Solutions for the sustainable, resilient, inclusive and accessible regeneration of neighbourhoods enabling low carbon footprint lifestyles and businesses (Built4People)

The proposal should:

• Deliver innovative methods and solutions for the regeneration of neighbourhoods, with due consideration of, inter alia, energy efficiency, sustainability, resilience, health, inclusiveness and accessibility, based on participatory planning processes and innovative decision-making procedures and digital applications.
• Ensure the proposed solutions allow to identify and integrate local sources of raw materials for building renovation in built environment planning scenarios.
• Ensure the proposed solutions include new evidence-based approaches (e.g. strategies and digital tools) to help quantify the benefits of integrated built environment transformation aimed at climate neutrality.
• Ensure the proposed solutions allow for involving all stakeholder groups, including inter alia elderly people, those with reduced mobility and persons with disabilities, and households affected by energy poverty, also seeking to address gentrification issues in neighbourhoods affected by energy poverty.
• Ensure the proposed solutions include concepts for local renewable energy generation and consumption integrated at building and district level in combination with multi-modal mobility concepts targeted to both urban and rural neighbourhoods.
• Ensure the proposed solutions contribute to optimising energy balancing at local level (e.g. thanks to energy sharing platforms and services connected to local micro-grids and / or virtual energy markets, including demand response and decision-support systems and block chain applications).
• Ensure the proposed solutions comply with the principles of circular economy, favouring urban mining, efficient use of resources, durability, reuse and recyclability.
• Ensure the proposed solutions are developed taking into account local environmental, social, and economic conditions and are relevant for the different geographical locations targeted.
• Where relevant, include concepts for energy circularity such as waste heat recovery from local industries (or other sources) and use in nearby buildings or in low-temperature district networks and, valorisation of by-products and residues (e.g. from local agro-food industry) for energy or other uses.
• Where relevant, investigate whether and how the proposed approaches could apply to cultural heritage buildings.
• Lead at least 3 large-scale demonstrations of the solutions in diverse geographical areas, with various local environmental, social, and economic conditions.
• Consider social innovation where relevant and in the case where the proposed solutions are at the socio-technical interface and require social change, new social practices, social ownership or market uptake.
• Facilitate awareness raising and capacity building of citizens and relevant stakeholders (e.g. citizen associations, local authorities, businesses from the relevant sectors) on the principles and multi-benefits of sustainable, inclusive and accessible built environment.

Clustering and cooperation with other relevant projects is strongly encouraged; e.g. with the European Partnership on ‘Driving urban transitions’.

This topic requires the effective contribution of SSH disciplines and the involvement of SSH experts, institutions as well as the inclusion of relevant SSH expertise, in order to produce meaningful and significant effects enhancing the societal impact of the related research activities.

This topic implements the co-programmed European Partnership on ‘People-centric, Sustainable Built Environment’ (Built4People).