Kickstarting social housing transformation for inclusive, sustainable and vibrant neighbourhoods

This workshop showcased three innovative projects—drOp, SUPERSHINE, and ProLight. Having answered the Social and Affordable Housing District Demonstrator call, these projects collectively span 10 demonstration districts, six fellow cities, and two peer cities, representing various European regions. Each initiative focuses on transforming neighbourhoods into inclusive, sustainable, and aesthetically enhanced areas, aligned with the principles of the New European Bauhaus (NEB). Below are the key takeaways:

Neighborhood Regeneration Overview

Neighborhood regeneration addresses urban areas' social, economic, physical, and environmental challenges. By integrating diverse aspects—such as energy efficiency, accessibility, and community involvement—the regeneration process ensures multi-sectoral participation and co-creation, bringing stakeholders together to create holistic solutions.
drOp Project: Inclusive and Smart Neighbourhoods
Scope:
Spanning four countries (Spain, Belgium, Estonia, and Italy), drOp aims to transform social housing districts through an Integrated Renovation Methodology with strategic, design, and intervention phases.
Highlights:
- Pilot in Santa Ana, Spain: Chosen due to its aging infrastructure and social challenges, this neighbourhood is a testbed for co-creation activities like the "Mapathon" where residents identify priority interventions through a mobile app.
- Sustainability Goals: Focus on energy efficiency (e.g., photovoltaic panels, energy communities), community engagement, and local economic development through capacity-building initiatives.
- Aesthetic Enhancements: Architecture competitions and art projects (e.g., murals) co-designed with residents are improving urban spaces.

SUPERSHINE: Tackling Energy Poverty
Scope:
Operating lighthouses in Trieste (Italy), Herning (Denmark), and Riga (Latvia), the project addresses energy poverty in social housing through inclusive and sustainable interventions.
Highlights:
- Community Involvement: Co-design sessions to align technical solutions with local needs.
- Sustainability: Balancing environmental and financial sustainability with tailored business models and public-private funding mechanisms.
- Quality of Life: Improving health, economic conditions, and fostering a sense of belonging in districts through redesigned public spaces and energy-efficient infrastructure.

ProLight: Progressive Green Districts
Scope:
ProLight integrates technological, social, and market innovations across six demo sites (Vienna - Austria, Milan - Italy, Gernika – Spain, Vaasa – Finland, Matosinhos - Portugal and Kozani - Greece) to create replicable models for sustainable urban districts.
Highlights:
- Energy Efficiency and Circular Economy: Focused on lifecycle assessments and renewable energy solutions in renovation processes.
- Community Engagement: Empowering residents through living labs, workshops, and digital tools to foster energy literacy.
- Architectural Beauty: Preserving heritage while creating safer, more inclusive public spaces, like green areas in Vienna and renewable-energy-driven student housing in Vaasa.

Alignment with the New European Bauhaus Principles

The projects align with the NEB's focus on sustainability, inclusivity, and aesthetics:
- Togetherness: Emphasizing co-creation, inclusion, and intergenerational exchange.
- Sustainability: Promoting energy efficiency, retrofitting, and economic development.
- Beauty: Enhancing urban aesthetics while respecting cultural heritage, integrating art, and fostering a sense of pride in communities.

The last part of the workshop focused on interactivity, with a quiz for the audience and a Q&A session. The questions were designed to cover all three projects and had a reduced difficulty, in order to test, on one hand, whether the messages put forward by the projects are clear, and on the other, to see of the session was engaging enough. Roughly half of the connected participants were responsive, and the majority answered correctly.

As a conclusion, we can say these projects illustrate the transformative potential of integrating community-driven approaches, innovative technologies, and sustainability principles. Through collaboration across diverse stakeholders and geographies, the initiatives provide blueprints for reimagining Europe's social housing districts, ensuring they are inclusive, sustainable, and beautiful. However, by the end of each project, conclusions are recommendations are expected to address a common challenge: that of citizens and stakeholders’ engagement.