Affordable housing initiative

Affordable housing initiative (SMP-COSME-2021-HOUS) – closed project (March 2022-March2024)

The European Affordable Housing Consortium (SHAPE-EU) facilitated local industrial partnerships involving SMEs, public, social, and cooperative housing providers, public authorities, and other relevant actors that engaged in renovating or constructing 20 lighthouse districts. They paid particular attention to innovative approaches, like smart and circular technologies, engagement models for tenants, and multi-stakeholder partnerships. The ten partners of the consortium worked with local communities and experts to shape the EU affordable housing initiative by creating replicable blueprints, building capacity, and advising the 20 districts across Europe.

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Social and affordable housing district demonstrator (IA) – closed : 3 ongoing projects (launched in autumn 2022)

drOp – Digitally enabled social district renovation processes for age-friendly environments driving social innovation and local economic development

The project drOp will develop an integrated renovation methodology to transform social housing districts into inclusive smart neighbourhoods. It will guide constructive, energy and digital updates to improve the urban space, accessibility, and residents’ quality of life. The project will guarantee connectivity in physical, social and digital areas and explore the growth creation potential of cultural and creative industries (CCIs). The methodology will be tested in the Santa Ana neighbourhood in Ermua (Spain) while experience and inputs from the peer cities of Matera (Italy) and Elva (Estonia) will provide replicability conditions to support similar projects in other districts.

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ProLight – Progressive lighthouse districts serving as green district gate towards Leadership in sustainability

Under ProLight, a standardised approach will be piloted in six demo sites and energy communities that will act as urban incubators of technological, social, regulatory and market solutions. The common goal of the project is to identify proper methodologies fostering European lighthouse and pocket districts, providing blueprints for replication and creating energy and climate-aware communities. The approach to the districts is twofold as the project will focus on building and renovating in an energy and resource-efficient way in Austria, Finland and Greece while engaging with energy communities in Spain, Italy and Portugal combined in so-called Innovation clusters.

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SUPERSHINE

SUPERSHINE lighthouse districts in Trieste (Italy), Herning (Denmark) and Riga (Latvia) will be characterised by energy-efficient buildings, low-carbon mobility, smart grids, and efficient water and waste management. This is underpinned by responsive technologies that optimise resources while promoting well-being and sustainable lifestyles. The project will address several areas of intervention such as incentivizing owners and tenants to undertake energy renovations, developing innovative bottom-up financial solutions, involving local SMEs and promoting integrated renovation processes. The project will also support the sustainable energy transition of fellow districts in Setúbal (Portugal), Belgrade (Serbia), Zaragoza (Spain) and Kadikoy (Turkey).

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Affordable housing district demonstrator (IA) (HORIZON) – closed

• 2022 edition –  ‘The future of living, innovation for affordable, and sustainable housing districts’: meet the winners of the two award categories for the 2022 edition
• 2023 edition –  ‘Fighting energy poverty’ – Repower EU: applications closed on 30 May 2023. Award ceremony to take place on 14 November in San Sebastian.