ANNUAL CONGRESS 2025

Positive Energy Districts (PEDs) as a Climate-Resilient Solution for Social Housing

Not scheduled

20m

Yildiz Technical University, Istanbul

Oral Track 05 | ENVIRONMENT AND CLIMATE

Speaker

Dr Paulo Silva (ID+, Department of Social, Political and Territorial Sciences, University of Aveiro, Portugal)

Description

Climate change significantly impacts urban areas, intensifying extreme weather events such as floods, droughts, and storms, which strain infrastructure, compromise housing, and threaten public health and livelihoods. Cities also contribute approximately 70% of global CO₂ emissions, mainly from transportation and buildings (IPCC, 2022). Addressing these challenges requires integrated strategies to reduce emissions, enhance resilience, and promote sustainable urban development.
Global frameworks such as the Paris Agreement drive nations to develop Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs), outlining specific emissions reductions and climate actions. Similarly, regional initiatives like the European Green Deal and Sustainable Energy Action Plans (SEAPs) aim to decarbonize urban areas through integrated approaches, including Zero Energy Buildings (ZEBs), Net-Zero Energy Districts (NZEDs), and Positive Energy Districts (PEDs) (Sassenou et al., 2024). These strategies focus on scaling solutions from individual buildings to entire neighborhoods, integrating energy efficiency, renewable energy, and retrofitting to achieve carbon neutrality and net-positive energy performance (Albert-Seifried et al., 2022). PEDs also provide solutions for both new developments and the revitalization of vulnerable urban areas, fostering resilience and sustainability.
Among urban areas, social housing neighborhoods with low socioeconomic status (SES) are particularly vulnerable to climate change due to aging infrastructure, inadequate public and green spaces, and poor energy efficiency (OECD, 2022; Snep et al., 2023). These challenges amplify social and health inequities, requiring inclusive, climate-adaptive strategies to ensure equitable sustainability.
This study explores the potential of Positive Energy Districts (PEDs) to address urban sustainability and climate adaptation challenges in social housing neighborhoods. This study adopts a holistic approach by integrating buildings, public spaces, and green areas into climate-resilient, carbon-neutral frameworks. Using case studies from Portugal, it combines Nature-based Solutions (NbS) with technological and social innovations to evaluate how Positive Energy Districts (PEDs) enhance urban resilience, promote social equity, and align with Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). The findings highlight that locally adapted PEDs can serve as scalable and equitable models for sustainable urban development, providing transformative pathways toward achieving global sustainability objectives.

References

Albert-Seifried, V., Murauskaite, L., Massa, G., Aelenei, L., Baer, D., Krangsås, S.G., Alpagut, B. et al. (2022) ‘Definitions of Positive Energy Districts: A Review of the Status Quo and Challenges’, Smart Innovation, Systems and Technologies, 263, pp. 493–506.
Gohari, S., Silvia, S.C., Ashrafian, T., Konstantinou, T., Giancola, E., Prebreza, B., Aelenei, L. et al. (2024) ‘Unraveling the implementation processes of PEDs: Lessons learned from multiple urban contexts’, Sustainable Cities and Society, 106, p. 105402.
IPCC (2022) Climate Change 2022: Impacts, Adaptation, and Vulnerability. [Online] available at: https://www.ipcc.ch/report/sixth-assessment-report-working-group-ii/
OECD (2022) Key Characteristics of Social Rental Housing’, [Online] available at: https://www.oecd.org/content/oecd/en/data/datasets/oecd-affordable-housing-database.html
Sassenou, L.N., Olivieri, F., Civiero, P. and Olivieri, L. (2024) ‘Methodologies for the design of positive energy districts: A scoping literature review and a proposal for a new approach (PlanPED)’, Building and Environment, 260, p. 111667.
Snep, R.P.H., Klostermann, J., Lehner, M. and Weppelman, I. (2023), “Social housing as focus area for Nature-based Solutions to strengthen urban resilience and justice: Lessons from practice in the Netherlands”, Environmental Science and Policy, Elsevier Ltd, Vol. 145, pp. 164–174.