“Prototypes of change” fight energy poverty

In the PREFIGURE project, KIT researchers and their European partners explore how housing inequalities and energy vulnerability hinder a just green transition. The focus is on local initiatives for housing energy upgrades in seven countries.
Cover Publikation Prefigure
In PREFIGURE, researchers support the development of innovations for affordable and sustainable housing. (Picture: PREFIGURE)

“We are seeing more and more political efforts to reduce energy consumption by improving the energy efficiency of housing,” says Georgia Alexandri. However, the urban studies researcher at ITAS stresses that there are growing concerns that the green transition may exacerbate socio-spatial inequalities and disparities in energy access.

Research suggests that low-income households lacking access to information about available technologies and state subsidies are at risk of living in energy-inefficient housing and poor living conditions. They are also more vulnerable to extreme weather and displacement. “Therefore, to secure a just transition, housing renovation policies should pay particular attention to the challenges posed by gender, ethnic, and intergenerational disparities,” concludes Georgia Alexandri.

Innovative “prototypes of change” across Europe

Against this backdrop, researchers in the PREFIGURE Horizon Europe project are exploring local political and social innovation efforts in seven countries, collecting quantitative and qualitative data on socio-spatial inequalities in housing and energy access. In the process, they accompany 14 “prototypes of change” across Europe to shed light on the dynamics of innovation in the context of a just green transition. The main objective of the project is to inform policy makers from the EU to the local level on affordable, accessible, and energy-efficient housing for all.

ITAS studies prototypes in Karlsruhe and Thessaloniki

Researchers from ITAS and the Institute for Regional Science (Institut für Regionalwissenschaft) look at two “prototypes of change.” In the city of Karlsruhe, they jointly study the contribution of the Karlsruhe Energy and Climate Protection Agency (Karlsruher Energie- und Klimaschutzagentur) in the Waldstadt district. The second case study is the municipal initiative “Housing Thessaloniki,” which transforms 30 municipal buildings into efficient housing for vulnerable groups.

The researchers are currently conducting expert interviews in both cities. They are also preparing the questionnaire for a household survey on housing conditions, status, income, and the use of technology in green housing renovation. Their goal is to form learning communities with local actors on the energy-housing vulnerability nexus within the next year and to integrate the co-created knowledge into policy advice. (22.10.2024)

Further links: