the rent by law (‘warm rent’), tension between
tenants and landlords is not an issue: the better
the energy performance of the building, the lower
CHAPTER 3. Considerations
INTERNATIONAL STANDARDS vs LOCAL CULTURE AND CONTEXT

the costs for the landlord. Or (a belief in) strong
government such as in Vienna (AT) vs a tradition
of bottom-up initiatives in Brussels (BE) leads to
very different interactions with and between local
stakeholders and thus to a specific process.
What international exchange of knowledge
can adequately help local districts to improve?
Can standards be developed that are based on
a range of local contexts and, most importantly,
that allow for local distinctiveness and flexibility?
And how can international frameworks support
districts, even when they first focus on the local
reality instead of exchanging lessons?
260
p. 261 © Kick Smeets, Venlo (NL)
p. 262 © Niko Havranek, aspern Seestadt, Vienna (AT)

Foto 17

Foto 18

TECHNICAL
vs SOCIAL INNOVATION
263
Achieving the energy transition will
require both the innovation of energy technology
and social infrastructure to accommodate local
transformations. Often, the energy transition is
seen as a transformation that essentially involves
new technologies, the construction of new physical
networks, or the implementation of specialized
techniques. However, these infrastructures
won’t work as intended if the technology is not
adopted by the users. We have seen that the first
high-performance buildings in the Royal Seaport
of Stockholm (SE) initially failed to meet
predictions because people didn’t
change their behaviour and contractors didn’t
know how to execute them properly. Another risk
PORTRAIT 3, p. 51
of focusing on the latest technologies is that they
may not be affordable for most people (for a long
time yet). There is also the question as to whether
the CO2 cost of manufacturing and installing
them is ultimately greater than the savings they
generate over their lifetime.
Another (or parallel) approach is to initiate
neighbourhood change by encouraging social
innovation. By stimulating interaction between
actors and residents, by providing the necessary
tools and knowledge for their organization and
empowerment, by fostering motivation to act, a
CHAPTER 3. Considerations
TECHNICAL vs SOCIAL INNOVATION

change can take place at the level of
PORTRAIT 4, p. 66
practices and behaviours. The skilling
KEY 8, p. 188
programme in Bospolder-Tussendijken in
Rotterdam (NL) and the citizens’ budget KEY 5, p. 158
in Innerfavoriten in Vienna (AT) both
show an impact that goes beyond technological
progress, even beyond the energy target.
However, focusing on social innovation often feels
like a detour and it often means that change takes
longer to become visible.
How can the two approaches be mutually
reinforcing? And how do you determine the distribution
of energy invested in each?
264

EPILOGUE
267
For a wave of
energy districts
Let’s zoom out for a moment. What would
you want the year 2030 to look like? What is it that
you want to have achieved by then? What will your
own neighbourhood look like? Which projects will
you have realized? Which target will be checked
off? Take a moment to think about that. And now
come back to the present: what is needed to get
to that point?
We’ll start. We’ve learned a lot from making
this toolkit. That the quality of a Positive Energy
District depends on the quality of the co-creative
process has only been confirmed by the many
examples we studied and by the people from
places all over Europe we’ve met along the way.
EPILOGUE
For a wave of energy districts

This resource takes stock of the current state of
the PED practice. Its size and weight are in direct
proportion to the wealth of PED experiments already
taking place. Collectively, we already know
a lot. And yet there is a magnificent multiplication
and acceleration needed for the energy transition
at district level to really take off. For us, 2030 will
probably be the moment we’ll look back to 2023.
We’ll say that we only knew so much. And we’ll
argue that it’s necessary to carry out a complete
overhaul of this toolkit, because there are so
many new learnings and a multitude of ambitious
PED projects. Hopefully.
For 2030, we imagine a high-profile
politician giving a glorious speech in the European
Parliament about the 800th PED being up and
running, at least one in each European city.
The curve of greenhouse gas emissions from the
built environment has started tilting down, and in
our own neighbourhood we feel that more and
more people are actively participating in collective
energy projects. It’ll be a cheerful and proud
moment, even though everyone will realize there
are still thousands of districts to go. With our eyes
locked on that celebratory moment, there are
three calls we’d like to make.
268
First, we advocate a conceptual change
to the term ‘Positive Energy District’. PEDs are
now often seen as primarily technical interventions
that can only exist in the most exceptional of

neighbourhoods. The complex social and organizational
processes required to transform all our
neighbourhoods into PEDs, especially in existing
districts, need to be placed at the centre of the
debate and discourse. Rather than primarily focus
on quantification and on technological solutions,
public and private Research & Innovation (R&I)
should include multi-stakeholder collaborative
projects or inclusive forms of financing and should
also invest in building practical and soft skills to
implement PEDs.
269
Secondly, we see a unique role for the
European Union and European networks. Programmes
such as DUT, HORIZON and LIFE should
collaborate to complement (scientific) research
with direct investments in local coalitions and
processes that accelerate the implementation of
PEDs. On top of that, the European level can play
a facilitating and catalysing role as a platform. The
dispersed knowledge and experience shouldn’t
just end up in stuffy conferences and papers.
Instead, the incredible variety of experiments and
practitioners can be connected in an inspiring and
action-oriented community of practice. We should
build a European hub of tools, methods and skills
to proliferate practical knowledge and assist more
and more PEDs from idea to implementation.
Thirdly, we appeal to all kinds of initiators
to continue their work locally, even if this sometimes
leads to frictions. To the private or civic
EPILOGUE
For a wave of energy districts

organizations, coalitions, companies and individuals
working in neighbourhoods: keep coming up
with creative projects, keep building partnerships
and keep getting your city involved. To the
municipal officials continuously challenging
the status quo: orient all available instruments to
facilitate PED projects, motivate your colleagues
to work transversally and give space to stakeholders
to engage locally. Your enthusiasm and
energy must be so contagious that they trigger
a landslide.
Combined, these three accelerating
movements will be able to provoke a wave of
Positive Energy Districts. And as for this toolkit,
we can only hope that people use and appropriate
it, that they make notes, tear out pages and add
parts. May it become as messy as the process of
PED-making itself!
270

Glossary
273
Aquathermy
Renewable energy technology that extracts
thermal energy from water sources such as rivers, lakes
and oceans for heating or cooling purposes. It uses the
natural temperature differences in bodies of water to
provide energy-efficient heating and cooling solutions
for buildings and industrial processes.
Capacity-building
Process that focuses on improving the overall
performance and sustainability of individuals,
communities and organizations by developing their
internal resources, knowledge and skills to address
(energy) transition issues.
Carbon neutrality / Carbon positivity /
Climate neutrality / Fossil-free /
Net-zero emissions / Gas-free
Terms used to refer to actions resulting in a
reduction in CO2 emissions. ‘Carbon neutrality’ only
takes CO2 emissions into account, while ‘net-zero
emissions’ includes the entirety of CO2 equivalent
greenhouse gas emissions (CO2-eq), including methane,
nitrous oxide and synthetic gases. This is calculated as
an annual balance and still allows greenhouse gases to
be emitted as long as they are offset on an annual basis.
‘Fossil-free’ refers to the absolute absence of emissions
and fossil sources, without any form of compensation.
‘Climate positive’ or ‘carbon negative’ is used when more
CO2 is removed from the atmosphere than is emitted
on an annual basis. Lastly, ‘gas-free’ refers to nations,
regions, cities, neighbourhoods and homes that move
away from gas as their (primary) source of heating and
power generation.
Combined Heat and Power (CHP)
Energy system providing on-site electricity,
heating and cooling from a single or mixed fuel source.
This power-generation technology is also known as
cogeneration. Common CHP equipment includes
reciprocating engines, microturbines, fuel cells,
steam turbines and gas turbines.
Coordination unit
Temporary or permanent team responsible for
initiating, supporting and linking different projects
within PED developments. A coordination unit helps
to streamline and integrate the efforts of different
stakeholders, ensuring that projects are aligned
with the overall objectives and contribute to the
desired outcomes.
Co-ownership / Inclusion /
Inclusiveness / Empowerment
Terms used to refer to a high degree of participation,
activation and involvement of end-users in
a system or process. ‘Co-ownership’ emphasizes the
sense of ownership and control of a system, decision
or project. ‘Inclusion’ or ‘inclusiveness’ emphasizes
equal access and opportunity for all to participate.
‘Empowerment’ emphasizes increasing the capacity of
individuals or a group to make choices and take action.
Desealing
Process of softening or depaving urban outdoor
spaces, by reducing the number of hardened surfaces,
such as concrete and asphalt, and replacing them with
more permeable materials or green spaces.
Cartography
Representation of geographical areas using maps
as a visual tool. It aims to illustrate, understand and
communicate the physical and non-physical features
of an area.
City instruments
The various planning, regulatory and support
tools that a city has at its disposal to guide and facilitate
urban development as well as to manage resources and
implement policies. These instruments include zoning
regulations, building codes, infrastructure planning
and financial incentives, among others.
Co-creation / Co-design
Terms used to refer to participatory, collective
and flexible multi-stakeholder processes as part of
PED developments. While both co-creation and
co-design emphasize collaboration and inclusivity,
co-creation tends to focus on broader decision-making
and planning processes. Co-design is more concerned
with the actual design and development of tangible
objects or installations. However, both approaches
contribute to building connections among actors and
fostering a sense of shared ownership and commitment
to the PED project and initiatives.
Design research / Research by design
Collaborative and interdisciplinary approach
using design techniques in an early, conceptual phase
as a way to explore, analyse and develop innovative
solutions for urban challenges and to define sharper
targets and briefs for the actual development and
implementation.
Distribution Systems Operator (DSO)
Organization responsible for operating,
maintaining and developing the distribution network
infrastructure that delivers electricity or gas from
transmission systems to homes, businesses and other
consumers within a specific area. DSOs ensure the
reliable and efficient supply of energy and facilitate
connections between consumers and the grid.
District / Neighbourhood
Terms used interchangeably in this context to
refer to specific sub-areas within a city or town. Some
researchers refer to ‘neighbourhoods’ as areas which
communities relate to whose geographical boundaries
are not necessarily fixed. ‘Districts’ are often linked to
administrative boundaries.
Glossary

274
Embodied energy / Grey energy /
Plug load
Terms used to describe different aspects of
energy use and impact in the context of buildings
and appliances. ‘Embodied energy’ refers to the total
energy consumed in all of the processes involved in
the production of a building, from the extraction and
processing of natural resources to the manufacture,
transport and product delivery. ‘Grey energy’ usually
refers to the total amount of energy used throughout
the life cycle of a product, from production to end of
life, including use, maintenance and eventual disposal.
‘Plug load’ refers to the energy consumed by products
that are powered by being plugged into a socket. It
generally refers to appliances, electronics and other
equipment in a home or commercial building that are
not part of the heating, cooling or lighting systems.
Energy balance
Equilibrium between the energy consumed and
the energy generated within a specific area or building.
A positive energy balance is achieved when the total
renewable energy produced within the area or building
exceeds the total energy consumed by its users.
Energy community
Energy-sharing project between different users,
usually producing energy from a common energy
system. From a legal viewpoint, the EU has defined
two types of energy communities. A Renewable Energy
Community (REC) is a legal entity based on open and
voluntary participation and controlled by the members
located in the vicinity of the renewable energy project.
A Citizen Energy Community (CEC) is a legal entity
also based on voluntary participation and controlled
by the members, but it can provide or be involved in
the development of energy services, such as the energy
production system and/or storage. Many European
countries are developing their own legislation and
regulations on Energy Communities, giving a more
specific definition of what this can entail.
Energy flexibility
Ability of an energy system to adapt and respond
to fluctuations in energy supply and demand. It
encompasses the capacity to efficiently balance and
manage variations in energy production from renewable
sources, such as solar and wind, with the changing
consumption patterns of users. Energy flexibility helps
to maintain a stable and reliable energy grid by adjusting
the energy generation, storage and consumption in
response to the varying needs and conditions.
Energy-neutral / Energy-positive /
Passive building
Terms used to refer to buildings and structures
that meet high standards of sustainability. ‘Energyneutral’
buildings generate as much energy as they
consume each year, typically through energy-efficiency
measures and on-site renewable energy technologies,
and balance their use of the grid by feeding excess
energy back into it. ‘Energy-positive buildings’ produce
more energy than they consume, creating a surplus that
can be used elsewhere. The key difference between the
two is in the net balance of energy use and production:
energy-neutral buildings aim to balance use and
production while energy-positive buildings aim to
produce a surplus. Similarly, ‘passive building’ refers
to energy-efficient buildings which reduce their
ecological footprint to the minimum.
Energy poverty
Situation where individuals or households are
unable to afford adequate energy services to meet their
basic needs, such as heating, cooling and lighting.
This often results in people living in uncomfortable
conditions, with negative impacts on their health,
well-being and quality of life. People living in energy
poverty tend to consume less energy than the general
population, often in order to save money.
Energy Service Company (ESCO)
Business specializing in providing energy
solutions, including the design, implementation and
financing of energy efficiency and renewable energy
projects. ESCOs invest in energy installations on behalf
of their clients, who then pay back the investment
over time through energy cost savings. The ESCO
model works by allowing users to continue paying their
original energy bills while gradually repaying the initial
investment made by the ESCO.
Energy transition / transformation
Terms used to refer to the process and resulting
interventions and actions required to move from a
fossil-based system of energy production and use to
a renewable one. It involves the installation of new
physical infrastructure, the retrofitting of the existing
built environment, and sociocultural changes in the
way our society uses energy.
Geolocation
Specific coordinates of a place on Earth, usually
expressed as latitude and longitude. Geolocation is also
used to associate non-physical data (such as average
household income or energy consumption) with a
specific place on a map.
Geothermal probes / drillings
‘Geothermal probes’ are devices installed in
boreholes to extract geothermal energy, using a heat
transfer fluid to absorb heat from the Earth for heating
buildings. ‘Geothermal drilling’ is the process of creating
these boreholes, often several hundred metres deep, to
reach a sufficiently high ground temperature.
Governance
Systems and processes that control and manage
an organization or area. In the case of district-level
initiatives, governance includes how decisions are
made, who makes them, how different stakeholders
are involved and how accountability and transparency
are ensured. The governance framework refers to this
whole system, including role divisions between actors
and the formal and informal rules.
Heat pump
Device that draws thermal energy from the
outdoor air or soil in winter, compresses it (to increase
the temperature) and transfers it inside, via heated
air or heated water in underfloor heating or radiators.
Some heat pumps can also work the other way round
and cool indoor spaces in summer. Heat pumps
need electricity to complete this cycle, but this is
substantially less than when heat is generated instead
of transferred and compressed.

Hydroelectric power
Electricity generated from the power of moving
water, either falling or flowing fast. The energy is
generated by a reservoir of water from which the flow of
water passes through turbines and moves their blades,
converting the act of moving water into kinetic energy.
Initiator
Actor that has kick-started or is in the process
of kick-starting a Positive Energy District (PED)
project in their district. We interpret this term broadly:
it could be someone working at the municipality or
in an independent organization, but it could also be
residents of an apartment building joining forces with
their neighbours.
Local / Supralocal
Terms generally used to refer to different geographical
scales or levels of organization, governance
or public authority. ’Local’ refers to the physical and
social specifics of a defined area such as a neighbourhood
or city. ‘Supralocal’ extends beyond the local,
covering larger regions or national levels, and includes
broader policies and trends.
Low- / high-temperature heat grid
Terms used to refer to two types of heat networks.
A ‘low-temperature heat grid’ is a type of heat network
that provides heat at a lower temperature, typically
less than 60°C. These systems tend to be more efficient
and are ideal for well-insulated buildings that don’t
require high temperatures for heating. They can be
powered by a variety of local renewable heat sources
such as wastewater, surface water and heat/cold
storage. ‘High-temperature heat networks’ provide heat
at high temperatures, typically above 100°C, usually
deriving from waste incineration or high-temperature
chemical processes. They are often used in older, less
efficient buildings that require more heat due to
poorer insulation.
Neighbourhood dynamics
Refers to the presence of different communities
in a neighbourhood, the social interactions, cultures,
sociocultural changes or local challenges and issues
perceived as priorities for the neighbourhood.
Neighbourhood manager
Actor, often mandated by the local authority
or part of a social organization, that is responsible
for maintaining and improving the quality of life
in a particular neighbourhood. They build up
relations with residents and local stakeholders, act
as liaisons between the community and authorities,
and coordinate local projects. They have in-depth
knowledge of neighbourhood dynamics and are often
a reference point for many local communities.
Photovoltaic (PV) panels
Devices that convert sunlight into electricity.
They are often referred to as solar panels. They are
made up of many individual solar cells made from
semiconductor materials, usually silicon, which
produce an electric current when exposed to light.
This process is known as the photovoltaic effect. The
electricity generated by PV panels can be used directly
or stored in batteries for later use.
Public / Private / Civil society
Terms used to refer to different sectors and roles
in society, particularly in the context of collaborative
efforts such as the development of PEDs. ‘Public’
refers to the governmental and municipal bodies that
manage public services, assets and infrastructure.
This can include offices for government staff, public
buildings such as schools, hospitals and museums, and
public services such as lighting or charging stations.
‘Private’ refers to individual citizens, businesses and
corporations not directly controlled by government.
‘Civil society’ refers to organizations and institutions
that are neither government-owned (public) nor
profit-oriented (private). Civil society includes nongovernmental
organizations, non-profit organizations,
community groups and other voluntary collectives.
Renewable energy
Energy generated from naturally replenishing
resources. This type of energy has little or no impact on
the environment as it doesn’t produce greenhouse gases.
Renewable energy sources include solar energy, wind
energy, geothermal energy, hydropower, bioenergy, etc.
Retrofitting / Refurbishment / Renovation
Terms often used interchangeably in the construction
industry to refer to the upgrading and improvement
of existing structures. ‘Retrofitting’ involves adding
new features or technologies to existing structures to
improve their performance, efficiency or safety, often
with a focus on making them climate-neutral. It can
include the installation of energy-efficient systems
or improved insulation. ‘Refurbishment’ refers to the
process of cleaning, renovating and equipping a building,
often including both aesthetic and functional
improvements. It aims to return a building to a good
state of repair, with possible energy-efficiency improvements.
‘Renovation’ describes major improvements to a
broken or obsolete structure. It may involve significant
changes to the layout of the building.
Self-sufficiency
Ability of individuals or communities to meet
their own needs without relying heavily on external
sources. In energy-related projects, the term usually
refers to the ability to match the amount of energy
produced with the amount used in a particular project
or environment.
275
One-stop shop
Service model where multiple services are
centralized in one point and location, making them
easier for users to access. These services include
energy support services such as information on home
improvements, advice on energy technologies and
access to local subsidies. They also provide support and
guidance to contractors, architects and designers in the
development of sustainable designs and solutions.
Special Purpose Vehicle (SPV)
Separate legal entity created by an organization
or public body for a limited purpose. Used for specific
(re)development projects, it is usually the body that
guides, directs and manages the process. It often enables
governments to participate in transactions that wouldn’t
otherwise be possible, often blending public and private
resources for greater efficiency and flexibility.
Glossary

Stakeholders
The individuals, groups and organizations
that have a vested interest in, or are affected by, the
development of PEDs in a particular neighbourhood.
Step-by-step process
Methodical approach in which a project or goal
is achieved through a series of smaller, incremental
steps or phases. This approach allows for continuous
evaluation and adjustments as progress is made,
helping to ensure that the project stays on track.
Theory of Change
Set of interventions, processes, changes and
innovations that are expected to lead to specific outcomes
or ambitions. It identifies solutions, addresses
specific problems or questions, and maps out desired
outcomes as well as timelines and feedback loops. It
also identifies the underlying assumptions and risks
that need to be understood and revisited throughout
the process to ensure that the approach will contribute
to the desired change.
Urban commons
Shared resources in a city or urban environment
that are collectively managed and maintained by a
community for its mutual benefit. These resources can
be physical, such as public parks, community gardens
and public spaces, or they can be non-physical, such
as community services, social networks and cultural
traditions.
Urban fabric / Built environment
Terms used to describe the physical aspect of a
city, neighbourhood or district. ‘Urban fabric’ usually
refers to the physical layout and organization of a city,
including its buildings, streets, parks and other features.
It also refers to the social and cultural dynamics that
occur within this physical layout, such as the behaviours,
capacities and aspirations of the communities that live
there. The ‘built environment’ refers more specifically
to the human-made surroundings that provide the
setting for human activity. These can be different types
of buildings in neighbourhoods and cities, including
their supporting infrastructure such as water supply
and energy networks. It also refers to the structures and
technologies that make up the physical landscape of the
city and enable its energy use and efficiency.
Urban renewal / Urban renewal programme /
Urban transformation
Terms generally used to refer to actions or
processes aimed at improving urban areas. ‘Urban
renewal’ refers to the process of local regeneration
leading to the renovation or replacement of old
buildings, infrastructure and public spaces. It can
include architectural renovation, the creation of new
public spaces, improvements to transport systems, and
initiatives to boost economic and social vitality. Urban
renewal aims to improve the quality of life in urban
areas, often focusing on run-down or neglected areas.
‘Urban renewal programme’ refers to a specific initiative
or plan aimed at achieving urban renewal. ‘Urban
transformation’ is a broader, more comprehensive term
that refers to major changes in the physical, social and
economic characteristics of a district or neighbourhood,
often over an extended period of time and involving a
wide range of stakeholders. It goes beyond the physical
renovation of urban renewal and can include changes
in land use, shifts in population and adjustments in the
local economy or culture.
276

List of practices
277
+CityxChange (p. 88, 145)
Smart city project funded by the European Union’s
Horizon 2020 research and innovation programme
under the ‘Smart Cities and Communities’ call, running
from November 2018 to October 2023. The city of
Limerick (IE) is one of the project’s Lighthouse cities,
alongside Trondheim (NO). Alba Iulia (RO), Písek (CZ),
Sestao (ES), Smolyan (BG) and Võru (EE) are taking part
in the project as follower cities.
100 Resilient Cities (p. 221)
Support programme for a network of 100 cities
around the world to develop a resilience strategy to
respond to the physical, economic and social challenges
of twenty-first-century cities, initiated by the Rockefeller
Foundation in 2013. Until its end in 2019, more than
fifty resilience strategies and 1,800 concrete actions
were developed, and some $ 655 million in capital
from national, philanthropic and private sources
was leveraged to support these projects.
aspern Seestadt (p. 31, 155, 200)
New satellite development located in the
22nd district in the west of Vienna, Austria (AT),
across the river Danube. The area covers about 240 ha
and is one of the largest urban development projects
in Europe. Once completed, it is expected to be home
to some 20,000 residents and provide employment
opportunities for around 20,000 people. Planning and
design of the project began in the early 2000s and
construction began in 2010.
Beroepentuin (p. 67, 189)
Employment organization active in Rotterdam
since 2018 and in Utrecht since 2019 as well as in
the Dordrecht region, the Hoeksche Waard and
The Hague (NL). In Rotterdam, they work with MKB
Werkoffensief, Werkgevers Servicepunt Rotterdam
and various regional training centres. They offer
their services to eighteen private companies and
have already trained about 100 new employees.
Bospolder-Tussendijken (p. 57, 107, 120, 122,
155, 236)
Post-war district located in the south of Rotterdam
(NL), near the port area. The districts of Bospolder
and Tussendijken are separated by the Schiedamseweg.
They were originally developed in 1910 and large parts
were rebuilt after World War II. They are home to
14,500 inhabitants (7,200 households). Some 62% of
housing in the districts is social housing.
BRABO I (p. 199, 232)
Renovation project of a sixteen-storey apartment
building with 150 individual owners on Charles
De Kosterlaan on the Linkeroever, Antwerp (BE).
The project is the first of a wider programme of
renovation coaching for the city.
Burenpremie (p. 179)
Subsidy programme of Flemish grid operator
Fluvius (BE), set up in 2017, offering grants to groups
of at least ten neighbours for collective renovation
advice. The bonus finances the project coordinator
who supports the collective process.
Buurzame Stroom (p. 119)
Research project in Sint-Amandsberg-Dampoort in
Ghent (BE) that ran from March 2018 to January 2020,
investigating the development of a district approach
to maximize local energy production. The project was a
collaboration between the citizen cooperative Energent,
SAAMO Ghent, the City of Ghent, Energiecentrale,
grid operator Fluvius, energy supplier Ecopower,
Ghent University and the citizen cooperative Partago.
Dampoort KnapT OP! (p. 180)
Pilot project in the district of Dampoort in the
east of Ghent (BE), launched in 2015. The project offers
a subsidy detention for emergency buyers via a rolling
fund. It is the result of the collaboration between
the Public Centre for Social Welfare (OCWM), the
municipality of Ghent, Community Land Trust (CLT)
in Ghent and SAAMO Ghent as well as two local nonprofit
associations, vzw SIVI and Domus Mundi vzw.
Delft (p. 220)
Dutch university town located in the province of
South Holland (NL) on the Scheldt-Rhine Canal, with
a population of around 103,600 inhabitants, of which
15% are university students. The City of Delft set itself
the goal of becoming carbon-neutral by 2050 and in
2021 set up a decarbonization team to follow up on
the city’s energy transition programme.
Delfshaven Coöperatie (p. 61, 65, 69)
Cooperative organization active in Bospolder-Tussendijken
and the entire Delfshaven area in
Rotterdam (NL), founded in 2015. It links local initiatives
and residents with government bodies and private
parties. The board of the cooperative is made up of
local residents, the Stadsmarinier, the municipality of
Rotterdam, the Havensteder housing association and
Rabobank Rotterdam, the local cooperative bank.
De Nieuwe Dokken (p. 145)
Large new housing development with 400 apartments
and houses in the harbour area in the north of
Ghent (BE). De Nieuwe Dokken is a project by Schipperskaai
Development, a consortium consisting of CAAAP
and Van Roey Vastgoed, in collaboration with the public
development company sogent and the City of Ghent.
DRIFT (p. 190)
Dutch Research Institute for Transitions,
founded in 2004 at Erasmus University Rotterdam (NL).
It is a collective of researchers working on sustainable
transitions and transition management. Their activities
revolve around four main types of practice: academic
research, consultancy, education, and public dialogue
and debate.
List of practices

Dutch Climate Agreement (p. 218)
Package of measures concluded in June 2019,
agreed upon by more than 100 organizations and
companies to achieve the political reduction target of
49% by 2030. The agreement was made with five key
sectors, namely electricity, industry, built environment,
transport and agriculture.
Ecopower (p. 198)
Belgian citizen cooperative that produces
and distributes green electricity and heat. In 2020
Ecopower had more than 60,000 members. At the
end of 2019, Ecopower supplied 1.64% of Flemish
households with green electricity.
Edinburgh (p. 196)
Capital of Scotland (UK) and home to
506,520 inhabitants. It is located in the Lothian
region, on the southern shore of the Firth of Forth.
In October 2012, the City of Edinburgh Council agreed
a framework for Edinburgh to become a Cooperative
Capital and established the Cooperative Development
Unit (CDU) to lead the process.
Eeklo (p. 147, 197)
Small town located in the Belgian region of
East Flanders (BE) with a total area of 30.45 km 2 and
a population of around 21,000 inhabitants. Eeklo has
been a frontrunner in the Belgian energy transition,
with a first vision on renewable energy in the 1990s.
Ecopower realized the first cooperative windmills
here between 1999 and 2022. The municipality is
now finalizing its district heating plans together with
energy utility Veolia and cooperative Ecopower.
ElectriCITY (p. 181)
Member organization founded in 2014 by a
group of residents of Hammarby Sjöstad, the first
eco-district in Stockholm (SE). It has initiated around
thirty sustainability and environmental projects in
collaboration with research organizations and local
schools. The activities of ElectriCITY Innovation run
under the overall project name Hammarby Sjöstad 2.0.
Empreintes (p. 120, 243)
Non-profit organization founded in 2006 in
Namur (BE). It is a youth organization recognized
by the Wallonia-Brussels Federation and it runs the
Regional Centre for Environmental Initiation (CRIE)
in Namur. It develops activities around six topics:
noise, nature in the city, water, biodiversity, energy
and mobility.
Energent (p. 148, 181, 247)
Belgian energy cooperative established in
2013, investing in renewable energy and helping local
residents to renovate their own homes in Ghent and the
larger region of East Flanders (BE). The cooperative
has 2,024 members. To date they have already made
8,179 energy recommendations.
Enerzjy Koöperaasje Garyp (p. 121)
Cooperative of residents in the village of
Garyp (NL) in the Northern Dutch region of Friesland,
with 1,895 inhabitants. They work together to save
energy and produce renewable energy, profits returning
to (socially) sustainable projects in the area. It was
founded in 2014 and its first 6MW solar park was
realized in 2017. In 2018 it was appointed one of the
Dutch gas-free pilot districts and received € 5.5 million
to get Garyp off gas.
Environment Centre Rotterdam (p. 120)
Independent non-profit association since
2003, previously part of the South Holland Nature
and Environment Federation. They offer support to
local organizations and citizen initiatives working
on sustainability in Rotterdam. They offer working
grants of a maximum of € 250 per year per voluntary
organization to cover practical and organizational
costs, and project grants of a maximum of € 1,500 per
application to support green project activities.
ESEK (p. 197)
Energy community of Karditsa, a medium-sized
city of around 58,000 inhabitants in the region of
Thessaly (GR). ESEK was established as an energy
cooperative in 2010 to then become an energy
community in 2019. The initiative was led by the
Chamber of Karditsa and the Karditsa Development
Authority (AN.KA.), which found common ground
with several citizens.
Flemish Renovation Obligation (p. 218)
Amendment to the Flemish Energy Decree (BE)
setting out regulations on the energy performance
of buildings for the region of Flanders (BE). In 2023
the Flemish government introduced a renovation
obligation for residential buildings with an EPC lower
than E. The renovation has to happen within five years
after a house is sold. In Flanders, 26% of EPCs for
residential buildings are classified as F and 12% as E.
Georgian Quarter (p. 85, 145, 179, 210)
Central historical district of Limerick (IE),
situated on the south bank of the Abbey river and also
known as Newtown Pery. It covers an area of 35 ha and
is home to 3,000 residents. The quarter was laid out
in the late eighteenth and early nineteenth centuries
on a grid plan of equal rectangular blocks, creating a
distinctive architectural unity.
Grand Parc (p. 167)
Award-winning renovation project of 530 social
housing units in Bordeaux (FR). The three blocks were
originally built in the early 1960s. As part of the Cité du
Grand Parc renovation programme, Lacaton & Vassal
architects designed the renovation of the dwellings
by adding a new glass façade to the existing buildings.
The cost, covered by public housing company
Aquitanis, was € 50,000 per apartment.
278
Hauffgasse (p. 169)
Refurbishment of 485 units of an eight-storey
apartment block and the addition of an extra storey with
another seventy-nine units in the Hauffgasse street in
Vienna (AT). The project was developed and managed
by non-profit housing association BWSG. Construction
started in May 2017 and was completed in 2021.

HAUSKUNFT (p. 198, 243)
One-stop shop in Vienna (AT), giving renovation
advice ‘from A to Z’. Active since 2020, Hauskunft
is the result of the EU-funded project RenoBooster.
The service is currently provided by wohnfonds_wien,
the Viennese fund for housing renovation and urban
renewal.
Innerfavoriten (p. 221, 264)
First project area of the WieNeu+ urban renewal
programme in the northern part of the 10th district in
Vienna (AT), which is called Favoriten. Innerfavoriten
covers 1.12 km 2 and is home to some 35,000 inhabitants.
The renewal programme started here in 2021 with two
block renovations and a sociocultural programme,
including a citizen budget, ‘Gräzlmarie’.
Internationale Architectuur Biennale
Rotterdam (IABR) (p. 61, 108, 122, 155)
Knowledge institute and cultural platform
founded in 2001 in Rotterdam (NL) that uses the power
of imagination, result-oriented research by design and
cultural settings as tools to explore, investigate and
envision new ways of making cities. Their activities are
based on the conviction that ‘architecture and urban
planning are of great social importance’ in meeting
the challenges of sustainability. As part of the BoTu
2028 partnership, IABR has launched a design Atelier,
long-term research-by-design projects, to build new
imaginaries for the future of the Bospolder-Tussendijken
district, eventually resulting in the Local Energy Action
Plan (LEAP).
Laboratori di Quartieri (p. 123)
Six district labs in Bologna (IT), one for each
district, coordinated by Fondazione Innovazione
Urbana since 2017. They are organized in four phases
to manage the co-creation process, from the alignment
with public administrations to the involvement of
citizens and local organizations to the implementation
and monitoring of concrete projects.
La Pile (p. 123, 124)
Sociocultural programme exploring the implementation
of new electrical practices in the city, initiated
by non-profit organization City Mine(d) with funding
from the Flemish and Brussels governments. It focuses
on two test districts in Brussels (BE): they have been
working in the Southern Quarter since 2018 and in the
Northern Quarter since 2020. ‘La Pile’ is French for
‘the battery’ and is also the name of a neighbourhood
game. ‘La Pile mécanique’ (The mechanical battery) is
the name of an energy-sharing concept around a building-sized
hydraulic battery.
Leiden (p. 111)
University city located in the province of South
Holland (NL). Home to some 130,000 residents, it extends
over 23.27 km2. In 2020 the municipality mapped
all planned public interventions until 2050. This led
to the development of an integrated timeline in which
planned interventions, like the replacement of sewer
pipes, were combined with climate adaptation, energy
and circularity ambitions in a structured sequen ce of
integrated neighbourhood redevelopments.
Living City Initiative (p. 87, 179)
Property tax incentive scheme designed to
regenerate both historic and other buildings in
Limerick (IE). It came into effect in January 2017
and will run until December 2027.
Lyon Confluence (p. 71, 122, 157, 239)
Regeneration project located on the peninsula
between the Rhône and Saône rivers, an extension
of the historic centre of Lyon (FR). The project
involves the renovation of existing housing and the
redevelopment of a former industrial area. The project
started in 1999 and the second phase of implementation
started in 2023. The project area covers about 150 ha
and has a current population of 12,000, which is
expected to rise to 17,000 by 2030. The implementation
process has been fully managed and developed by the
semi-public company SPL Lyon Confluence.
MeryGrid (p. 169)
Pilot project launched in 2017, as a result of the
collaboration between energy company Nethys, Liège
University and technological innovation centre Sirris, to
create one of the first smart grids in Belgium. Located in
Méry (BE), on the banks of the Ourthe river in the Liège
region, the local microgrid connects three companies
located close to each other. Today, the energy produced
on site is equivalent to 1,200 MWh per year and local
consumption is around 800 MWh per year.
Muide Meulestede (p. 148, 167)
Residential area of about 4,000 inhabitants,
located on a peninsula in the north of Ghent (BE) .
The neighbourhood is surrounded by docks and port
industries connected to the North Seaport area. It
is one of two pilot districts appointed by the City of
Ghent to become fossil-free.
Natural Gas-Free Neighbourhoods
Programme (p. 60, 219)
National support programme by the Dutch government
to wean the entire country off gas as an energy
source by 2050. Sixty-six living labs have been set up to
test strategies, new technologies and implementation
processes for gas-free neighbourhoods.
Northern Quarter (p. 15, 110, 122, 130, 134, 146)
Mixed district just north of the historic centre
of the city of Brussels (BE), known for its high-rise
office towers. The district, as we define it here, is
roughly bounded by the Willebroek Canal in the
west, the railway lines along the North Station in the
north and east, and the small Brussels ring road in
the south. It is home to more than 6,000 households
with a total population of 15,781. The district has a
total surface area of 1,32 km2. The jurisdiction of three
municipalities meets in this district: Schaerbeek, the
City of Brussels and Saint-Josse-ten-Noode.
OOZE (p. 64, 135)
Design practice founded in 2013 and based
in Rotterdam. Defined as a ‘catalyst for change,
developing innovative projects that solve complex
current needs while exploring alternative futures’.
OOZE was involved in developing the Local Energy
Action Plan (LEAP) for Bospolder-Tussendijken in
Rotterdam (NL), commissioned by the IABR.
279
List of practices

Oud-Heverlee (p. 168)
Belgian municipality in the province of
Flemish Brabant, near Leuven (BE). It extends over
7.56 km2 with around 11,000 inhabitants. The first
Belgian neighbourhood battery was installed in the
Ophemstraat district. It was installed by Th!nk E, a
consultancy specializing in energy technology. The
battery has the capacity to store enough energy to
supply nine families for a whole day. The project
was funded by the EU’s Horizon 2020 framework
programme for research and innovation.
Regional Energy Strategy (RES) (p. 219)
A strategic vision developed by thirty energy
regions in the Netherlands (NL) to achieve the measures
set out in the Dutch Climate Agreement. The national
target is to produce 35TW of renewable energy on land
by 2030. Municipalities, provinces and water boards,
together with stakeholders and residents, make choices
between different interests. The first versions of the
Regional Energy Strategies were delivered in July 2021.
Southern Quarter (p. 123, 124)
Area around the South Station in Brussels. Two
strategic plans are scheduled for the area: the plan for
the renovation of the Koningslaan area (2018-25) and
the plans to renew the area around the South Station
(2023-28). The district is under the jurisdiction of
three municipalities: Saint-Gilles, Anderlecht and
the City of Brussels.
Stockholm Royal Seaport (p. 43, 107, 154, 157,
182, 211, 235, 251, 263)
Newly built district located in the north-eastern
part of Stockholm (SE), along the waterfront of
the Baltic. Formerly an oil depot, the area covers
some 236 ha. The district is set to include about
12,000 new housing units, providing homes for an
estimated 22,000 residents. The process began in
2009, construction starting in 2011 and scheduled to
be completed in the 2030s. Most of the land was owned
by Stockholm Municipality. The total investment in
the development of the area is estimated to be around
€ 2.2 billion.
280
RENOLUTION (p. 158, 251)
Renovation support and innovation programme
initiated by the Brussels Capital Region (BE) to
accelerate the renovation wave of Brussels buildings
with the aim to reduce energy consumption by one third
and to achieve climate neutrality for residential and
tertiary buildings by 2050.
Reyeroord (p. 190)
Post-war neighbourhood built in the late 1950s
and early 1960s in the south-east of Rotterdam (NL).
In 2018 the municipality of Rotterdam designated
the neighbourhood as a test area for the district of
the future. Themes such as circularity, sustainability
and inclusiveness have been addressed in the area.
Słoneczny Serock (p. 197)
One of Poland’s first energy cooperatives,
established in 2021. They lease the site of a former
municipal landfill from the municipality of Serock (PL),
a small town of around 4,000 inhabitants. ‘Słoneczny
Serock’ (Sunny Serock) will provide free electricity to
the sixty members of the energy cooperative via a solar
power plant with an estimated capacity of between
0.3 and 0.35 MWh.
Smart Block Geblergasse (p. 168, 232)
Collective heat project and renovation of two
historic Wilhelminian-style buildings in Geblergasse,
Vienna (AT). Located in the 17th district of Vienna
(Hernals), the renovation works included the installation
of geothermal and solar systems to meet the energy
needs of the two units and beyond. The revitalization
of Geblergasse 11 and 13 was recognized and honoured
at the 35th Vienna Urban Renewal Awards. The project
received the ‘Golden Brick’ award in the ‘Pioneering
Achievement’ category.
Solar Offensive Wien (p. 144)
Framework set up by the City of Vienna (AT)
to encourage local organizations and citizens to start
installing solar panels on their roofs, façades, car
parks, etc. This programme launched in 2020 and will
run until 2030, the year by which Vienna aims to be
carbon-neutral.
Stockholm Exergi (p. 107, 182)
District heating operator in Stockholm (SE),
managing a local distribution network that provides
heating and cooling to the city. Founded in 1919, the
company is owned for 50% by the City of Stockholm and
for 50% by Ankhiale Bidco AB, a European consortium
of investors, led by the Dutch APG. With its 3,000 km
of heat grid, the company supplies heating and cooling
to approximately 800,000 people and 400 sites such as
hospitals, data centres, etc. in the Stockholm region.
By 2030, the company aims to produce 100% of its
energy from renewable or recycled sources.
Strandeiland (p. 196)
New development project on an artificial island in
the Ijburg district of Amsterdam (NL). Eight thousand
new homes will be built for approximately 20,000 new
residents. Some 40% of the housing will be social rental
housing, 25% affordable housing and 35% private rental
and purchase. The development process started in 2018
and is expected to be completed by 2040. The first
groundwork for the new homes started in 2023.
SunSud (p. 211, 255)
First energy-sharing project in a social housing
block in Brussels (BE), located in the Southern Quarter.
The process started in 2020, initiated by City Mine(d)
in collaboration with local energy association Energie
Commune, and social housing company Foyer du Sud
with the support of the Environment Department of
the Brussels-Capital Region and the municipality of
Saint-Gilles. The project experiments with sharing the
electricity produced by a 40 MWh solar installation
on the roof of a social housing building with the
building’s residents.
UK Green Deal (p. 180)
UK government policy to enable homeowners,
landlords and tenants to pay for energy-efficient
improvements to their homes through savings on
their energy bills, officially launched in January 2013.
An initiative of the Department of Energy and Climate
Change, it ran until 2015.

WieNeu+ (p. 106, 158, 221)
Neighbourhood-targeted urban renewal
programme initiated by the City of Vienna (AT) to
accelerate the transformation of Vienna’s districts into
more climate-neutral environments. It was launched in
early 2021 in the district of Innerfavoriten. It is currently
being implemented in two other districts: Brigittenau
and Leopoldstadt, the 20th and 2nd districts. WieNeu+
is part of the ‘Wir SAN Wien’ (We are/refurbish Vienna)
urban renewal campaign launched by Deputy Mayor
Kathrin Gaál in 2020.
WijkEnergieWerkt (p. 67, 188)
Social enterprise in the field of renewable energy
in Rotterdam (NL). Since 2019, they have been training
neighbourhood residents to learn energy-related skills.
The enterprise consists of three parts: a neighbourhood
installation company, a neighbourhood energy
cooperative and a neighbourhood energy fund.
List of practices
281

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On Cities4PEDs
287
This toolkit builds on the insights, exchanges
and research papers realized within Cities4PEDs, a
European action research project set up and co-funded
under the Joint Programming Initiative (JPI) Urban
Europe’s pilot call on Positive Energy Districts (2020).
A multidisciplinary coalition of city authorities,
energy experts, developers, designers, neighbourhood
workers and innovation organizations from Vienna,
Stockholm and Brussels joined forces to advance the
implementation strategies for PEDs. The project
combined three work methods: in-depth research
on different dimensions of the district energy
transition; recurrent intervisioning and exchange
with researchers, local initiators and parallel research
projects; and test-running practical methods to
co-design a strategy and actions in three local district
labs. Cities4PEDs made it possible to harvest, unravel
and combine lessons learned from diverse ongoing
experiments throughout Europe. These learnings were
further explored and developed in a series of topical
research reports, each written by one of the project’s
lead partners, each with their own expertise.
This European action research project started
in January 2021 and ended in March 2023.
The JPI Urban Europe programme
‘Positive Energy Districts and Neighbourhoods
for Sustainable Urban Development’ supports the
planning, deployment and replication of 100 Positive
Energy Districts by 2025. A first pilot call was launched
in 2020 and selected four transnational projects
of which Cities4PEDs is one. The call focused on
‘Holistic approaches for PED implementation, the
legal framework and urban governance, stakeholder
involvement concepts and business models’. Today,
the programme continues under the Driving Urban
Transitions (DUT) Partnership. Until now, two
subsequent calls for projects on Positive Energy
Districts have been launched.
Cities4PEDs was co-funded by
Innoviris.Brussels
Austrian Research Promotion Agency FFG
Swedish Energy Agency
RESEARCH CONSORTIUM
Architecture Workroom Brussels vzw
Independent innovation house for the transformation
of the social and physical living environment. Overall
project coordinator and local coordinator for the
Brussels partners.
Joachim Declerck
Hanne Mangelschots
Chiara Cicchianni
Lucas Desmet
Mika Hasselbring
Caroline Van Eccelpoel
Ida Pièret
Urban Innovation Vienna GmbH
Limited company owned by the City of Vienna, acting
as the Local Energy Agency. Local coordinator for the
Viennese partners.
Waltraud Schmidt
Petra Schöfmann
Anna Lindorfer
City of Stockholm
The Development Administration, responsible for
planning and construction in Stockholm Royal Seaport,
part of the municipality of Stockholm (SE).
Local coordinator for Sweden.
Christina Salmhofer
Maria Lennartsson
Örjan Lönngrenn
Karl Jonasson Collberg
City of Brussels
Energy Unit and Smart City Coordination of
the municipality of Brussels, one of the nineteen
municipalities of the Brussels-Capital Region (BE).
Alice Detollenaere
Lea Kleinenkuhnen
Filis Zumbultas
Coralie De Crem
Arnaud Bastogne
City of Vienna
The Energy Planning department (MA20) of the
municipality of Vienna (AT), in close collaboration
with the departments of District Planning and Land
Use (MA 21), Technical Urban Renewal (MA 25) and
Housing Promotion and Arbitration Board for Legal
Housing Matters (MA 50).
Stefan Sattler
Lea Pamperl
Renate Kinzl
Stephan Hartmann
Florian B. Stiller
Linda Schneider
On Cities4PEDs

City Mine(d)
Design practice that operates at the nexus of
architecture, urban development and urban
activism, aiming to make urban development
everyone’s business, based in Brussels (BE).
3E NV
Jim Segers
Sofie Van Bruystegem
Chloé Verlinden
Orson Dubois
Technology consultancy and SaaS company
providing digital solutions and expert services
to optimize the performance of renewable energy
assets, based in Brussels (BE).
Ruben Baetens
Wannes Vanheusden
Andries De Brouwer
Simon De Clercq
FH Technikum Wien
Renewable Energy Department of
the Technical University in Vienna (AT).
Simon Schneider
Shima Goudarzi
Wien 3420 aspern Development AG
Independent development company for the
development and management of aspern
Seestadt in Vienna (AT).
Lukas Lang
Peter Hinterkörner
Vienna University of Business
and Economics
The Research Institute for Urban Management
and Governance of the Vienna University of
Business and Economics (AT).
Verena Madner
Klaus Wolfsgruber
Sofie Manon Chourabi
CITIES4PEDS RESEARCH REPORTS
PED Atlas
Working paper examining the framework conditions
for the development of PEDs, based on interviews and
documentation of seven ongoing PEDs. This paper
synthesizes each of their processes, frameworks
and strategies.
Authors: Architecture Workroom Brussels,
Urban Innovation Vienna, City of Stockholm
Definition of Positive Energy Districts
Working paper discussing the different approaches
and dimensions to the definition of a Positive Energy
District. It explores the challenges and requirements
for bridging the gap between a theoretical and a
practical definition.
Author: FH Technikum Wien
Enabling PEDs through city instruments
Working paper documenting, structuring and evaluating
city instruments and policies that enable PED
developments. Promising instruments are illustrated
and discussed in response to key questions from the
three local district labs.
Authors: Urban Innovation Vienna, Vienna University of
Business and Economics, City of Vienna
Towards co-ownership and
inclusive PED development
Working paper analysing and understanding
‘neighbourhood dynamics’, based on districts in
Brussels, Vienna and Stockholm. By harvesting
examples in Europe, it offers strategies, tactics and
tools to empower diverse and fragile communities in
a PED process.
Author: City Mine(d)
Monitoring framework
Working paper proposing a monitoring framework and
indicators for PEDs, based on district labs in Brussels,
Vienna and Stockholm.
Author: 3E NV
Energy Cities
European network of several hundred local
authorities in thirty countries who exchange
information on sustainability and energy issues.
Julien Joubert
Jana Cicmanova
Marie Royer
288

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An initiative of
Architecture Workroom Brussels,
independent innovation house for
transformation
Authors
Hanne Mangelschots
Chiara Cicchianni
Joachim Declerck
Research consortium
Architecture Workroom Brussels
Urban Innovation Vienna GmbH
City of Stockholm
City of Brussels
City of Vienna
City Mine(d)
3E NV
FH Technikum Wien
Wien 3420 aspern Development AG
Vienna University of Business and Economics
Energy Cities
Production coordination
Caroline Van Eccelpoel
Research and production assistance
Alice Devenyns
Louisa Contipelli
Laure Machtelinckx
Arnaud Mewis
Roeland Dudal
Copy-editing
Patrick Lennon
Graphic design
Sara Thewissen & Joris Verdoodt
Layout
Delphine Platteeuw
Printing
Antilope De Bie
Paper
Sirio Color Paglierino 290 gr
Lessebo Design 1.3 White 115 gr
Maco Gloss HV White 115 gr
Muscat Grey 2 x 290 gr
Fonts
GT Alpina Standard
GT Alpina Typewriter
Suisse Int’l
Thanks to the support of
Innoviris.Brussels
Austrian Research Promotion Agency FFG
Swedish Energy Agency
Department of Culture, Flanders (BE)
Porticus Foundation
Publisher
Architecture Workroom Brussels,
October 2023
www.architectureworkroom.eu
ISBN 978-90-8195-354-2
Legal Deposit Number: D/2023/12986/1
© 2023 authors, Architecture Workroom Brussels
All rights reserved
we fund your future
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