ARV at the Decarbonisation summit: Neighbourhood-scale renovation with a social purpose

As part of Housing Europe’s Decarbonisation Summit held in December, a dedicated session explored how neighbourhood-scale renovation can reconcile climate ambition with affordability, social cohesion, and quality housing.
Europe’s housing, climate, and cost-of-living crises are converging, making it impossible to address one without tackling the others. As energy prices rise and affordability pressures increase, parts of the green transition risk losing public support—particularly among low-income households who feel excluded from its benefits. In this context, public, social, and cooperative housing providers are demonstrating that another path is possible.

Neighbourhood-scale renovation offers a powerful response: one that combines decarbonisation with social justice, affordability, and community resilience. By upgrading existing housing stock, reducing the environmental impact of new construction, and delivering innovative, resource-efficient housing solutions, these approaches help cut emissions while improving living conditions and lowering energy bills. Strategies such as building conversion, rooftop extensions, infill development, and right-sizing not only create new homes but also preserve embodied carbon and make better use of existing resources.

This session explores how climate-neutral neighbourhood renovation can drive systemic change when technical innovation is embedded in a strong social purpose. Drawing on the experience of the ARV project cases from Spain and Denmark, as well as real-life pilot projects in Germany and France, the discussion highlights how integrated neighbourhood approaches can align energy performance, social cohesion, and local energy communities. ARV plays a central role in supporting capacity-building, district-level renovation strategies, and integrated decarbonisation models that are replicable across Europe.

A key focus of the session is the role of European policy frameworks and funding instruments in enabling a just renovation wave. EU regulation and financial tools—such as the Energy Performance of Buildings Directive (EPBD), the Social Climate Fund, the extension of the Emissions Trading System (ETS), and the New European Bauhaus (NEB)—provide critical levers to ensure that renovation efforts remain inclusive and socially balanced when implemented at national and local levels.

From an architectural and cultural perspective, Greta Tresserra, Architect and International Consultant at the Architects’ Council of Europe, brings a neighbourhood-scale lens to EU renovation frameworks. Her contribution highlights how European policies can be translated into innovative renovation practices that preserve affordability, cultural identity, and social cohesion, while supporting the energy transition. By bridging regulatory ambition and on-the-ground design, her perspective underscores the essential role of architects in delivering fair, people-centred renovation.

Moderated by Sorcha Edwards, Secretary General of Housing Europe, the session brings together voices from EU institutions, housing providers, architects, and tenants to examine how neighbourhood-based renovation can reconcile climate ambition with everyday realities—and ensure that no one is left behind in Europe’s transition to a low-carbon future.