Speaker
Description
Since the 1990s, European policies have aimed at fostering "sustainable development" by reducing fossil fuel consumption and promoting renewable energy in cities (Luque-Alaya et al., 2018). However, rising housing costs have exacerbated social inequalities, a trend further exacerbated by the 2007 financial crisis, the COVID-19 pandemic, and ongoing geopolitical tensions (Housing Construction Sector Observatory, 2019). Too often, energy and environmental policies have prioritized technical and economic objectives, overlooking the social and spatial contexts in which they are applied. This has led to the implementation of standardized models that fail to meet local needs and face growing resistance from communities (Altavilla, 2016). As a result, unsustainable and unjust processes have become increasingly evident, underscoring the need for recovery policies and planning tools at both the European and national levels.
The research focuses on relations and trades-offs between energy efficiency policies and housing inequalities comparing different European contexts. It calls for context-sensitive and comparative approaches that take into account the institutional contexts where the energy efficiency policies are framed, the transversal relations and combined effects of urban policies (housing policies, mobility policies, etc.), the existing housing systems (and the configurations of actors ‘ interests at multiple governance levels (European, national, local). Main research questions include: 1) What are the relations between energy efficiency policies and housing inequalities in across different European contexts? 2) How different institutional contexts, existing housing conditions and actors’ dynamics at multiple governance level influence the impacts on housing inequalities?
The research methodology is organized into three phases. First, a literature review is conducted to understand the impacts of energy efficiency policies on housing inequalities within the European context. Next, a comparative analysis of energy efficiency policies and existing housing systems in France and Italy is carried out. This phase will involve a combination of grey literature surveys, analysis of regulations and legal documents, and interviews with researchers and professionals. Finally, the research entails the potential impacts of energy efficiency policies in the two selected contexts by examining the uneven allocation and distribution of resources, the rise in housing costs and rental prices without corresponding benefits (Grossman, 2019), and the displacement risks faced by low-income households, who may be forced to relocate to substandard housing (Baeten et al., 2017).
References
Altavilla, E., 2016. The Photovoltaic Giant: Lights and Shadows of Energy Planning in Apulia. Scienze Regionali 3, 93-103. DOI: 10.3280/ SCRE2016-003006
Baeten, G., Westin, S., Pull, E., & Molina, I. 2017. Pressure and violence: Housing renovation and displacement in Sweden. Environment and Planning A: Economy and Space, 49(3), 631-651. DOI 10.1177/0308518X16676271
Grossmann, K., 2019. Energy efficiency for whom? A conceptual view on retrofitting, residential segregation and the housing market in Beretta I., Cucca R. (edited by), Ecological gentrification. Una prospettiva europea, Franco Angeli.
Housing Construction Sector Observatory, 2019, Housing affordability and sustainability in the EU.
Luque-Ayala, A., Marvin, S., Bulkeley, H., 2018. Rethinking Urban Transitions: Politics in the Energy City, Routledge: Abingdon, UK.
| Keywords | just transition; energy policies; housing issues; comparative approach |
|---|---|
| Best Congress Paper Award | Yes |
