Prototypes for addressing the housing-energy-nexus

Project Information

PREFIGURE

Grant agreement ID: 101132777

DOI

10.3030/101132777

EC signature date 10 November 2023

Start date 1 April 2024

End date 31 March 2027

Funded under

• Culture, creativity and inclusive society

Total cost

€ 2 777 058,76

EU contribution

€ 2 777 058,75

Coordinated by

KARLSRUHER INSTITUT FUER TECHNOLOGIE
Germany

Periodic Reporting for period 1 - PREFIGURE (Prototypes for addressing the housing-energy-nexus)

Reporting period: 2024-04-01 to 2025-03-31

Summary of the context and overall objectives of the project

Housing is a fundamental necessity that everyone should have access to. However, since the 1970s, global economic restructuring and the retreat of the welfare state have significantly reduced the availability of affordable housing. Moreover, the growing trend of treating homes as investment assets within global financial markets has greatly hindered access to adequate housing. Rising inflation and surging energy prices have further deepened existing social vulnerabilities, intensifying the connection between energy poverty and housing inequality. Policymakers at local, national, and European levels are increasingly recognizing that achieving a socially and spatially just and inclusive energy transition requires addressing housing inequalities and vulnerabilities.

It is in this political and economic landscape that PREFIGURE project emerged to facilitate a more just energy transition in European cities while putting housing inequalities at the centre. In that regard, the project puts forward an ambitious plan and an innovative transformative approach that seeks to identify, track, analyse, and connect emerging and active "prototypes of change" related to the housing-energy efficiency and energy poverty nexus. These "prototypes of change" represent a range of structured social, political, and economic practices focused on innovation, aimed at supporting affordable housing renovation initiatives and developing solutions that address housing inequalities, particularly benefiting vulnerable households and communities.
To achieve this, the project has several objectives. Firstly, the project aims to emphasize the understanding of current and existing practices of affordable housing renovation schemes and tries to understand how these existing practices can and do alleviate energy poverty. In addition, these practices can show the ways in which housing inequalities can be tackled. Secondly, the project identifies the local, national and supranational policies that focus on sustainable housing and energy transition, and how (and if) these policies affect housing inequalities. The project explores what kind of financial incentives there are for different kind of tenure types (i.e. owner occupier and tenant). Finally, project hopes to mobilise and upscale all the information collected to have a more affordable, inclusive, energy efficient and evidence-based housing policy for the cities of Europe. In this regard, one of the most important impacts and outcomes of the project is projected to be different kinds of policy recommendations for different stakeholders.

Work performed from the beginning of the project to the end of the period covered by the report and main results achieved so far

Since the start of the project (April 2024), the PREFIGURE consortium made substantial progress towards achieving the project’s overarching objectives. All the milestones planned for this phase were successfully reached and the first set of deliverables was submitted.

Significant advancements were achieved in Research Objective (RO) 1, which seeks to generate a nuanced understanding of how social, political, and economic innovation practices contribute to affordable housing renovation and disrupt energy poverty. Twelve Prototypes of Change were identified and analysed based on a common conceptual and methodological framework across diverse national and regional contexts.

Regarding RO 2, which explores the impact of housing policies and financial incentives for energy efficiency on different ownership structures and user groups, the preparatory activities for the household survey in Work Package 3 have been finalised. Meanwhile, WP 2 has already generated comparative insights into how institutional configurations and policy regimes shape access to sustainable housing, particularly among vulnerable populations.

For RO 3, which aims to co-create and scale up policy innovations, the first steps have been taken to establish local learning communities and identify 40 ‘Ambassadors of Change’ in the prototype sites. These individuals will support the participatory and transdisciplinary formats planned under WP 4 and 5.

In parallel, the dissemination and communication strategy (WP 6) has laid the groundwork for outreach activities. Given the policy relevance of the project, consortium partners have engaged in direct dialogue with senior stakeholders.

Cross-cutting project coordination activities under WP1 have ensured robust and efficient implementation structures. Internal communication platforms, consortium-wide meetings and a quality-controlled reporting process ensure alignment across all work packages.

In summary, the PREFIGURE project is fully on track. The first year was characterised by significant activity, collaborative knowledge production and successful outreach, establishing a robust foundation for subsequent phases involving cross-case comparison, participatory engagement, and policy integration.

Progress beyond the state of the art and expected potential impact (including the socio-economic impact and the wider societal implications of the project so far)

The project advances the current state of knowledge by introducing an innovative framework that addresses the intersection of housing inequality and energy poverty. Here, energy poverty is defined as limited access to essential energy, affecting economic, infrastructure, social equity, education, and health dimensions. It includes challenges such as inadequate heating, delayed utility payments, and substandard housing with issues like leaky roofs, structural damage, and mold, which contribute to social exclusion, material hardship, and health problems. Energy poverty is closely tied to housing market dynamics, as the location of a home impacts its infrastructure quality and equipment.

In the same vein, the PREFIGURE project goes beyond existing knowledge by conducting collaborative and comparative research on social, market-driven, and policy innovations to improve the link between housing inequality and energy poverty. It seeks to scale and co-create new policy approaches that better integrate marginalized communities into accessible, socially inclusive, energy-efficient housing. By focusing on grassroots innovation, the project embraces diverse social, socio-technical, and socio-environmental initiatives led by communities, civic groups, and market actors, presenting alternative policy and economic solutions. PREFIGURE is pioneering in uniting sustainable housing and energy transitions, enabling collaborative exploration with citizens and stakeholders on how societal transformation could unfold practically. In this regard, PREFIGURE opens an opportunity for policy making to further policies of affordable housing to include a more dignified living in a sustainable environment. In summary, PREFIGURE embraces an interdisciplinary and transdisciplinary approach to knowledge production that moves beyond traditional data collection and analysis methods. By establishing effective learning communities among citizens, market actors, and policymakers, the project aims to create actionable, realistic policy pathways.