Vol. 29 No. 1 (2025): BEYOND DECARBONIZATION toward a Climate Neutral urban environment
Essays and Viewpoint

Transforming Social Housing Neighbourhoods into Energy Communities: Challenges and Opportunities

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  • Elnaz Behnam Kia
Elnaz Behnam Kia
Dipartimento di Architettura e Progetto, Sapienza Università di Roma, Italia
DOI: https://doi.org/10.36253/techne-16589

Published 2025-07-31

Keywords

  • Energy Transition,
  • Renewable Energy Community,
  • Energy Retrofit,
  • Social Housing Asset

How to Cite

Behnam Kia, E. (2025). Transforming Social Housing Neighbourhoods into Energy Communities: Challenges and Opportunities. TECHNE - Journal of Technology for Architecture and Environment, 29(1), 69–78. https://doi.org/10.36253/techne-16589

Copyright (c) 2025 Elnaz Behnam Kia

Creative Commons License

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.

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Abstract

This paper aims to highlight the potential application of Renewable Energy Community (REC) concept in large Affordable and Public Housing neighbourhoods, particularly those in the European cities’ suburbs developed between the 1970s and the 1990s, in order to achieve carbon neutrality and mitigate barriers to energy provision for low-income groups. The research aims to provide a qualitative overview of energy community policies and initiatives at the European level. By identifying common approaches and strategies that are framing the development of best practices in the European and Italian contexts, it explores the characteristics that enable an Energy Community to act as a driver of local sustainable transformation and social cohesion.

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References

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