Cities4PEDs

The Brussels partners will focus the research and experimentation on the already-built Northern District, a dynamic neighbourhood that historically has been the place of severe urban alterations, and still facing social, economic and spatial transition. Within Cities4PEDs, investigation and local testing involving the different stakeholders and communities active in the area will be set up, in order to further analyse the transition process of this existing neighbourhood toward a PED. The project partners will focus on investigating a governance structure and organisational model in order to coordinate this local transformation by setting different modus of cooperation (private-public; private-private; public-public). The research project seeks for the development of supporting framework and design of the transition process for a neighbourhood programme around PED, including developing dynamics of social inclusions and local group interactions.

The Stockholm case is a newly built area within the Stockholm Royal Seaport, a former brownfield area and one of Sweden’s largest urban development projects. Within the Cities4PEDs project, the transition towards a PED will be investigated with the goal to reach an energy balance for hot water, heating, cooling, building electricity and plug loads in households and commercial spaces. Potentials to include mobility will be assessed. The pilot will be carried out in close cooperation between the City’s administrations and utilities as well as researchers from Royal Institute of Technology. The potential of citizen participation will be investigated to catalyse the transition towards a PED.

Viennese partners focus on different areas, like Pilzgasse (PED under construction), Seestadt Aspern (urban expansion area for 20,000 inhabitants and almost as many workplaces, nowadays partly in operation, implementation and planning),Stadtquartier Muthgasse (district with an existing structure as well as planned new buildings) and Otto Wagner Areal (existing district which will be refurbished to become a PED). One specific goal is a framework to boost the installation of photovoltaic and the replacement of gas boilers by renewable sources. The project seeks a solution on how different neighbourhood coordinators can focus on achieving climate neutrality. Gained experience in district transformation should contribute to a broader inclusion of tenants, owners and inhabitants in the Viennese energy transition.