Energy Efficient and Integrated Urban Development Action

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The European housing stock is a major contributor to energy waste and CO2 emissions. At the same time the refurbishment rate in the new EU member states still is extremely low and sustainable urban development concepts are barely addressed, neither in local, nor regional or national policies in the Baltic Sea Region (BSR). The project Urb.Energy addresses these issues and aims at the elaboration and partly implementation of transferable integrated concepts and strategies for the sustainable and holistic rehabilitation of residential areas in the BSR. To achieve this target, Urb.Energy builds upon the results of the BSR Interreg III B project BEEN (strategies that promote the energy efficient refurbishment (EER) of the prefabricated housing stock) and combines the approach of integrated urban development with EER of the building stock and energy supply infrastructure, the revaluation of the residential environment and the identification of innovative financing instruments. Thus, Urb.Energy responds to current EU policies which emphasise sustainable urban development strategies as a prerequisite for attractive and successful European cities. At the same time the integrated urban development strategies to be applied focus on an energy efficient housing stock and by this open up financing sources by making use of positive interdisciplinary economic effects which are generated via EER. On this background 16 partners from D, PL, LT, LV, EE, RU and BY representing key actors in national activities for energy efficient settlement structures came together to examine their current approaches with regard to the sustainable development of urban quarters and to prepare integrated urban development strategies for selected target areas. In addition, innovative funding schemes to finance respective activities will be developed taking into account existing funding possibilities. The partnership composition will be supported by a strong network of 20 associated organisations consisting of responsible ministries, city administrations and relevant stakeholders from the fields of housing administration, energy and financing. Within three WPs, the partners will jointly analyse existing approaches in the countries and present applicable integrated urban development strategies. For the target areas the partners will elaborate and partly implement concrete urban development concepts, to be transferred as standardised transnational outputs to other urban quarters in the BSR. The urban strategies and concepts will include the preparation of complex EER measures for buildings and the energy supply infrastructure. They will provide recommendations for the upgrading of the residential environment and the infrastructure. In this context, the participation of the inhabitants and other local actors will be of high relevance. In addition, the project will result in the identification of existing funding possibilities for ERR and integrated urban renewal.

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