Positive eneRgy dIstrict Step ahEad

Massimo Tadi (Principal Investigator)

Positive Energy Districts (PEDs) are key to achieving climate-neutral and sustainable cities, producing more energy than they consume through renewable integration, efficiency, flexibility, and systemic management. The PRISE project develops an interdisciplinary, scalable framework to identify and valorise potential PED areas in European cities, linking energy planning with urban planning and bridging community needs with urban strategies through a data-enhanced spatial approach.

Ostend (BE) is the main case study, focusing on Vuurtorenwijk, a district with social and private housing, vulnerable populations, and fragmented ownership. PRISE will pilot scenario-based PED planning, including mobility and heating/cooling solutions, leveraging local partners like Beauvent (energy cooperative), Woonsprong (social housing), and the city of Ostend for co-creation, innovation, and long-term regeneration. Additional case studies in Sion (CH), with follower cities Çankaya (TR) and Reggio Emilia (IT), ensure geographic diversity and methodology adaptability.

PRISE unfolds in three phases. First, a Europe-wide assessment maps PED readiness using geo-spatial, technical, morphological, and socio-economic data, including mobility and energy networks, combining machine learning with participatory co-design. Second, PED concepts and scenarios are co-developed with stakeholders using the New European Bauhaus Impact Model and the Integrated Modification Methodology, integrating active mobility, low-carbon heating/cooling, business model innovations, and governance alignment. Third, a Spatial Decision Support System (SDSS) is co-designed and tested with local authorities, enabling scenario-based planning, energy system optimization, and resilience assessment. In Ostend and Sion, the SDSS guides decisions, validates KPIs, and evaluates scalability.

PRISE delivers an adaptable approach for European cities, promoting PEDs as public-sector-supported, socially embedded, and resilient models for sustainable infrastructure and energy transition. By combining transdisciplinary methods, community engagement, and robust planning tools, the project enhances cities’ capacity to integrate PEDs as central to their sustainability strategies while ensuring techno-economic feasibility.

Contribution to SDG: 7, 11, 13.